Reading to a Child
I do not remember when I began to read. What I do remember is that our house was filled with books, and someone was always reading. In fact, a great way to escape the “burden” of household chores was to tell my mother that I/we was/were at a pivotal point in a book...nearing the end of a chapter, nearing the end, at an exciting part.......
I also remember my older sister helping me sound out challenging words. “Cover half of the word. Now...what do you see?” Break. Fast. “Put it together. Say it faster.”
And I remember my mother reading poems out loud. “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson (How do you like to go up in a swing. Up in the air so blue?)—the popular English nursery rhyme “Bye, Baby Bunting” (Bye, baby bunting—Daddy’s gone a’hunting.)—and many others.
Poems from my childhood stuck with me. The musical quality of the words led to easier memorization. Vivid images sparked my imagination. I loved the experience of reading the poems with my mother (and, as I grew older, by myself).
With grandsons of my own, I now take great delight in writing poems for children. I love it when my grandsons snuggle close while I read my poems, and I love hearing them recite the poems to themselves as they are falling asleep. It is joyous to watch them become readers.
On Saturday, April 9, I will be reading from my chapbook of poems for children—The Galloping Garbage Truck (Kelsay Books). The Poetry Box press (which published my first chapbook of poems, Just the Girls) invited me to read with poet Debbie Hall, whose new collection of poems for children—In the Jaguar’s House—will be published by The Poetry Box in March.
Please mark your calendar, join us for this special Zoom reading, and rediscover the delight of poetry for children. (Check on The Poetry Box website for details: https://thepoetrybox.com/events-readings)
Order your copy of The Galloping Garbage Truck (Pamela R. Anderson-Bartholet, Kelsay Books) here:
https://kelsaybooks.com/collections/all/the-galloping-garbage-truck
Order your copy of In the Jaguar’s House (Debbie Hall; The Poetry Box) here:
