Although I am a slow reader, reading has always been a passion of mine.

From the Nancy Drew books my friends and I shared to the romantic novels that entertained me when I was a young mother, reading was entertaining. Nowadays, I enjoy historical fiction and when I can find a good one, gothic novels.

With the desire to pass along my love of reading to my children, I also made sure we had plenty of books in the house they could enjoy.

Of course, we collected all the standards, like “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” and “Where the Wild Things Are.” My oldest loved the Berenstain Bears and my personal favorite was “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.”

Needless to say, with four children I amassed lots of children’s books through the years — possibly hundreds, but the filled-up bookshelves were all worth it knowing I was giving my children the opportunity to enjoy the love of reading on their own one day.

But before that day came, oh, how I had fun reading to them.

I remembered as a child how much I enjoyed it when those who read to me were expressive, so I decided to follow suit. I would change the tone in my voice to suit each character in the story, and when I did my children would smile and laugh which let me know reading was making a positive impression on them.

On Friday, I was reminded of how important reading to children can be when I visited the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library to cover an upcoming story.

I was blown away that not only was the library still full of books for children to read, but the library staff had also come up with some really creative ways to further engage children to love reading, one of which I thought was ingenious.

Through support from the United Way of West Central Mississippi and Excel by 5, the library staff paired a children’s book with its corresponding stuffed animal character.

For instance, there was a stuffed Paddington Bear paired with a Paddington storybook and an adorable plush Clifford the Big Red Dog with its corresponding book.

Now, how cool is that?

Not only can a child listen to the story and see pictures from the storybook, but their sense of touch can also be engaged. Certainly, that would fall into the category of positive reinforcement and in doing so hopefully instill a love of reading.

In addition to the plush pairings, I was also impressed with the plethora of audiobooks our library has for both children and adults.

In fact, I plan on revisiting soon since my hubby and I have a road trip planned.

Listening to a book would sure beat having discussions over radio choices.