“Reading is dreaming with open eyes”

~Anissa Trisdianty~

When we dream, we typically dream in pictures, and that adds to the experience we have by helping us visualize what we are thinking about. Dreaming is a special gift given to humanity and if we did not encourage others to dream, then what kind of world would we have? We need a generation of dreamers and doers; people who have a vision for amazing things and people who make those amazing things happen. Now, this sounds whimsically wonderful, but to tell you the truth, a major facilitator of dreams is literary content or reading. Did I shatter your bubble of whimsy yet?

Reading is something that children have started to dread, and if your child is starting to face that block, you may be wondering how to get your child excited about books. Sometimes children have a hate-love relationship with books and this could be for a variety of reasons. One major reason is that they no longer feel encouraged to read books, especially in certain formats; like there are many genres in books, there are also many formats and the particular format I am talking about is picture books. 

Pictures are exciting and help children visualize what they are reading and when it's taken away, it can feel empty and there is a loss in incentive for reading. Books with pictures in them are often associated with lower reading levels and while that is usually the intent, we often forget that illustrations are an artistic choice made by the author because books are a work of art. Yes! We want our children to read at their age level or even above and we want to broaden their range of the type of books they read, but the opposite happens when they feel pressured to move away from picture books altogether and more importantly when they have access to technology which can easily replace books, serving as a substitute for the desire for visual aesthetics. 

When there is a natural flow in the child’s reading structure and they are encouraged to move on to different books when they are ready, then we eliminate the feeling of reading being a burden. Meeting your child where they are in their literary journey creates trust and comfortability for your child to branch out to different genres and levels of reading with your guidance. Don't worry if your child is still reading picture books at a certain age, what really matters is the content and reading level of the book because the pictures are there to entertain and facilitate their reading experience.

In the short run, this is a lot of work, but so is teaching, parenting, and mentoring. We have to be leaders for our children because reading is a huge part of their lives. Not to add on the pressure, but literacy in general is how we communicate with others; it’s how we engage the world around us, and how we connect with ourselves. But in the long run, it creates stronger relationships and inspires a confident generation.

A great book collection to start this journey of confidence is the Sister Girl Collection. With colorful illustrations and empowering storylines that inspire children to dream and do, this is the perfect way to get your child excited about reading and for you to create a bond with your child. Check out the Sister Girl Collection here: https://sistergirlcollection.com

Article by Sister Girl Publishing Intern: Janjay Gardea

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