Kids and reading

Before Ziad was born I stocked up on children books and I would read him a book every night. When I went to Syria he was seven months old, when I went into a book store to buy him Arabic books to read to him the girl has to hide her giggles when I told her I am buying these books for my seven months old baby. It is not like I was buying him novel, they were cardboard books with 2-3 words on each page, sheesh!

Now Ziad and Bilal love books, we buy 2-4 books from Ctown every week, Arabic books of course, and we read 2-6 books every night depending on how early we settle down in bed.

I love reading! One day when I was eight or nine years old I discovered a room full of books and magazines in my grandfather’s house. That is when I realized my love for reading. I was in heaven; I would sit there for hours. They were books collected over the years, my young uncles, my older uncles, my aunt, and some for friends of the family. My favourite books were a series about kids who solve mysteries, kind of like Nancy Drew. Loza, nossa, atif, bakheet and takhtakh, those were their names, I wish I knew what the series if called. There were also some romantic novels, Ghassan Knafani books, the Red Crescent magazines (they had the saddest stories about Palestine), and few other novels for Arabic writers. Before I left to Canada I had read every single book, and magazine in that room. I wonder if they are still there! I hope so! I want to take some books that I would love to reread.

When Ziad was in preschool the teacher read them a book everyday, and they had daily library visits. Everyday he would bring a new book to read, he was always excited about it, and most days we read the books before he even took his snow suite off. On top of that we visited our local library everyday, we borrow 20+ books each visit. In KG they were still read to everyday and had daily library visits. Everyone in the school had to log the books they read. KG kids were to read 11 times a week. Ziad loved it when we read, and dare I forget to write the name of the books he read in his log every night.

In Jordan Ziad never comes home with a book to read. They have a library at school, but it is not important for grade one to read so they do not have access to it, until they are in grade 3. I do not get it, the library is there, why not let grade one and two students borrow books to read or to be read to them?? No wonder the girl laughed at me for buying books for my seven months old baby in Syria!