When Norah first joined our family it was obvious that reading (looking) at books had not been a part of her life. She dismissed books as ..... those awful things that you have to sit down and quit running to look at. We never forced her to sit down and look at books or to watch us sign the book to her because we didn't want to make her feel like it was a chore. Glen and I LOVE books, and really enjoy reading and wanted Norah to love them as much as we do. Boo was read to alot when he was little but didn't really develop an appreciation for books until he was around 10 or 11. So we didn't push it. We just continued to read and talk about our books like usual. We would get out Norah's books and look at them with her at her pace (usually lightning speed) and sign about what was going on. I also moved her books to the 2 cabinets under the entertainment center so that they were easy to get to and kind of front and center in the most used room in the house. We lost quite a few books before we could make her understand that we don't tear up books. Approx. 2 or 3 months ago she started bringing us books to look at and read to her! She can actually look through a book now and sign about what's going on and talk about the story without having to jet off to the next big thing. We have also "caught" her sitting down and looking through books on her own. She will also go get her books and come sit next to me or Glen on the couch and read her books while we read ours. The Sunday funny paper is also one of the things that she likes to look at and talk about. It may seem like a small step to some but for us its HUGE! Developing a love for books can only lead to a love of reading and from there the whole universe can open up for her.
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