One of the best ways to encourage a love of reading is to have regular times each day for sharing books with your children.

  Each time you open a book with children, you take them on an exciting journey.  Open a new world in books and give your children a great start to learning.

  Find a quiet, well-lit spot where you can sit comfortably with your children. Sometimes, you pick the books to read.  Other times, let children pick the books (even if it's the same ones over and over).

  Children love stories!  Whether you read a story or tell a story of your own, children are learning how to imagine - and how words communicate ideas.  The most important thing you can do as you share a story with your children is to make it an enjoyable experience for all. 

  Children love to hear the human voice.  Even babies find great comfort in listening to voices.  What a wonderful way for them to hear you speak - reading to them!  In fact, one of the best ways to encourage a love of  reading is to have regular times for sharing books with your children each day - starting with infancy. 

  Choose books that are written for children and have brightly colored, simple pictures.  As you read, let your children point to the pictures and talk about what is happening to the characters and which characters they each like best.  Be sure to read with lots of enthusiasm so children can tell you're enjoying story time as well! 

  As children are having fun hearing the stories, you are helping children learn to think and to put ideas and words together.  You can use different voices for the characters in the book, use a puppet or a stuffed toy to tell the story, or let your children "read" the book to you by looking at the pictures and making up the story.

  Sometimes, pick out books that have lots of colorful pictures or photographs and just a few words.  Let your children look at the pictures and tell you what they think is happening in the story. 

  Read a story to your children.  In the middle of the story, have the children pretend to be the author.  Ask how they would end the story. 

  Make up your own silly, funny, or scary story.  Ask your children to tell how your story can end.

  Remember, the best way for children to learn to love reading and books is to have reading experiences each day.  Reading can be done anywhere.  Keep books or other reading materials handy; that way, it's always an easy activity to choose.