By Lisa M. Belisle, MD 
Originally published May 10, 2002, Portland Press Herald

Books are my daughter’s favorite snack. She usually dines on fairly standard one-year-old fare, wrested from the jaws of the family beagle. Between meals, however, she eats books. Our home library bears battle scars created by her six tiny teeth. She has developed an early ‘taste’ for literature, one that we foster by providing her with books and sharing them with her daily.

Although I don’t routinely encourage my children to chew on their favorite tomes, I am happy to see them devour them, either literally or figuratively. I know that my toddler is beginning to understand what books are really for. When I am reading to her school-age siblings, the youngest skillfully inserts her little body between us, climbing onto the couch so that she can be a part of our evening ritual. Being read to was an important part of my own childhood. At the end of a long day, my mother gathered her brood about her and ventured into the land of fiction. It instilled in me an intense love of reading—one that has stayed with me to this day. I am repaying her efforts by doing the same for my children.

Sharing a book is a down payment on a child’s future. Studies have shown that baby brains require stimulation in order to grow and thrive. Book sharing provides this stimulation. Books may be read word-for-word, examined for their eye-catching illustrations, or gnawed on by curious infants; in every instance they provide a very necessary multi-sensory experience. In 1985, the National Commission on Reading called book sharing “the single most important activity for building the knowledge for eventual success in reading.”

The importance of a loving lap during book sharing cannot be overstated. Early learning is a social experience. Children who are read to by a loved one will associate that activity with feeling safe and happy, and want to participate in further reading. The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy emphasizes that “home is the child’s first school,” and that “the parent is the child’s first teacher.”

It is much easier to be a child’s first teacher when one has the appropriate tools. Children who have books in the home are more likely to be interested in the process of reading. In Maine, every child under five now has access to these materials. Through a $1.1 million dollar grant to the Raising Readers program, the Libra Foundation provides books to hospitals and medical care providers to give to their patients. Last month the program distributed its 100,000th book at the Maine Medical Center Pediatric Clinic, one of 228 sites statewide. The Libra Foundation hopes to continue this program indefinitely, as a means giving parents some of the tools they need to raise successful readers.

Success in reading is crucial for success in life. Individuals who read well are more likely to get an appropriate education, generate a livable income and contribute to society. Those who read poorly are not. Almost half of all people with low literacy skills live in poverty. Three out of four food stamp recipients have low literacy skills. The problem of inadequate skills is more common than one might think—it effects up to 20% of Maine adults.

So how can you foster the skills that your child will need to make her successful in both reading and life? Follow the example of my mother, and all parents, grandparents and caregivers everywhere: read to your child as often as possible and surround her with books. By doing these things, you can be assured that she, too, will develop a ‘taste’ for literature.