The Beginning

Story Time

One of my fondest memories of childhood is my Mom reading a bedtime story to us. Mom lay in the middle and my sister and I cuddled close on each side while she read one page to the next. Her low rhythmic voice was soothing and relaxing. She read the classic nursery rhymes, beautifully illustrated Hans Christian Anderson’s "Little Mermaid" and "The Little Match Girl." Of course there was "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Goldilocks and the "Three Bears" plus countless short stories of far away places and times.

I continued the tradition once I had girls of my own. I snuggled up with my little sweethearts and read to them at bedtime. I remember our book collection began when my first daughter was still in diapers. We would receive a free Bernstein Bears book by Stan and Jan Bernstein with each purchase of pampers at Shoppers Drug Mart. In fact I managed to save a few of those books which I now read to my three granddaughters.

Story time is part of our bedtime ritual. Bath, snack, story and bed. Its this type of ritual that makes them feel secure and loved. They know what comes next and bedtime is not a hassle.

When the girls were babies and not quite toddlers yet, I would read in a quite voice but once they got a little older I noticed I was putting a lot more enthusiasm into reading, changing my voice to mimic the characters, sounding out the emotions of the characters, reading faster or slower depending on the circumstances in the story.

My granddaughters love story time. They love to read new books but they also like to hear their favorites over and over again.

I know it can be challenging to find good books. When we get a new book, we look forward to reading it all day long. There is nothing more disappointing than getting a new book and finding out at the end of the day that it is a dud.  I want to share with you some of the books that my granddaughters and I love to read.