K.L. Kranes

A few weeks ago my family–my husband, twelve year-old son, eleven year-old daughter, and I– were in the airport, preparing for an overseas trip. In the waiting lounge, I said hello to a young girl, aged around 4 years old, who was waiting with her dad in the seating area. She was very social and immediately engaged with me. Her name was Isma. Right away, I asked her if she liked reading and what her favorite book was. She absolutely lit up! Her favorite book was Clara the Cookie Fairy Storybook and she had the book with her! (Well done, her dad.)

I had never heard of it and we sat together for the next 15 minutes or so, reading this delightful and amazing book together. Isma couldn’t read it herself, but she knew every twist and turn of this (charming) book: the dialogue, the fairies’ names, and of course on which page the (spoiler alert) lost wand would turn up. We had a magical time together sharing the story. Shortly after we finished reading, we said our farewells as Isma and her dad headed to their next adventure via their boarding gate.

This experience reminded me of the inspiring and creative post below by Lisa Bloom from 2011. It’s an eye-opening approach to engaging a girl about her mind via books instead of what she’s wearing. I know it can be a real challenge because we dress girls SO ADORABLY, but we don’t usually jump from how cute her dress is to the latest book she is reading. And so, I encourage everyone to read this article