It’s something we had to contend with when I worked with a book publishing house – the debate ‘Is book reading getting severely endangered?’ We often argued fiercely about it; old timers citing that the same was said when television became the norm, while young blood maintained that this time the digital platform was going to take over. Books would soon be redundant.
I would hate to think so, but the fact is, there are so many mind-easier, eye-easier ways to entertain and keep a person occupied than a book, for all of us, more so for kids. And children need colour, visuals and something to work their hands with – not all books provide all the combinations. And there is this devil-distractor called cellphone. The other devil-distractor – which has been challenging the 24-hour entertainment channel-filled box called television – is new-kid-on-the-block, the iPad. When friends confess that they now download and read books, I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly, while my heart sinks. It’s a slow take over. And it’s showing by the shrinking shelf-space that bookshops assign for books. Flipkart which started with books now sells everything.
With so much available at the fingertips, more colourful, more attention-seeking, more slick…why would a child read? What does a book do?
Why read a book?
The answer is almost clichéd. A book is a time travel machine. When you flip through its pages and pore over the words, a book has the power to pull you along with it. Today is a world of information. And because it is so accessible, information is no longer valued. So if we no longer go to books to access information why do we read books indeed? It is because books are vaults of emotions. Books carry decades of experience. Books are stimulators. When you pick a book, it’s not the same as reading something on a device.
Books perform the basic word-building magic in a child. A child who reads is definitely someone who has better than average vocabulary, has better honed communication skills, and will probably be able to solve problems faster than a non-reading child.
Books are great nurturers of character traits in children. Books have been used from time immemorial to teach values – such as honesty, kindness, sharing, consideration to others, bravery, generosity – to children. Children who read are individuals who will understand another person’s point of view. Author/writers after all, are those who have seen ‘the other side’ and thus make us sympathetic to ideas and feelings that are of deep importance.
It looks like a waste of time but reading is actually the ultimate time-saver. When you read, you store small nuggets of information, flutter through a range of emotions and events that would take you years, decades, millennia to try to experience directly. Literature is the greatest reality simulator — a machine that puts you through infinitely more than the world allows us to assimilate.
In a world where we are all battling with deficit attention spans and borderline ADHD, a child who gravitates to a book is a child who is calmer and has larger attention span than those who play on an app or who read/create online. When you are online there is simply so much more available to distract you than a story or even a fantastic game.
Writers open our hearts and minds, and give us maps to our own selves, so that we can travel in them more reliably and with less of a feeling of paranoia or persecution. Children who read books usually do not judge others. In today’s world where winning is so important, where media dwells on stories of failure, literature talks of failure but also largely deals with multiple dimensions of failing. Great books don’t judge as harshly or as one-dimensionally as the media.
Yes, it is the world of downloadable books. But reading is a skill that is invaluable. A book reader-child is one who you can guarantee has:
Great vocabulary: The more you read, the more words you gain exposure to and it’s simply not possible that they won’t weave their way into your life. Children who read are articulate. My kids can spell effortlessly not because I take up spellings with them. It’s because they read. I never have to take up grammar and synonyms with them also for the same reason.
E-books make reading as easy. In fact it is so easy that meanings are provided for difficult words at the touch of a screen. Very cool. However figuring out the meaning of the word as you read, especially in context to what you are reading, helps to root the word in your brain for life.
Good in one = Good in others: A child who reads well in one language will also be able to pick up new languages with ease. Reading books is vital for learning new languages.
Strong memory and better cognitive skills: The great part about the brain is that more you put in, the more it can absorb. Every new memory you create forges new synapses and strengthens existing brain pathways. When you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their backgrounds, ambitions, history, and nuances, as well as the various plots and sub-plots that weave their way through every story. Children who read have stronger analytical and problem-solving skills: Have you read a book and fathomed the end? If so, you were able to put critical and analytical thinking to work by taking note of all the details provided and sorting them out to determine “whodunit”. That same ability to analyse details also comes in handy when it comes to critiquing the plot; determining whether it was a well-written piece, if the characters were properly developed, if the storyline ran smoothly, etc.
Better communication skills: If you read, you usually can communicate better – you can read better, write better and you are more articulate than those who don’t.
How does one cultivate this habit in children?
Now that we’ve established the benefits of being a reader the thing parents ask me is, “How do you get kids to read!?” I usually ask one question: Do YOU read?
Children who read usually have an older role model – parent or an older sibling – who also reads. If you do not yourself read, please forgive your kids. It’s too much to expect them to do an activity that is alien to them. My kids, devourers-of-book, library-stalkers, finish at least one book a day. Friends who hear this look at me in utter fascination. My kids have seen me reading EVERYWHERE. Seriously. I take a book with me wherever I go and you’ll probably find me reading in a dentist chair with my jaws wide open and the dentist peering right in. My small pokey space is FILLED with books. When we eat, we all prop a book against our plate and we enjoy a meal. You don’t have to get into such a mental state of book-love. However, simply having books, magazines, and newspapers around your home will help children view them as part of daily life.
Reading to children when they are babies is a great way to get them to themselves want to decode language. While buying books, look for books that are – if the kids are small – hardy. Hardback, well-bound books that are easy to flip through and extra durable for a toddler’s investigative fingers is a good idea. Allow children to touch, smell and yes, even taste books.
When you read aloud together, choose books that you both like. If you have bought a book and you find that it is boring – yes, books that receive glowing reviews, can be boring, too – place the book down and find one that is more fascinating. If you find your child preferring one kind of books then go find more of those. Once you’ve covered that genre, look for the next. Another good way to pick books for kids is buying award-winning books. If the book has a Caldecott Medal tag, you can bet the book has great illustration; while a book with the Newbery Medal will mean super storyline.
Yes, the world of books and book publishing may be feeling threatened. But books will not go out of fashion. Book soldiers out there are making literature festivals happen and book reading is being cultivated by small groups of people who understand the benefits of devouring a book. If you look at the number of literature festivals that have burgeoned in the last decade and the parents who take their kids for them, you’ll know a book is not just words put together on paper. It’s simply more, way more than that.
For the people who tell me that they have downloaded 100 books and that is now their preferred mode of reading, I have only this to say: Bet you haven’t completely read even ONE digital book. Hah.