Have you got a TaleInAMail Yet?

At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book – that string of confused, alien ciphers – shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader. - Alberto Manguel

Books... Books... Books. All parents love seeing their kids evolve as readers... but who will tells us...

Which Books do we choose?

How to read books?

What is age appropriate for my child?

I'm too busy, how can I make sure 

my child gets regular supply of books?

Till the time I understand what my child likes

s/he has already outgrown those books...

HELP.... 

Top Kid's Book Storage Ideas

 

Books are fun... Books are great... Let's sit down with a book today

Books are fun... Books are great... Is it book time yet? Oh! I just can't wait... To read a Book!

- Zoe's Favorite Barney Song

 

Books ... who doesn't want their children to read some more books. My 2.5 year old already has 100+ books and a library membership... and believe me this is not unusual these days. I'm always on a look out for good creative ideas for storing Z's books. Here are my favorites:

Introduce your Preschooler to Pepper

Zoe is now growing and has better understanding of stories. She also faces various little issues which are a big deal for her... starting school, sharing toys, going on a play-date etc. I was on a lookout for small stories which help her understand these situations in a simple yet effective manner. I found the Pepper series just perfect for the same.

Help your Beginning Reader Read Better

At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book – that string of confused, alien ciphers – shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader. - Alberto Manguel

One of the proudest moments of a parent’s life got to be seeing their little one read independently. I can’t imagine how happy I will be when I see my little girl read. It will sure be a proud moment, but for kids this milestone is not very easy to achieve. Many kids get irritated when they don’t get things right. Though it is not advisable to force your child to read, they might get all the more irritated. There are a few things that parents can do. Before getting into a to-do list for parents, let me tell you what a beginning reader exactly is. Beginning readers are those who “rely on print more than illustrations to create meaning. They read a range of early-reader series, and recognize all alphabets and sounds. Your child still needs pictures on every page to help him/her read. Reads aloud without expressions and stops at difficult world.”

How to Read Books to Babies

"Readers are made in the laps of parents" I'm a strong believer of this quote. Many new mommies/daddies like us want to introduce books to their babies when those little ones are really little. Some parents I know, often complain that their babies do not show any interest in books. Momsters believe, it is easier with toddlers, who tend to explore anything including books kept in front of them, but when it comes to babies parents need to put in that extra effort. 

Exposing babies to books is a great thing to do, as research suggests “children who have heard a lot of stories being read to them before they start preschool, are more exposed to letters and learn reading and writing easily in school." Momsters believe the earlier we begin the better it would be. If you are anything like me then you will start reading the moment you and your baby settle down... To tell you the truth, I used to feel weird reading a book to a non-responsive infant. Now, when I see Zoe absolutely love her books and telling me stories, I know it was all worth the effort. 

From Head To Toe By Eric Carle - Momsters' Take

Momsters 1st 'official' book review had to be an Eric Carle classic (Yeah... no points for guessing). I have been reading Carle to my 2 year old since she was 6-7 months. She loves them, she's drooled on Carle's books, chewed them, listened to them with wide eyes, giggled and now she tries to read them with us. Besides The Very Hungry Caterpillar (which is my personal favorite), Zoe loves From Head to Toe.

From Head to Toe can be introduced to your child when they are as young as 10 months. The illustrations, the rhyming words (I am a Monkey and I wave my hands... Can you do it?  I can do it!  I am a cat and I can arch my back... Can you do it?  I can do it!) and the different animals make children fall in love with it. This book is a great read to initiate role play. I was introduced to the book when Zoe was almost a year and she developed instant liking for the book. Which does not happen with every book I pick up. Zoe has so many books in her library, but From Head to Toe is a must read every single day.

Top 5 Reads for V-Day

Valentines Day, like any other day for me means spending some time, snuggled up with Zoe and reading our favorite books. So we came up with this perfect Valentines Day post idea. Here Momsters suggest some nice books to read with your little one on this special day of love. 

The Very Hungry Caterpilar Theme Party - Top Picks

If you have a child between 0-3 years who does not know what The Very Hungry Caterpillar looks like, you and the baby are missing out on something big. Children love bright colours, big pictures, few words and a counting game. The Very Hungry Caterpillar fills their little world with all this and much more. Birthdays are also huge in a child's life, maybe not so much for very young children... but for their parents it is a big deal. Why not make your child's birthday special with the very Hungry Caterpillar theme.

Eric Carle Spins Magic

We are a family of readers, as our guest blogger puts in the post here... Even I do not know how a child gets interested in reading/listening to stories/browsing through books. I do my bit when it comes to the toddler. I make sure she has lots & lots of books, doesn't see more than 2-3 hours TV (YouTube) a day and doesn't get more than 30 minutes on tab. The toddler started by browsing through and chewing books, moved on to just browsing, then to picking the book up and giving it to Mommie, from there to picking up the book Mom asks her for, and now she even says a couple of words/phrases of her all time favorite books (Pheeeew! we have come a long long way).

My Book Corner

Guest Post By: Padmini A Bailur

I always seem to have a writer's block when it comes to writing an article. It takes me a lot of time to pen down my thoughts, when others are involved in the reading.

Books, books, books..... My hubby, dotty and I love reading. I don't know whether reading is inculcated or inborn but we make it a point that we read to our kid everyday. My dotty all of 20 months has her own choices of books.

It's so difficult to chose 1 book out of so many of our favorites. So I plan to take an author and cover the books written by him and that we have read.

A Classic Book For Toddlers

This was first posted in my personal blog

Brief: The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a book which has been a favorite among toddlers for ages. It is one of the most popular book by the famous Eric Carle. This big picture book narrates the tale of an egg who turns into a caterpillar... this caterpillar is very hungry... he eats, eats and eats and then becomes a cocoon and finally a butterfly.

Why I picked it: Lots of pictures, colors, days of the week, numbers, transformation... this book promised lots of fun.