How to read to a child (idea) by junkpile

As mentioned, don't fake it. If you're not digging it, pick another book or another time - it SUCKS when an adult reads in a sulky I'd-rather-be-doing-anything-other-than-reading-to-you voice. Kids know precisely what that tone means, and it breaks them.

Don't rush. Why would you want it to be over soon? You're pouring words into a kid's open greedy brain. Make it last. Five minutes more equals hundreds more words for building dreams and castles.

If it's funny, laugh! When Shel Silverstein is being a silly old bastard or Louis Sachar has gotten too ridiculous to stand, don't press on through the text - drop the book on the floor and roll around on the couch laughing. Don't you want to have that memory from your own childhood? Do me a favor and give that to a kid you know.

What to read to a child	Books made me a person	The Ten Things You Can't Say in America	How to teach art to a four-year-old
My biological clock is not ticking, dammit!	Louis Sachar	Shel Silverstein	Sounding like a child
Huddled around the story as if it were a fire	read a book to kindergarteners	Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf	Another person that misses childhood
An Open Letter to My Brain	Tadpole's Promise	Your girlfriend will never forget how adorable you were the first time you went	How to read "puzzlelink"
Just a babysitter	Constitution of Ireland Article 3	Nick Berg is Our Son	Tell me a story
My life is a Lone Wolf and Cub movie	Spirited Away	Brahms' Lullaby	The End