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Wheaton Mom Enjoys Reading to Children

When Jill Eisele moved into her Wheaton home three years ago, she wanted to find a part-time job related to children. As a former preschool teacher and a mother of four children, she enjoys working with young people. She found the ideal position at the Wheaton Public Library where she is the children's circulation assistant and story-time leader. "I think the secret to reading to kids is to pick a book you enjoy yourself," says Jill. "You don't have to make funny faces or silly voices. Just enjoy the story." Some of her current read-aloud favorites for her library reading groups are "Big Chickens", "Smiley Shark", "Fidgety Fish" and "Clumsy Crab". She suggests that parents ask their children what their interests are and then find books related to trucks, dinosaurs, ponies or whatever else fascinates them. Once children start reading, they are more likely to continue notes Jill.
Jill always read to her children at bedtime. Three of her children are older but she still has a four-year-old who brings her three books to read every night. "It is my favorite time of the day," she says. "We are currently stuck on reading "Ugly Fish" over and over but I think that will pass soon."
Jill encourages her children who range in age from 4 to 14 to read by making sure reading materials are easily available. "I keep atlases, magazines and books on the coffee table. When they pick up something to read instead of the remote, I am so pleased. I think they have to decide to read on their own. Forcing them is not the way to go. When they make the decision, it is much better. "
The summer reading programs at the library motivate many area children to read with different prizes and incentives says Jill. "One very popular program that we have is 'Reading with Rover'. Kids come in and read to trained dogs. The dogs are wonderful-they just lie there and listen. The kids have fun reading without someone hovering over them, correcting them. The dogs don't care at all if a mistake is made. There is no judgment going on-just fun reading."
When Jill was young, she was a fan of the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. "But I can also clearly remember my second grade teacher who read us the Boxcar Children," she says. "The memory has stayed with me all these years. Reading to children is really a wonderful experience for both the adult and the child." -Judy Buchenot

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