This is quite often how you will find my daughter… Head stuck in a book, sometimes in this awkward looking pose – or curled up cat like by the fire, reading for hours.
She learned to read properly when we first moved to Denmark, and it didn’t take long before she was devouring book after book. Now, here in Munich she surprises librarians and class parents alike with her reading level, and the books she chooses - but, (and as I often have to point out) she does have an advantage over classmates as a native English speaker, and those children still mastering the language will catch up soon enough…
I am really glad that books are a passion for her though. For a child who has found the Expat life a struggle at times, reading has provided her with an escape from a world where she’s not always clearly understood, and that can’t be a bad thing can it?
PS. and before you ask, yes – that is a miniature German beer glass next to her! Both her and her brother were given them in a restaurant recently, and now they refuse to drink out of anything else!
{ 72 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve a similar shot of my son over on my blog today. I think it’s wonderful seeing kids read, knowing that every word going in there is expanding their mind, that they’re away in some other realm in their heads. Just brilliant. And that’s a superb photo.
Thank you John… It is wonderful isn’t it? I love introducing her to authors I used to love as well! :)
Gorgeous photo capturing a great moment. Reading is such a great escape feeding the imagination!
Thank you Brina… It is a great escape isn’t it? Even for me too! :D
Lovely photo!
Thank you Emma! Hope you are well! :)
Seems we both have book worm daughters. Mine is quite capable of reading a whole book within a day or two…. thank goodness for the charity shop or else is would cost me a fortune.
Mollyxxx
Thanks Molly! Yep, I am looking forward to the school christmas book stall which will save me a small fortune too! :D
I love to see kids with their head in a book. Great photo.
P.S – I love that you trained to bind books, I think that is so cool! x
Thank you! My Grandmother was a professional bookbinder, so she was my inspiration. She still does it now from time to time! :) x
I noticed my daughter started reading better at school after I started taking her to the library and choosing books for herself. At the moment she is reading The Twits, maybe only a few sentences or a paragraph at a time, she is only 6 and I’m proud of her.
I think that’s a huge part of enjoying to read, showing them all the choices they have! I am currently reading the Twits to the German boys that I teach English to, their faces are a picture at some of the chapters! :D
Thats a really nice pic, she looks completely engrossed!
Thank you! Yes, completely and utterly! :)
Beautiful photo Emma – your daughter looks gorgeous! I love her very natural reading pose!! X
Thank you Louise! She does make me laugh the way she sits. I am sure you could let off the loudest firecracker in the room and she would still be engrossed! :D xx
Beautiful picture. I just hope that my children have a love of reading and books as thety get older.
My father is Austrian and we used to have loads of those glasses.
Thank you! I think a big part of them learning to love books is if they see you doing the same! I am sure yours will too! Love that you recognise the glasses! Whereabouts in Austria is he from? It’s a very beautiful country! :)
Now this is a fabulous shot – gosh you are good at this photography lark, Emma.
Your writing isn’t half bad either ;-))
And you are just too kind m’dear! Thank you very much! :)
Such a beautiful picture. Lovely to hear she is keen to read x
Thank you Emma :) x
Lovely photo – I wouldn’t have noticed the beer glass!
Thanks Louise! :D
Beautiful photo capturing a great memory x
Thank you Emma :)
what a lovely picture how did you get her into reading so much and how old is she
Thanks Helen. She is seven. I am not sure really, we have always read to them both from day one, but I think this is something that she just discovered that she loved herself, we didn’t really push it! If you are looking for something to help, I love Reading Eggs, an online reading site which I have for my little boy. :)
Such a gorgeous photo. I’d love my lot to be more into books – they are too easily distracted by other things! But the eldest is getting better, so maybe that passion will grow x
Thanks so much! I am sure they will, but I understand the power of distraction, my 5 year old will do anything but read! :D
I love this photo. You really get a sense of how involved in the book she is. Brings back memories of my own childhood. I do hope my son turns out to be a bookworm too!
Thank you Mary, yep, completely and utterly engrossed! We are having a “turn out the light battle” at night though, it’s not all good this reading lark! :D
What a gorgeous picture and a lovely post x
Thanks Susan :)
That is a truly gorgeous photo.
Thank you very much :)
That is such a beautiful photo, really it is. Better her head in a book than on an xbox machine ;-)
xx Jazzy
Why thank you Jazzy! You are so right! :) xx
What a lovely post. It sounds so positive!
Thank you Sarah! :)
That is a really beautiful photo and I do think that children find solace in reading sometimes.
Thanks NIkki, that’s very kind of you to say so! :)
I wasn’t this kind of child. I would love my son to be a book worm like your daughter devouring books. I know many little girls but so few boys.
Beautiful photo and I glad reading gives her so much.
Thanks Gemma… I think there are some great authors out there for boys now, so I am hopeful for my son too! :)
What a beautiful picture. I really hope that my children enjoy books as much as I did as a child.
Thank you very much (:
Lovely photo! This made me smile :) x
Thank you Oria! :) xxx
She looks completely lost in that book! Lovely photo (and beer glass) :-)
Thank you! Thought i had better mention the glasses just in case! :D
I love it when they read – it’s a gift for life to be able to lose yourself in a book. Lovely photo.
Thank you. A huge gift, and I love that she enjoys it so much! :)
Amazing picture so pleasing to see children still enjoying books in this technical age x
Thank you! Yes it is isn’t it… Even if she does pinch my kindle from time to time! :D
What a lovely picture! My kids read too and I am so happy that they do. Books can take you anywhere :)
Thanks Sarah! Very true! :)
Beautiful picture and post. I have a pic of my little girl reading engrossed and it means the world to me. My late mum used to say you will never be lonely in life if you enjoy reading. I think she was so right.
Thanks so much Kate! I love that saying, your Mum sounds like she was a very wise lady! :)
I love it when children discover the passion of reading, both my older two are avid readers and Alice and Bessie both seem to be following in their footsteps.
More than the beer glass you know what caught my eye? The ‘Stufa’ behind her. I had one in Italy and I love the heat it gives and the sense of home it creates
Thanks Mari! I love that you know what it is! And I think Stufa sounds a lot easier and nicer to say than Kakelofen which sounds a bit like something you would find in a witches kitchen! Do love ours though, and it’s in full swing right now as it’s currently snowing!! :D
Gorgeous picture, you can tell she is locked into another world. My youngest boy is our book worm. His reading is far in advance of his older brother, and his vocabulary and understanding of language reflects this. He too feels a little out of place in the world sometimes and I think the written word is a place he can escape to.
Thank you Sarah! It’s a great escape for them isn’t it? Although I have to say it doesn’t help with her “selective hearing” when she is engrossed in a book :D
It’s a lovely picture. My son often has his head in a book too and I love to see it.
Thanks Erica! :) x
Lovely picture. And it’s brilliant that your daughter loves books so much.
Thank you very much Emma :)
Love this photo of your daughter! Both my daughters read a lot too, to my great pleasure. The eldest one does it in French-English-German, and I am sure her sister will soon catch up, although at the moment German is the easiest for her, as she learned reading in this language. xx
Thank you! That’s great to hear! She does have German homework books as well, but we are not all that advanced yet – I can just about read them too! :D
That is lovely! Reading is precious and I also spent our first years in South Africa with my head in a book.
Thank you so much Emm! :)
I do have a thing for bookworms! And she looks so adorable in her concentration :)
Thank you Pia! At least she’s easy to track down! :D