Editorial: Our suggestion for the best summer trips imaginable

Sunday, May 31, 2015 | 2 a.m.

With Memorial Day behind us and summer break beginning, conversations for many turn to trips filled with adventure to destinations both comfortable and unknown.

The best trips of all, however — the most exciting, most important and most affordable — can be enjoyed by any and all of us because they occur in our own homes.

We’re talking about reading and how to encourage children to read, whether quietly alone or along with you as you read aloud. Sitting down with a book is the launching pad for young minds to dive deep into their imaginations, explore the world and develop the single most important skill in shaping a successful life: literacy. With literacy, everything else can be unlocked.

Study after study has reached the same conclusion: Sitting with children at an early age, even before they can walk, and reading a book, even as they squirm in your lap, can build the template for a reading-rich lifestyle brimming with future rewards — academically, socially and in the workplace. That doesn’t even take into account the precious bonding between a parent and child as they spend time together.

And finding the right books to read has never been easier, starting with suggestions from the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, the North Las Vegas Library District and Henderson Libraries — traditional treasure-troves of books. You also can explore best-selling children’s books at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble, or peruse lists of books that have won the American Library Association’s prestigious Newbery, Caldecott, Printz and Coretta Scott King book awards.

Getting your hands on books also couldn’t be easier. Borrow them from the library, buy them online or at local stores, download them to your tablet or search for them at garage sales. There simply is no excuse to not have age-appropriate books at home.

For preschool children, bedtime is perfect for reading — a way to calm them and make them the full focus of your loving attention. It may require some patience as sometimes they ask for the same book to be read night after night, but that’s not unusual and simply reflects the importance that reading can have for them. Embrace it.

“There are so many excellent books that parents and children can read together,” said Shana Harrington, an expert on youth books at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. “Even before they’re actually reading, they’re learning phonics, sounds, word order and story progression, which will prepare them for school.”

The county library’s summer reading programs, which start June 1, include “reading pals” in which children from kindergarten through eighth grade read books with help from mentors — high school student volunteers.

Similarly, consider inviting a child to read a book aloud with you, alternating pages or chapters, said Wendy Roselinsky, director of literacy and language at the Clark County School District.

“Reading doesn’t need to be an isolated event,” she said.

Roselinsky pointed out that while the likes of “The Cat in the Hat,” “The Ugly Duckling,” “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “The Swiss Family Robinson” may be among the go-to standards in reading, children should be encouraged to read anything and everything — the backs of cereal boxes, recipes while helping you bake, instruction sheets while assembling Legos. “Informational” reading is considered so important, the school district says it should account for half of all reading by fifth grade. It, too, can start at an early stage, with engaging picture books about airports, fire trucks and the like.

It’s our wish that your family has a wonderful and safe summer, and that for your children’s enjoyment and development, books be an important part of your family life.