Born to Read: Our First Five Years in Books

The best time is story time.

Reading to kids from birth to age five has bundles of benefits: It helps them develop language skills, encourages empathy and emotional development, fires up their imagination, helps them focus, and better prepares them for school, especially reading and writing. But most important, story time is quality time between your child and you.

Born to Read is a keepsake memory book of your story time together and a guide to raising a reader, all rolled into one. By reading just one book a day for the first five years of your child's life, they can log almost two thousand books before kindergarten. Use the beautiful journal pages within to keep a list of the books you and your child read together from birth to age five. It's a perfect way to recall particular favorites, record memories, and chronicle your child's reading journey--and your child will look back proudly at all the books they've logged as they start school.

Interspersed throughout the journal pages are age-appropriate tips for raising a reader and book lists to help you expand you and your child's reading horizons or dive deeper into particular interest areas. Special features encourage you to think about your unique reader. For example, "My Kid in Books" allows you to record specific reading milestones and passions and, as your child grows, interview them about the books they love. And in "Reading Recs" you can note recommendations from family and friends.

The perfect baby shower gift for expecting parents or an excellent birthday present for growing readers, Born to Read: My First Five Years in Books helps document the story of how your child grew from baby to bookworm, as well as the memories you created along the way.

L. J. Tracosas writes books for curious kids and edits anything she can get her hands on. She's published more than ten books for young readers, including the bestselling Creature Files series, as well as licensed titles with Mattel, WWE, and others. L.J. lives in Atlanta, where she likes to visit the whale sharks at the aquarium. She makes books in memory of her son Miles.