Why I Read: Stern Center Instructor, Shaun Stephens

By Shaun Stephens

My reasons for reading are as varied as the things that I read. I read to learn; I also read not to learn. I read to escape; I read not to escape. A favorite reading material for me is the “how-to” book or article: how to replace a toilet valve assembly, wire a 3-pole outlet, build a treehouse, make a woodcut, throw a boomerang. Most recently, I wanted my apple tree to produce more apples, so I have looked up how to control apple scab, codling moths, watercore, flyspeck, and sooty blotch. Who knew there were so many afflictions on apple trees? There is so much out there to discover. Stargazing, tree identification, orienteering, building a duct-tape wallet: the sky’s the limit! I have to try to corral my sometimes wandering attention.

But I also read not to learn; I want to lose myself in a good story. The latest adult fiction I read was The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. I loved the combination of magical realism, supernatural elements, historical fiction, and suspense. Run by Ann Patchett was an improbable but fascinating story of families intersecting in the wake of a car accident. The author made the girl protagonist so real I felt I had known her for years. I did not learn any specific things in these stories. I just experienced the pull and the joy of a good story.

Why I Read: Stern Center Communications Coordinator, Allison Provost

By Allison Provost

                                                                                                                                                    Photo by Paodoruvel

            Reading for me has always been about self development and exploration. As I’ve matured, my library has matured with me and has reflected my evolving interests. Throughout my life, books and their characters have acted as constant companions and are as beloved and influential as the friends and family members whom I cherish. I can easily say that some of the individuals I respect the most, fictional or not, I have met purely on the pages of a well written book: Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series, Pat Summit after reading her biography entitled Sum It Up, Sherlock Holmes in any Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story, and Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird just to name a few.

I believe that as long as we are attentive and thoughtful enough to take advantage of them, opportunities exist all around us that help us learn more about ourselves. As Glinda the Good Witch sang in the musical Wicked, “I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn, and we are led, to those who help us most to grow, if we let them.” The same goes for books; they are meant to teach us. However, they are not just intended to teach us about the vastness of the universe, the creatures that lie beneath the ocean’s surface, or which general did that thing, on that battlefield, that one time, in 1779 in Georgia. Books are meant to teach us about ourselves, and I find great reward in that.

            In my early years, I read a lot of fables. Reading a story with a moral lesson (not to mention adorable animals that could talk) always interested me and helped me shape my set of beliefs as a child. To this day, The Boy Who Cried Wolf still comes to mind when I think about how dangerous lying can be.

As I grew up, I increasingly noticed myself finding value in certain character traits and challenging myself to identify my stances on certain issues. I try to use stories as a way to improve my critical thinking skills, exercise empathy, and discover what character traits I value in others, as well as what traits I strive to exhibit myself. Therefore, I find that many of the characteristics I identify as important to me in a book character tend to align with the characteristics of people I wish to befriend. In addition, I observe certain unfavorable character traits in a book that I may see in myself, reflect on them, and work on remedying the situation. Often when reading a book, I find myself wondering, “What would I do in this scenario? Would I do what the protagonist did or would I change the storyline?” I do everything I can to make every story, even an unrealistic fictional story, applicable to my life and my personal growth.

As easy as it is to become complacent with a book and read it purely for its entertainment purposes, which is fine to do sometimes, I would also challenge readers to take the time to find personal value in the message. Even that lighthearted, silly story about a girl and her dog offers an opportunity to learn something about oneself. Every time you turn the page you get a little closer to understanding your own mental memoir. So have fun, keep reading, and keep growing! 

Allison Provost is the Communications Coordinator at the Stern Center. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication & Social Interaction from Oswego State University in New York. She lives in Ferrisburgh and enjoys hiking, kayaking, and snowboarding.

Why I Read: Abi, Student Assistant at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library

by Abi, Student Assistant at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Age 16 

Pedro Ribeiro Simoes

As part of an on-going blog series, Why I Read, we are asking people in our Stern Center community why it is that they love reading? How did they get started? Why is it so special to them? This week, we have the story of one of our local public library's student assistants. She talks about why being a reader is important to her and how the library has helped expand her love of books.

Whenever I think of a calm relaxing day, I think of sitting on the beach with a book in my hand. Books tend to be a great temporary escape from any stresses in my life. I read because the action in a story is exciting to me and often gives me a chance to think of what I'd do in similar situations. Whenever I read, I feel at ease. Sitting down to read a book is also scientifically proven to make people more engaged in their life. The National Endowment of the Arts did a study that says that those who are avid readers tend to be engaged in current events.

Growing a Reader

by Suzanne Loring

 

Photo by Ned Horton

There is so much information that comes at you as a parent as to why reading with your child is so important. Reading aloud increases vocabulary, it improves listening skills and imagination, and it sets your child on the road to greater success at school. All of this pressure to read to your child can be very overwhelming.

I realized a long time ago that in order to have fun with your children and to allow your kids to become lovers of books you have to let go of all expectations and just have fun. When my children were young, reading aloud was a struggle for me. Ironically, storytime was one of the things I looked forward to the most when I thought about having kids. Reality did not match the fantasy.

My children preferred to eat the books rather than listen when they were babies, refused to sit on my lap for more than two pages once they were mobile, and became seemingly uninterested when a book other than the Picture Dictionary of Trucks was pulled off the shelf when they were toddlers. Let me tell you reading the Picture Dictionary of Trucks over and over and over again while a toddler crawls on your head can really try one’s patience.

Why I Read: Stern Center Instructor, Sandy Boyer

by Sandy Boyer

Photo by Geralt

Marcus Pfister's book, The Rainbow Fish, Sam McBratney's Guess How Much I Love You, and Shel Silverstein's poetry book, The Light in the Attic, are three of the favorites that my now 16-year-old teen recalls as his favorite reads as a young child. Rainbow Fish shares his scales after much hesitation and as a result, becomes the happiest fish in the sea. Little Nutbrown Hare poses the question, "Guess how much I love you?" to Big Nutbrown Hare to make sure his parent is listening. The poetic lines of Wild Strawberries, "Are Wild Strawberries really wild? Will they scratch an adult, will they snap at a child?" consider possibilities of taming your wild strawberry in a most figurative manner. 

Reading is a most fun and creative way to communicate, share life lessons, investigate and question, and just spend time having fun with young children and older ones, as well. It is these special times which begin to nurture and develop the confidence that is needed to grow and succeed.

10 Great Books That Help Promote Phonological Awareness

 

Reading aloud with your children is one of the best ways to prepare them for future reading success. Shared Book Reading helps your child develop language, build comprehension and learn more about print (see our Top 10 List of Books to Read with Your Young Child through Shared Book Reading). Shared Book Reading also helps children raise their knowledge of Phonological Awareness, the understanding that our spoken language may be broken into smaller parts: sentences into words, words into syllables and syllables into individual sounds. 

Phonological Awareness is a progression of skills that help children become aware of the individual sounds of our language and eventually code these sounds to the letter 
representations.

Many children's books have wonderful rhymes and many alliterations that help children to hear the same sound at the beginning of words. Our BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY® coordinator, Brenda Buzzell, recommends some books that will help promote Phonological Awareness while reading. Here are 10 great stories to help get you started:

10 Reasons to Keep Reading Aloud to Your Toddlers Even When They Prefer to Climb on Your Head

Do you get frustrated while reading aloud with your toddler? You pick out the perfect book. You get your child all comfortable on your lap. After one, maybe two, pages your little one tries to eat the book, hops off your lap and starts playing with a different toy, starts climbing all over you and in general seems completely uninterested in the story you are reading?

Don’t get discouraged.

Don’t stop reading.

This is all completely normal.

Your child is still listening and learning.
 
Reading with your child, young or old, on a daily basis is one of the best ways to ensure your child's future success in school and later in life. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. Eighty percent of a child’s brain is developed by the time s/he is three years old. Reading to young children stimulates brain development, improves listening skills and builds vocabulary.

2. Toddlers learn that there is a front and a back to the book. They also learn how to hold a book and how to turn its pages.

3. Reading nursery rhymes and singing songs spark children’s awareness of language and sounds.

Why I Read: Communications Coordinator, Suzanne Loring

by Suzanne Loring 

I was quite a skilled eavesdropper by the time I was 13. You see, growing up in my house meant that each night before bed a story was told to each child in his/her own bedroom. It was a special time alone for each child with my mother at the helm of a book. Unbeknownst to my younger brother I used to sit in my bedroom doorway, well before my bedtime, and listen to his stories being read to him by my mom. It was in this doorway that I took my first and only wild ride in a giant, magical peach, and then traveled through a magical wardrobe and was introduced to the White Witch. 

Even though sitting in the doorway was magical, I couldn’t wait until it was my turn and my mother would read my story to me.With an open book and a voice as her only tools, my mother would transform my room into Orchard House in Concord, MA during the 1800s and the wonderful attic where my inspiration, Jo March, would write short stories.Or sometimes we found ourselves deep in the Ozark Mountains where the fate of two Redbone Coonhounds, Old Dan and Little Ann, changed my perspective on reading forever. This was the first time I cried when reading a book.

Why I Read: Development Director, Ed Wilkens

by Ed Wilkens

Last night at our weekly dinner and chess rendezvous, my father handed me a scrap of yellowed vellum with the quote, "Richer than I you can never be. I had a mother who read to me"―Strickland Gillian, written in my great Aunt Josie’s hand.
 
“Because you inherited Mom’s love of reading and have made it your life’s work,” he said. “First with your own girls and now with their children, books always have mattered so much.”

I know raising a strong reader is much more than merely displaying and sharing a love of books, but I do believe that is how it begins. So, indulge me if you will, as I reflect on what that has meant to me. I’ll leave the technical and scientific accounts to those more knowledgeable and skilled than I, but I will claim both a love for reading and a mission to help others develop the same appreciation.

A Chapter Here, A Comic Strip There

by Suzanne Loring

Bedtime stories are a long-standing family tradition in my family. Growing up I was read to every night before bed, a chapter here, a story there, and now do the same for my two boys who are two-and-a-half and nine months old. Each night after brushing his teeth, my two-year-old picks a book off his bookshelf and the three of us hunker down in one of the big bean bag chairs we have sitting on the floor. Even though my oldest climbs around during the story and my youngest usually tries to eat the book, we have a great time making truck noises, turning the pages, and pointing out funny things in the pictures. It’s important to me that we are carrying on a family tradition and having a lot of fun together, with books, every night before bed.

Creating a daily reading routine with your child is more than just fun; it helps build vocabulary and listening skills, develops your child’s imagination, and encourages a love of reading. It also creates quality time between reader and listener and can be a wonderful conversation starter. And in thinking about your child’s future a 2007 study by The National Endowment for the Arts, To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence, found that children who read for enjoyment score higher on reading and writing tests and have greater success later in life. Talk about a win-win-win situation.