Jody’s Story
A “big book family”: Building confidence and connection in just 10 minutes a day
When Jody talks about books, her voice lights up.
“For me, a book was always a gift,” Jody, based in Tamworth NSW, explains.
“When I got a book as an award at school I was over the moon. It meant so much.”
Now Jody can see the delight books are bringing to her four young children, with her four-year-old son Leon currently enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and seven-year-old Kinnon a recent graduate.
She describes her household as a “big book family” with the steady stream of high-quality books – delivered directly to their home – helping build confidence and knowledge for all of her children.
Favourite books
Several books stand out to Jody for their lasting impact with one title in particular, Big Rain Coming, now a family treasure.
Jody remembers her children observing that the man in the story looked a lot like their grandfather, a First Nations man, and they would often ask to “read the book about Pop.”
When Kinnon finished the program at five, his last book was all about starting school, filled with helpful preparation tips.
Jody saw that by the time he started kindergarten, Kinnon knew how to handle a book properly and turn pages with care, was familiar with nursery rhymes and classic stories, and had a strong vocabulary.
Seeing pictures of one book character flying an airplane also proved inspirational.
“My kids couldn’t believe that kids of their colour could fly a plane. They really looked into it a lot deeper.”
For Jody, this isn’t a minor detail, but a matter of representation.
Whole of family impact
Being part of the Imagination Library program has proved beneficial for the whole family, with Jody’s partner – previously not a confident reader – encouraged to begin reading aloud to his sons thanks to the gentle, child-led nature of shared reading.
“When a toddler brings you a book and is begging you to read, you can’t say no. It doesn’t even matter if you sometimes say the word wrong,” Jody explains.
Ten-year-old, Zay, who has learning and intellectual disabilities, also reads aloud to his younger brothers, even though decoding can be difficult.
Small actions, big impact
Jody is a firm believer that reading and writing can open many doors.
“It seems so small to do, but when you look back, that’s a huge thing: To be able to sit down and have 10 minutes just for them, every day.”
