Book Worms

When my son Felix was 6, and immersed in the demanding project of learning to read, his younger brother, Dominic, age 3, memorized the picture book he loved most in the world, that had been read aloud to him dozens of times, Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf. Dom had memorized the words and the page breaks, so it could look to an untrained observer as if he were reading the book, turning each page at the appropriate time. And in fact, Dominic believed he was reading. He’d seen me or his dad do just this—wasn’t this what reading was? You said words, pointed to things in the illustrations, flipped the page! For Felix, this was ultimate rage-bait.

I’m reading! Dominic would cheerfully announce whilst reciting.

No! You’re not reading! Felix would furiously insist. You just memorized the words!

Mama, look! I’m reading!

He’s not reading! He can’t read!

And so forth.

To me, this story hilariously illustrates, yes, the competitive element inherent in even the most loving sibling relationship; but also how complex and strenuous the task of learning to read is, and how much care and support is required to come out the other side with an unbridled love of books.

When we had Stories, our children’s bookshop in Brooklyn, parents often came in asking not just for book recs, but for tips on how to inspire a love of books in their children. This was curious. Nobody asked, How do I get my kids to love Netflix? The assumption was Netflix was pleasurable. But for the multitudes of people for whom reading is their most beloved pursuit or hobby, reading is absolutely the same level of pleasure—perhaps even the greater joy. So why did it seem so different?

The difference I think is the level of ease or difficulty. Reading does take more effort than brandishing the remote, or, as all of us know only too well, scrolling on our phones.

[Side note: I’ve decided we should no longer call them PHONES. PHONE sounds quaint and nostalgic and is just plain inaccurate. Petition to call them Addictive Mind Controlling Algorithm Machines instead (AMCAM, for short). Who’s with me?]

So, with the big goal of raising kids who are book-mad, we have to put in a bit of effort, especially in our tech-mad era, and here are five ways of thinking