I was kvelling this morning. In fact, my maternal, literacy specialist pride has continued all afternoon. Less than an hour after Isabelle woke up (still sick) she wanted me to read her some picture books. Feverish and upset, she sat in the floor looking forlorn.
“Do you want to read Chloe, instead?” I asked.
“(Ye)sss,” she responded enthusiastically.
“Hand me Chloe, instead.”
I wasn’t hopeful since the books were on their sides. However, she proved me wrong by scanning the book spines, located it quickly, and handed it to me. Praise ensued. Then, the read aloud commenced.
A few minutes later my husband came into the room. I placed Chloe, instead back in the bin and asked her to hand it to me again (as if the poor girl were a trained monkey). She grabbed the wrong book.
“She just did it,” I told him. He nodded. I wondered if he believed me so I said, “Izzy, would you hand me Chloe, instead?”
This time she scanned the book bin, found the book’s pink spine and handed it to me.
“Great job finding the book,” I told her. But I wasn’t done. “Hand me On the Night You Were Born, please.”
She scanned the book bin. I held my breath. Ten seconds later she lifted On the Night You Were Born from the bin.
“Wow Izzy! You found it.”
I looked at my husband with a big smile. “Isn’t that incredible?”
“Yes, it is,” he replied.
“I need to brag about it a little,” I said. “I know adults who can actually read might not be able to locate a book by its spine alone. They need to read the title.”
He nodded and smiled. He seemed pleased though not as thrilled as I was. (That’s because he doesn’t work in the literacy field.)
I’m not trying to brag about this accomplishment, which is small in the grand scheme of things. My child is two years-old and she’s not really reading. I get that. However, identifying a book by its spine impressed me! Identifying the books by their spine this morning connects back with the way she’s starting to identify books by their covers. It made my heart happy to know that all of the immersion she has with books matters. Repetition, with regard to reading the same books, matters.
Raising Literate Humans 
As we tend to our students, there is no better feeling like watching your child develop book love!
You bet, Beth! I miss being in the classroom, but moments like this make me remember that I’m still teaching full-time (it’s just a class of one).
Oh brag away! I think it’s incredible the things children do… I always wished there was a way to get inside their little heads just to hear and see how they think. So keep on bragging because I love hearing all the stories!
She’s one smart little cookie, but of course you already knew that. Way to go Isabelle! Make mommy’s heart swell with pride.
Two already! My how time flies! Of course she’s reading!
I never knew what kvelling meant. I would be so excited to see her grab the right book. I get so excited when my little kinders can grab the right letter when I say the sound….especially because many of them haven’t been cozy on the lap with a book- ever. Some days I just want to rotate them on my lap so they could feel that joy. XO
Bravo, Isabelle! I could sense the mounting sense of excitement as it began to dawn on you that Isabelle was intentional each time.
Awww… brag away! I always loved noticing these milestones. She love books, and you’ve helped get her to that point. Yay!
Such a blessed little girl! She has had soooo, sooo, sooo much rich modeling and experience with books! She is growing into a terrific reader!
I believe that moms should brag all the time; it’s part of their jobs after all! I think it’s great that Isabelle, even sick, was identifying the books Stacey. Seems very smart to me. Nice to hear!
This is exciting! My girls surprise me as well when locating books. A similar experience happened in our house and I was delighted as well! I brought my 2 and 1/2 year old twins to school over the winter break to pick up a couple items from my classroom and the first thing one of my daughters said when she walked into my room: “Wow – look at all the books!” And then she spotted a book and said, “Look Momma! Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! Just like at home!” Oh, I was beyond delighted! Be happy and enjoy these little moments. I am! (Without bragging, of course.) 🙂 But this is the perfect venue to share!
@Michelle: What a great story about your daughters! You’ve created a book-rich environment for home, which will help them forever.