My mom did a wonderful job of reading to me when I was little. She provided me with endless choices — remember the Little Golden Books? My books date back to 1975. I wonder if they are worth anything.

I was a precocious child when it came to reading. One book was never enough before bedtime, and I apparently had my favorites, making her read them over and over again. But once I learned to read, I don’t remember my mom reading to me much. I was pretty much on my own or left to the school librarian for story time with my class. 

I was pretty sure I was doing well on my own until the 6th grade and Miss Battefeld. Miss Battefeld may have been one of the greatest teachers to ever grace the halls of Perry County Middle School. On Friday afternoons she would read a story to us, doing the individual voices of all the characters. She easily could have been one of the world’s greatest audiobook narrators. I was mesmerized.

Miss Battefeld introduce me to books that I felt I missed out on as kid. Because my mother stopped reading to me and by the time I master reading myself, I lost out on a lot of great chapter books. And that was were Miss Battefeld shined. She read to us Fudge, Super Fudge, How to Eat Fried Worms, Stewart Little, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Pickle Juice and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. What great memories! And she always knew right where to stop, leaving us wanting more.

During the pandemic, I tried to fill in these gaps for my own nieces. While not being able to see them, I used the Marco Polo app to record myself reading to them a few times a week. I don’t know if they listened to them all, but it gave me the time and excuse to fill in my own gaps in childhood literature. 

So my advice to young parents…continue to read to your children. Take that 15 or 20 minutes before bed and pick out a book that you will love together. Get a little goofy with it. Read Matilda in the goofiest French accent you can muster. You are creating a memory and a life-long reader. 

If I missed out on a great read aloud book, please feel free to drop it in the comments.