The Gift of Reading on Mother's Day
May 12 2023
If you are reading this, chances are your mother gave you the greatest gift any parent can give to a child: a life-long love of books. Many great writers and readers began their creative lives by sharing books with their parents. “It was my highlight of the day when my mother read aloud to me and she did it every day of my life as far back as I can remember,” said legendary children’s author Tomie dePaola in an interview once. “I wanted to learn how to make those words into stories myself.”Reading is a skill, just as much as playing soccer or learning the piano. Without the support of your mom (and dad), you wouldn’t be the reader you are today! So this Mother’s Day, say “thank you” to your mom for sharing the joy of reading. And give her the gift of a great book to read!
This free book tells the story of Mary Lennox, a spoiled orphan who leaves India to live with her cold uncle in his dreary mansion in England. When Mary hears of a secret garden kept locked for ten years, she is determined to find it and tend it back to life. 
This free, classic novel follows the life, relationships, and moral development of an orphan boy named Pip. The novel begins when Pip encounters an escaped convict whom he helps and fears in equal measure. 
Tommy and Annika have a new neighbor: red-haired, freckle-faced Pippi Longstocking, who has upside-down braids and no parents to tell her what to do.
Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.
The story of a pioneer family who lived during the 1870s and 1880s inspired an entire series of books and TV shows. What books did you read with your mom? Share them on social media and tag @GetFable. We’ll add your recommendations to this article!
The benefits of reading for children
All those times your mom sat and read a book with you, she was making you smarter. Research has proven over and over that parents reading with children changes a kid’s life. Reading together at a young age makes you more resilient, more empathetic, and more intelligent. In a landmark study called “How to Make a Young Child Smarter,” researchers reached an eye-popping conclusion: reading together can raise your child’s IQ by more than six points. Those researchers ranked reading on par with vitamins and a healthy diet.Another recent study found that no matter where you live in the world, the more books you read as a child, the more successful you will be in school and in life. These researchers even saw noticeable gains in math and computer skills among the children who read the most. Education and child development expert Gordon Wells tells mothers to start reading even before their child is born! “There seems to be quite a lot of evidence that the fetus responds to the audio as well as the physical environment. And that the sound of mother reading is preparing the child to continue that experience after they are born,” he explained.Book recommendations to read with your mom
Reading together also creates special memories that readers treasure for the rest of their lives. The books community on Reddit recently shared stories of reading with their mothers. “My mom taught me to read, and read to me a ton as a kid,” wrote one person. “I was a very curious kid and asked a lot of questions about the world, but when asked virtually anything, my mom would reply ‘look it up!’ Those 3 things set a solid foundation for a highly developed skill at and love for reading.”Other people read detective stories, thrillers, or Stephen King novels with their mom. “Detective mysteries are among my favorite genres, and can pretty much thank my mother for that,” wrote one reader. “Even now we often trade mystery recommendations since we have similar tastes in that respect.”“My mother is a very practical woman who hasn't had much education and never really talks about literature, so when I learned that she loved Kahlil Gibran's poetry, it felt like a very intimate glimpse of her inner world and thoughts,” added one reader.We’ve collected more of the books that those readers loved to share with their mothers. You can even read some of them for free on Fable!The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This free book tells the story of Mary Lennox, a spoiled orphan who leaves India to live with her cold uncle in his dreary mansion in England. When Mary hears of a secret garden kept locked for ten years, she is determined to find it and tend it back to life. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
This free, classic novel follows the life, relationships, and moral development of an orphan boy named Pip. The novel begins when Pip encounters an escaped convict whom he helps and fears in equal measure. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Tommy and Annika have a new neighbor: red-haired, freckle-faced Pippi Longstocking, who has upside-down braids and no parents to tell her what to do.The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.Little House on the Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder
The story of a pioneer family who lived during the 1870s and 1880s inspired an entire series of books and TV shows. What books did you read with your mom? Share them on social media and tag @GetFable. We’ll add your recommendations to this article!Mother’s Day gift book recommendations
Mother’s Day is the perfect holiday to return and repay the gift of reading. As you celebrate with the mothers in your life this week, share “The Reading Mother” by Strickland Gillilan. It’s a famous poem that pays tribute to all the mothers who read books with their kids. “You may have tangible wealth untold;Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.Richer than I you can never be --I had a Mother who read to me.”We have great book clubs for moms on Fable, including: Mommy Needs a MinuteThe Mom/Daughter DuoMoms Who ReadAnd don’t forget to give your mom something good to read this summer. To help you choose, we compiled a giant “list of lists” rounding up book recommendations from great readers at other publications. You can find many of the books on these lists, as well as an abundance of other excellent reads, at our Fable bookstore!There are books for every kind of mom here...Southern Living: Good Books for Mother's DayNew York Magazine: 23 of the Best Mother's Day Books and ReviewsRefinery29: Best Books To Give As Mothers Day GiftsCosmopolitan: 11 great books to gift (and borrow back) this Mother's DayReal Simple: 18 Great Books for Mom to Gift on Mother's Day, Her Birthday ...Good Housekeeping: The best books to give on Mother's DayBuzzfeed: 32 Mother's Day Gifts For Moms Who Love All Things BooksJenna Bush Hager: 8 books for mom this Mother's DayOprah Daily: 24 Best Books for Moms to Read From Inspirational to Self-HelpFound a book you both like and want to start a book club with mom? Learn how to here!