Inspiring Little Readers: Amber of Happiness is Eva

Amber writes the adorable baby blog Happiness is Eva. Her fourteen-month-old daughter Eva is absolutely beautiful and has the sweetest little wardrobe to boot. I discovered Happiness is Eva after seeing Eva's pink birthday party over on Ohdeedoh and have been following ever since. Today Amber is sharing a few tips on helping your child fall in love with books: 


Hello With Two Cats Readers! 

I'm Amber from Happiness is Eva and I'll be blogsitting for the day while Lauren is off working on new and exciting projects.

When Lauren first asked me to write a guest blog post, I was beyond excited and then all of a sudden came the daunting task of deciding what to write about. My love of kids’ clothing or design? A day in the life of my 14 month old daughter, Eva?

Ultimately, I decided to write about books, which is an obsession of mine. More specifically, I want to write about how I am fostering, nurturing and encouraging Eva’s own obsession with books. 

So, here is my five-step program on how to turn your child into a bookworm.

1. Build a book collection. 

It is never too early to start collecting. I was buying Eva books even before I was pregnant. 

Start with your own childhood favourites and then, of course, the classics. If you are stuck for ideas have look at Junior's Top 100 Children's Books, The Guardian's Children's Books: 7 and Under or Parent's 50 Best Children's Books.

2. Create a beautiful space for reading. 

As adults there is nothing better than curling up in a big comfy chair with your favourite book. So, why not try to create the same experience for your child? A reading nook or even just a bean bag next to their bookcase can create an inviting and cosy place to read.

3. Sign up and become a member of your local library.

Most libraries have great programs for children. And best of all, they’re free! Also weekly trips to the library is a great way to give books a test-run before shelling real money at the bookstore.

4. Visit your local bookstore.

Like libraries, bookstores will often have free children’s programmes which you can take advantage. Our favourite bookstore is a small independent with an attached cafe. We barely have time to order our coffees before Eva is diving headlong into the children’s book bin. And more often than not, we come out with a book we hadn’t originally planned on buying --usually because Johnny is such a sucker for cute little girls’ smiles.

5. But above all, read with your child.

I'm often reminded of the quote by Emilie Buchwald, "Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." As soon as she was able, Eva was climbing into Johnny’s lap either with book in hand or when he had pulled an “old” favourite, like Dear Zoo, from the shelf. Her books are as dear to her as any of her toys, and she loves to pull them off the shelves and examine them before organising in ways that only she can fathom.

Here is a little inspiration to get you started:

1. Elephant Bookshelf
2. Dreamy Owl Bean Bag
3. The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
4. Mini Library by Oeuf
5. Jonathan Adler Dachshund Bookends
6. Skip Hop Bookends
7. Library Bag