It’s been a minute, so let me bring you up to date. My three grandchildren—Olympia (nearly four), Ira (nearly three) and Harry (one and a half)—continue to grow and their reading preferences are changing and developing as they do. Olympia is still a super-enthusiastic reader, and her reading tastes are still quite broad. She has fully and happily moved into the wide world of picture books, leaving board books behind. Lately a few favorites have included the classic wordless chestnut Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day but with her narrating it (adorable). She also likes the Olivia books by Ian Falconer (moment of silence), especially the very last page of Olivia Saves the Circus when the mother puts Olivia to bed, re-enters the room where Olivia is jumping up and down instead of sleeping, and yells “OLIVIA!”
Right now, her general taste runs towards anything to do with princesses (oh, please, let it be a phase), and of course that includes books. Her parents dutifully read books about princesses to her, regardless of quality, in an effort to satisfy her obsession without exposing her to the Disney movies... yet. Pia knows the full alphabet, can spell her name and the names of her friends, and has started to write her name in its long form (seven letters=more fun). It will be so much fun when she’s able to read, a particularly welcome achievement for a natural reader like her.
Ira continues to be an active child and an avid reader, and right now he’s all about Arthur. The aardvark, that is. We are somewhat surprised by this, since he seems a bit young, but he started by listening to the Arthur podcast, and I rather like that he hasn’t seen the TV show... yet. He truly loves the books, which I find especially gratifying since I worked on both the books and the public television series in previous lives and consider Marc Brown a dear friend. In addition to the appealing and kid-friendly illustrations, he responds to the fact that there’s a crowd of “kids” at Arthur’s school, all with different personalities, and a busy life at home, with Arthur’s two sibs and a lot going on. At this point, Ira is a Halloween-all-year-round kind of kid, so Arthur’s Halloween is a special favorite.
Ira is a very social and outgoing kid. In truth, his very favorite thing to do right now is building farms and barns with Magna-Tiles, but he’ll always happily spend time reading if it’s on offer. He responds really well to the familiarity of series books, and likes pointing out continuing characters (Binky Barnes! D.W.! Muffy!). A few other picture books that are his faves right now are the adorable and hilarious Adurable series (Little Pups in Big Trucks) by Bob Shea and Brian Won and Neither by Arlie Anderson, with its charming illustrations, if somewhat abstract plot. Ira especially likes the pages with crowd scenes of animals. He has learned all the letters of the alphabet, and numbers up to 20, which is thrilling for him and the grown-ups in his life. Ira is an unbeatable combination of athleticism and love of reading.
Harry is currently a, um, different kind of reader from his sister and cousin, and a bit of a challenge for this reading G-Ma (that’s what they call me) and his parents. He has an impressive attention span and will play with favorite toys for the longest time, especially if it involves pushing buttons that make a sound or light up. He appreciates books as objects and will turn the pages of a board book by himself. But he distinctly does not like being read to, at least in the traditional one-on-one, come-sit-on-my-lap fashion.
Before bed (when no other activities are offered), he'll read the truly irresistible Hippos Go Berserk! by Sandra Boynton, Boynton’s Dinosaur Dance, Richard Scarry’s The Rooster Struts, or Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek. And his other grandmother gave him an interactive board book in DK’s Baby Touch and Feel series called Trucks that he enjoys. But his preference is not to snuggle up and read together. This may evolve (pretty please!) or it may not. Only time will tell. The good news is that he does like to curl up with the U.S. Constitution:
I’d like to give a shoutout to newcomer (and neighbor) Nosy Crow for their awesome line of interactive board books, with flaps made of durable felt, instead of easily damaged thick paper. Genius! The titles include Little Bear, Where Are You? and Little Dog, Where Are You? by Ekaterina Trukhan and Look, It’s Woof Woof Dog and Look, It’s Roar Roar Lion by Camilla Reid and Clare Youngs. The illustrations are just right for toddlers, and tugging on the felt over and over with no ill effects is tons of fun. They even captured Harry’s attention!
If you’ve read this far, I have a fun invitation for you. We’re soliciting photos of kids reading or being read to in unusual places (samples below). Please send your photos to childrensbooks@publishersweekly.com and we’ll run the funniest ones in the next column (please note that submitting a photo is implicit permission to run it).
I saved the best news for last: by the time the next column comes out, I will have welcomed my fourth grand-reader in as many years: a baby sister for Ira! My cup (and bookshelf) runneth over.
Til then, happy reading with the wee ones in your life. As you well know, there’s nothing like it.
To see previous columns, click here.
Becoming a grandmother three times in three years is Betsy Groban’s greatest achievement so far. A former children’s book publisher, she’s a correspondent for the Boston Globe and the book review editor of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Her early reader, Pizza for Pia, will be published by Simon Spotlight in May.
