Reading Personified

It’s only been two weeks since school started, and we are already back to the day to day chaos. Every morning feels like a race to the finish line, trying to prepare lunches for Ryder and Siella, before rushing them off to their different schools, and all with Gemma in tow. Following drop off, I arrive back at our apartment, and it looks as if a bomb exploded. With each child, I’ve learned to relax slightly, and I understand that we can’t always have a tidy apartment, or be on time. But one thing I will never let slide is reading time.

From the days when Ryder was a baby, reading has always been a major activity, each and every day. Now, with three children, I am strict about the reading time set aside each night before bed. It’s the one time of day I look forward to, as do the children. Since Ryder has been learning to read, he starts our nightly ritual, reading one of his assigned books to his sisters, and then I read each of them a book of their choice. Sometimes, our routine is not always as easy as I would like, so I try to keep it fresh, by making it fun and interactive.

I See Me Books, have been my go to in our library, when I want to get the children excited about reading. Their line of books incorporate children’s names and photos on the cover and in the story, which always keeps my kids interested, and reading along with me. With school back in session, I ordered each of the kids their own customized book, as a welcome back to school present.

For Ryder, I ordered “My Pirate Adventure,” starring Ryder as the pirate, in his quest to find the hidden treasures. Ryder cannot quite read the entire book yet, but he has been able to recognize many of the words, and I feel confident he will master the remainder, in no time.

For Siella, I chose the personalized “It’s Fancy To Be Siella,” which was probably my favorite tale of the bunch. In this book, Siella gets dressed up, and jets off to fabulous places all over the world! She dons a beret in Paris, an elegant opera gown in Milan, a fluffy fur hat in Russia, and a sparkling gold crown in Egypt. The colorful graphics are beautifully done, and there’s even a personalized airplane, bearing her name.  At the end of the story, she learns that although it may be fun to dress up and be fancy, the most fashionable thing in the whole world is to just be herself.

Gemma received the “Goodnight Little Gemma” book, as she tends to give the most resistance at bedtime. In this book, we say sweet dreams to a parade of animals including leaping sheep, dancing dogs, hooting owls, and crickets chirping, along a parade into the night. She totally flipped when she saw her photo her photo on the front cover, and it’s become her book of choice for the past two weeks.

Whenever our library needs some updating, I See Me is always an easy choice. Our new round of books definitely made our night time routine more exciting. With I See Me books, they have grown to love reading, and for that I am forever grateful. Heading into the holiday season, and plenty of birthdays coming up, I think I know what we will be getting all of our little friends as gifts!