A happy reader unfolding

I'm a librarian...and....surprise...avid reader. Having Gladys in my life has been an unfolding lesson in how to weave reading into a kid's life that is fun and helps motivate them to read more. I have the added twist that her first language is Spanish, and she attends a plain vanilla school (no Spanish immersion). My first lesson is that kids need to be literate in their own language to most successfully acquire a second (and third) one. I didn't know that growing up. She instinctively did, because at a pretty young age she was asking for more books in Spanish. I had to work a bit harder to track down good stuff in Spanish, but it was worth it in terms of watching her Spanish reading skills develop. I've got "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" in Spanish, and she LOVES it. As I got immersed in audiobooks, she (ever observant) wanted to experience the spoken word too, and soon we were off....getting a load of great audiobooks that she loves. I've got her hooked on the power of story, in which she skips over plowing through the long words in Spanish or the hard mysterious ones in English. Listening to the story strips away the work and means pure pleasure.

I love the idea that I've helped to nuture a reader and excited to see what new things she will teach me.