A Book Full of Hugs

links: Ten Little Fingers (Board Books for Babies

This is one of the first books that we read aloud. You may wonder why a sing-along book has something to do with hugs. Well, it's due to the way we "read" it. :)

First, I have to admit that I don't know how to sing that song, so we settled with just reading it, along with some hand movements of course. Here's how we read it:

I have ten little fingers, And they all belong to me, (waving my hands ...)
I can make them do things ... Would you like to see? (more waving ...)

I can shut them up tight ... (tight fists ...)
... or open them wide, (hands reaching out and wide open and actually touching my son's body ...)

I can put them together ... (clap clap ...)
or make them all hide. (hands hidden on the back)

I can make them jump high ... (hands up, reaching high ...)
... or make them go low, (hands down, touching my son's toes ...)

I can fold them quietly ... (fold hands and put them on my chest ...)
... and hold them just so. (put both hands on my son's lap)

I know I'm not a very creative person. All I did was just following the little babies in the pictures. The only thing special is probably me reaching out and touching my son along the way. After a few times, I could clearly see my son waiting for the open-wide's and the go-low's, when I would reach out and touch his arms or toes. When it was time for "I can make them hide", his whole body was all very tight during the long "I can~~~", and then when my hands actually went behind my back instead of reaching out to him, he would laugh and wave his tiny fists in the air as if saying: "I knew it." A couple of days later, he started to climb on to my laps each time I was about to reach out to him and he would hug me. Then he would crawl back to his sitting spot and wait for the next line, and climb, hug, crawl back ... It was only after a few such reading sessions when I realized that he wasn't trying to find the perfect sitting spot. He was reaching out, to me. Except that, each time, he had to make the whole effort of crawling, climbing, and hugging.

My son for sure had no clue what the book is about, but that didn't stop him from enjoying it. I could even say that it was a turning point for our "reading" experience. He began to come eagerly and wait for the pages to unfold when we introduced a new book. He rarely was impatient. Book reading became a highly enjoyable activity for him.

We bought more similar books later and we liked them all, but this little book was our favorite for quite a long time.