A Librarian's Daughter: How I Am Raising a Reader and Library Lover

As a youth services librarian, the importance of reading to children is ingrained in me. My daughter is 19 months old and I have been reading to her, quite literally, since the day she was born. When packing my bag for the hospital, I knew it had to include books for my husband and me to read to her. Now, she absolutely loves books. Most of the time, she would rather sit and flip through her books or be read to than play with her toys or watch TV. She can point out colors, shapes, letters, numbers and animals. She even has some parts of her favorite books memorized and chimes in while I am reading. Although I stress the importance of reading to their children to other parents as part of my job as a librarian, it was not until I became a parent myself and watched the magic unfold in my own child that I truly understood the wondrous benefits of reading to children starting from day one.

As my daughter is getting older, she is starting to develop very strong opinions about which books she wants to read (and does not want to read). If I choose a book that she is not in the mood for at that time she will say, “Away Mama” and put the book back on the shelf. Then she will choose one to her liking followed by “Read please Mama.” How can you say no to that? Even after the third or fourth time reading the same book, I try to show the same amount of enthusiasm because every time I read that book, she is just as excited as the first time. Please see below for a list of recommendations from my toddler. These are some of her current go-to favorites and they can all be found in the MCL catalog.

Not only does my daughter love books, but she also loves coming to the library. In her short 19 months, she has visited all 9 branches of the Mercer County Library System! While I was on maternity leave, I took her to several library programs. Although she was less than 6 months old, she was interacting with the other librarians (her first teachers) and children as well as clapping and smiling with the music. After I returned to work, I continued to bring her to library programs throughout the system whenever it fit into our schedule. This means that even when I am not working, you will often find me in a library. For example, every Saturday we attend Family Fun Time at my branch (Hickory Corner) with my co-worker Miss Chrissy. My daughter loves the songs, stories and activities and often repeats them at home. Recently she started throwing the dish towels in the kitchen up in the air singing “Pop Go a We-all” which translated is “Pop Goes the Weasel,” a song they do in Fun Family Time every week with scarves. You can visit our website for program information for all nine branches.

In addition to attending programs, my daughter just enjoys being in libraries. It does not seem to matter at which branch we are, she is very comfortable and at home. She loves to color with the crayons and coloring sheets, she loves to do the puzzles or build with the blocks, she loves to grab books off of the shelves and flip through them. We could probably stay all day if I let her. This makes me extremely proud as a parent and also as a librarian. I am raising a reader, a library-lover and perhaps a future librarian!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, E CAR or BB CAR

Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anne Dewdney, E DEW or BB DEW

Tumble Bumble by Felicia Bond, E BON or BB BON

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean, E DEA

Moo, Baa, La, La, La by Sandra Boynton, BB BOY

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr., E MAR or BB MAR

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown, E BRO or BB BRO

Freight Train by Donald Crews, E CRE or BB CRE

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen, E YOL

Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli, BB PAT

Zoom, Zoom Baby! by Karen Katz, E KAT

The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss’s Wacky Book of Opposites by Dr. Seuss, E SEU

Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox, E FOX

Jamberry by Bruce Degen, E DEG or BB DEG

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Dusky Rinker, E RIN

Sammy the Seal by Sid Hoff, ER HOF

—Miss Andrea, Hickory Corner Branch Library