From: Laura Tillotson <ltillotson>
Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2005 10:25:27 -0600

When my son George was born, my husband made me promise that I wouldn't turn into one of those people who yammers about their children in the workplace (or even worse, writes about their kids in a professional setting), but I'm breaking my pledge here because witnessing George's response to board books has been one of the most joyful experiences of parenthood. As I wrote once in a Book Links editorial (another time the promise was broken), George was born missing part of a chromosome, and he has numerous developmental delays and medical issues to contend with, but you would hardly know that watching him study the pages of Byron Barton's My Car (an all-time favorite), Richard Scarry's I Am a Bunny, or any of the previously mentioned Helen Oxenbury books. Lift-the-flap books command his attention too--his copies of Where Is Spot? and Karen Katz's What Does Baby Say? are getting more dog-eared by the day.

I could go on and on about this, but I will end by saying that George's excitement for books makes me feel so lucky to work in the field of children's publishing. The fact that babies and toddlers of all levels and abilities are able to respond to quality board books is truly wonderful, and it's exciting to see that some of the therapists who work with George incorporate books into their sessions. As educators and as parents we need to keep spreading the word about how beneficial it is to expose the youngest children, and especially young children with special needs, to quality literature.

Laura Tillotson Editor, Book Links magazine
Received on Mon 07 Nov 2005 10:25:27 AM CST