For the third time in these pandemic years, I’ve been given the gift of a beautiful, healthy grandchild. Hooray for Harry! Of course, his book collection began immediately, starting with the classic Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham, and Hooray for Harry by Kim Lewis. (Readers: other suggestions are more than welcome.) “Big sister” books have seen a lot of use recently, including Little Big Girl by Claire Keane, It’s Big Sister Time by Nandini Ahuja, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri, and the classic Arthur’s Baby by Marc Brown. Happily, one of the first things Olympia did was read to her little brother:
Ira, now one and a half, is an avid reader with definite taste in books. He enjoys the charming Leo Can! board books by Anna McQuinn and Ruth Hearson but he remains primarily a nonfiction kinda guy. His absolute faves are anything to do with his current passion: owls. At the top of his list are: Where’s the Owl? illustrated by Ingela P. Arrhenius, whose clever felt flaps have proven more sturdy and fun than paper, and Little Owls by Martin Waddell, especially in the boxed set that comes with a super-cute plush baby owl. He also pores over adult how-to books (cookbooks, knitting books, etc.) with full color photographs.
Books continue to enhance and add meaning to life for my grandkids in surprising ways. Our wonderful local library in Cambridge hosted a Stuffed Animal Sleepover last month and Pia was happy to allow her stuffed goat to participate. We delivered him to the library, where the librarians greeted him with great ceremony. Several photos emanated from the library later, including a sweet one of all the stuffies tucked in for the night. The next day we picked the goat up, admired his new button, and, of course, left the library with a big pile of new books to take home. Win win win win win, right?
It’s so rewarding when books are passed down from Pia to Ira, including Your Nose: A Wild Little Love Song by Sandra Boynton and Tooth by Leslie Patricelli. The latter is one that Ira really favors, perhaps because his own baby teeth popped out all at once!
Observing the kids’ different reactions to the same books has been fascinating, too. One example is the Stanley books by William Bee. As careful readers of this column may recall, Pia was all about the relationship between the protagonist Stanley and his sidekick, Little Woo, inquiring after the latter’s whereabouts on each spread. Ira enjoys these books, too, but his specialty is pointing out the wheels in every image. I hope it’s an example of different strokes for different folks, as we used to say, and not specifically a gender thing, but…
Pia is still a voracious reader. She has mostly outgrown board books and is ready to take on simple picture books, which is tons of fun for us both. Some of her current favorites include The Wicked Big Toddlah by Kevin Hawkes, Toot & Puddle by Holly Hobbie, A House by Kevin Henkes, One Bear at Bedtime by Mick Inkpen, and There’s a Cow in the Road by Reeve Lindbergh, illustrated by Tracey Campbell Pearson.
Reciting books from memory is still very much part of Pia’s “reading” repertoire. This is because she’s a genius (of course), but also because researchers at the Baby Lab at UMass Boston have investigated this practice and come up with some interesting findings. They compared kids and their parents’ ability to recite the words in a picture book after reading it every night for 10 nights. Somewhat surprisingly, the kids far outscored the adults. The researchers’ explanation is that before you learn to read, the only way to access previously learned information is to commit it to memory. They theorize that this superpower will diminish when kids learn to read and don’t need to rely on memorization. Wouldn’t it be awesome if kids could retain this amazing ability after they learn to read? Perhaps by performing in plays and declaiming in class from a very young age?
I can’t wait to start reading with Harry, but, since he’s only a few weeks old, I’m going to have to. Soon, though…!
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Betsy Groban worked for decades in book publishing, public broadcasting, and arts advocacy, and is currently a correspondent for the Boston Globe as well as book review editor of the Jane Austen Society of North America.
