I have always encouraged my little ones to venture into the world of reading, always! I think it’s because I love reading so much myself, and was also encouraged since childhood… I remember my father reading stories that stayed in my mind, and I was crazy about them. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella… Even biblical stories like Daniel in the lion’s den and Samson and Delilah. I would travel in his voice telling the stories, and when I learned to read fluently at age 6, I would spend hours and hours in the world of fairy tales. I also remember the first story Joana read on her own, it was a book of stories that the school handed out, she fell in love! She picked up every little book we had at home and devoured them one by one to the very last line!

To encourage them even more, I brought back a habit I also had in my childhood, reading comic books! Yes, I still love them to this day! My favorites are the adventures of Monica and her friends. Monica’s Gang was and still is part of my life, and now through my children. I think it’s super important to encourage reading in little ones, the results at school are even better and a love for reading is something to keep for a lifetime! I always tell them what I heard every day from my wise father: The only thing no one can take away from us is knowledge!

And at school they really encourage it, always offering books for reading. It works like a library, where students even get a card so they can check out books of their choice. Right now, they are in love with the Itaú Cultural books they receive and keep rereading to pass the time. These are from previous collections and are great:

  • Lino (André Neves)
  • Little Yellow Riding Hood (Chico Buarque)
  • Poetry on the Balcony (Flavio Fargas)
  • Guess How Much I Love You (Sam McBratney)
  • The Party in the Sky (Ângela Lago)
  • The Big Hungry Bear (Don and Audrey Wood)
  • Inkheart
  • Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson)

This year, Itaú’s campaign has already started for those who want children’s storybooks. Just sign up at this link to request yours. Encouraging reading only brings benefits: concentration, culture, good speech, stimulates the imagination and cultivates a love for the art of writing, and that’s why starting early is super important! Start as soon as the baby understands and can handle books — starting with cloth books is a great idea!

Kisses and see you next time!

See also: Pre-adolescence and its hormones

Photo: Personal Collection