Bedtime Reading That Becomes a Lifelong Treasure

Books aren’t the flashiest gifts under the Christmas tree, but they can be the most enduring. A fictional character may become a treasured friend for life. Some ideas are not forgotten, and some lessons learned stay with us always.

When I asked friends for favorite titles, some had to reach back into their childhood memories, others had an answer at their fingertips.

A college student I know counts “Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings” as her favorite. It endures, she says, “because it gets a lot of important messages across; for example, one poem is about all people being the same inside, regardless of their outsides.” Shel Silverstein’s quirky, honest work--sometimes sad, sometimes funny--never wavers in its moral character.

That 1974 “Sidewalk” collection was some of the first poetry I was exposed to as a child. I still keep a copy, along with Silverstein’s “The Light in the Attic” (1981) and “Falling Up” (1996) near my bedside.

Such special books often find a place of honor in our homes as well as our hearts. Another friend keeps in her living room a bookcase of important titles. Her beloved “Where the Red Fern Grows” (by Wilson Rawls, 1961) is there, and she has been known to generously give copies to people she cares about--a beautifully personal and meaningful gift.

Illustrations also make an impact. A friend recalls “adoring” as a child a book whose name she could not remember. But she remembered the witty illustrations--by Maurice Sendak--including “a pilot that crashes into someone’s house [and] a woman who steps on an alligator’s toes.” That’s Sesyle Joslin’s 1958 “What Do You Say, Dear?” (with a partner, “What Do You Do, Dear?” also 1958). Absurd situations teach manners painlessly, with humor.

Granted, a book doesn’t have to be a classic to make an impact. My favorite 1-year-old is partial (right now) to a little book called “Do You Know New?” As her mom puts it, “It has wonderful rhymes, but the best part of all is the last page. It has a mirror, and she always looks behind the page to try to figure out how it works.”

Of course, this child has discriminating tastes. Says Mom: “She loves it because she becomes a part of the story. And I think it might taste good too.”

*

Discovery Toys, makers of quality educational toys for 20 years, has a reading program called Discovery Quest. Its Gateway to Imagination reading club features age-appropriate books that arrive every six weeks. The lovely hardcover editions are just $10.98 each (plus shipping and handling). Just tell them the age of the child you are buying for, and each arrival will “grow up” with the recipient. (The complete Gateway club series can be purchased for $300.)

Discovery Quest has added to its lineup a program called Reading Together at Home, designed for kids from preschool through primary grades and their adults. The 24 titles in a slipcase consist of six picture books for each of the four color-coded reading levels: Beginnings, Early Steps, Next Steps and Taking Off. A handbook for parents comes along.

Each book is intended to engage children in the early stages of learning to read, and each has illustration notes; complementary activities involve letters, sounds, rhymes, discussion and role-playing. Reading Together at Home is $99.98 plus shipping.

Individual titles suitable for preschoolers up through middle-school readers--including fiction and reference books--are also available from Discover Toys. Most titles are under $17, and many are under $10.

To order from Discovery Toys or to receive a catalog, call (714) 556-1652 or (800) 426-477. Preview offerings at https://www.discoverytoysinc.com.