What Did You Read to Your Children?

Ya gotta read

We watched a movie this week, “Surprised by Oxford.” A pleasant surprise for us.

Based on the true story of Carolyn Weber's time at Oxford University and adapted from her memoir, it is a faith-based romance about a young American woman who receives a scholarship to Oxford to pursue her PhD. While there, she works to understand friendships and deal with insecurities and beliefs about life, God, and morality.

The surprise to us was how important the writings of C.S. Lewis played in the author’s development while at Oxford. He too was skeptical about the relationship of faith to intellect.

C.S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia” came to mind as I watched, and it was at that moment that I drifted to the days when I read bedtime stories to my children. I looked down at my entwined hands and I pondered. “What books did I read?” I unfolded my hands, paused the movie, turned to Diane, and blurted, “Junk Day on Juniper Street.” I loved that one. So did they.

There were more of course.

I sent an email blast to our children to ask, “What do you remember of what I read?” Their knee-jerk replies got my attention. So many years later, they remembered.

And that’s a good thing.

I read books when they were in bed whereupon they drifted to some place where sleep came easily. As I finished, Somnus arrived.

Jennifer remembered a move I made when they on rare occasions had trouble getting to sleep. “Dad, you used to do the Magic Wand thing where you took your finger and traced over our faces as you sang “Magic Wand in your ears, Magic Wand in your nose, and finally Magic Wand over your eyes as you softly dragged our eyelids down. I loved that.”

Here are a few of the books :

Stuart Little, Babar, Junk Day on Juniper Street, Peter Rabbit, and The Wildlife Book which educated us about the Tasmanian Devil, the duck-billed platypus, and the alligator.

Petunia and The Silly Goose . . . “but Petunia had other things to do.”

They also reminded me of movies we shared like Willie and the Chocolate Factory, Sounder, The Wizard of Oz, Doctor Doolittle, and others. Those trips to neighborhood theaters and the popcorn had to be unforgettable.

Available at your local bookstore

Reading to your children is incredibly important for their development, both academically and emotionally. Here's why.

It created an unusual bond because it meant spending time together while introducing them to what is the major part of learning; reading.

They learn language/vocabulary and the rhythm of the written word, how language works, particularly if the reader (silly me) acts out the theme. Vocabulary is fine and good, but it’s how the words are used by the author that expands their words and their world.

Why, who doesn’t remember Floob-Boober-Bab-Boober-Bubs ( Seuss ‘On Beyond Zebra’)?

They focused. So did I.

They asked questions. So did I.

They spoke. So did I.

They listened. So did I.

. . and they remembered. For sure, they remembered. So did I.

I’m not sure it led to their social development though that’s what educators believe. I go with them. I’m not sure reading a story leads to emotional development, but I’ll go with that one too. I like it.

What I do understand is that the readings created a bond, helped us relax together, and transported us to different worlds and away from the scrapes of the day.

What comfort those bedtime stories brought us. How secure we were in the coziness of the bedroom.

It laid the groundwork for independent reading, so crucial for success in all aspects of life. It’s a valuable investment.

Ya gotta read.

© 2025