Kathy Najimy, the voice of Mrs. Shapiro on the Nick Jr. series Little Bill as well as Peggy Hill on the primetime series King of the Hill, narrates the Nick Jr. online storybook, Dave the Brave. The storybook is one of three Just for Me Stories, which are designed to foster preschoolers' interest in reading. We asked Kathy--who is a parent herself--for her take on how to spark a young child's interest in reading.
Were you read to as a child?
My mom had four kids and didn't have a lot of time to read to us. Mom was more of a make-up-a-story person. She was Lebanese and would tell us stories about Lebanon. I was an early reader. I started reading in kindergarten and first grade and spent a lot of time reading by myself.
What were your favorite stories as a child?
I loved Beverly Cleary's Ramona stories. I was always happy to read stories about girls having adventures. There were so many stories about boys having adventures in the forest, on the moon, and in the ocean. Stories about girls were usually about dollies, but Ramona had adventures too.
I never knew about Dr. Seuss because, at the time, he was so controversial. His books were barred from libraries and schools because he talked about issues like racism, war, and the environment, so you had to buy his books and we were not wealthy. I was not exposed to him until I was an adult.
How did you spark your daughter's interest in reading?
Samia was six months old when we started with "audience participation" stories--I start a story and she fills in blanks. It was instrumental in helping Samia be so verbal and creative.
What type of stories do you and Samia make up?
Our stories are about characters who overcome obstacles. Like a Little Bird who is told it can't do something because it's a little bird and it does it anyway; or a young girl who is told she can't do something and she does it.
How do you encourage Samia to read books?
The whole adventure of the library is cool. I've gotten into going there with my daughter. It's cool for Samia to have the responsibility of returning the books, not ripping them or drawing in them because they don't belong to her. Samia was thrilled to get a library card.
The way we choose books is part of the adventure. At the library, we each go to different ends of the children's section and start sifting. We pull out piles of books and I weed through the ones that aren't right for her. It's a process of elimination. We pick about 8 to 9 books and then we go to the non-fiction section. She has to pick out one non-fiction book that's educational, maybe about sharks or cougars.
When we get home, Samia is so excited that she reads all the books. Then she picks one a night to read the rest of the week.
What type of books do you and Samia read?
We're a freedom of choice family, so I look for stories about mixed-race children, same sex families - stuff that's not on main stream TV. Her father, my husband Dan, was adopted, so we get books about things like ducks that have bunnies as children. It's our responsibility to expose her to alternative lifestyles.
