Reading to kids ...

I've been reading to my kids since they were babies. I think that tradition was passed down pretty early, if you look at this picture. Nichelle is on the left, and she couldn't have been more than 3, if that. Nicole was born in 1991, so that's probably when this was taken. It's hard to believe my girls are adults now -- really hard to believe. But as you see in this picture, reading has always been a huge thing for them. Out of my 4 kids, I taught 3 of them how to read. That's a pretty wild feeling for me. I've always encouraged my kids to read in different ways, whether it be by going to a bookstore, visiting the library, doing Pizza Hut's Book-It program, or keeping reading charts for school. I've even offered books as prizes for the kids when they've kept up with certain chores. I can't stress enough how important reading is for children. That's what I love about picture books so much -- they get kids to pick up a book at an early age. I hope by writing A New Job for Dilly and my other books that I can encourage children to pick up books when they're young and develop good, lifelong reading habits.

Today's tour stop is over at Mama Sharon Says, a blog by my good friend from Southern California. I met Sharon through The Wiggles message board and then we got to meet in person by going to concerts with our children. I was sad to leave such a good friend behind when I moved because I was just starting to get to know her better. Thank goodness for the Internet because we can keep in touch. Please check out Sharon's blog for her stop on the tour for A New Job for Dilly. She's given me a fat head with all her wonderful compliments, but that's one of the reasons I love her so much. Sharon and her husband, Dave also run a home business called Hey, That's Gourmet! You definitely want to check that out because they offer some really yummy stuff. I need to try that dark chocolate espresso bar!

Please visit Sharon's blog today on Day 4 of our tour for A New Job for Dilly. She mentions the Reading Is Fundamental program, which is an awesome way for children to get involved in reading. If you haven't checked out the other stops yet, there's still time for that too. Sherrie featured an interview of me, Beth discussed Dilly's favorite food, and Elysabeth talked about finding a perfect job just like Dilly did. Please stop by them all, if you haven't done so already. If you reply to at least FOUR different stops, I'll put your name into a drawing for a chance to win an autographed copy of A New Job for Dilly. Thank you, Sharon, for hosting me today. Please tell Jonathan I'm so happy he's enjoying the book and I'm honored he took it and read it to his class at school. When I was a kid, my stomach turned just at the thought of having to read aloud, so I'm very impressed Jonathan got up and read it to his classmates. That says a lot about his love of reading!