Hello, I’m Christina and I’m so glad you’re here!
I have always been OBSESSED with books and reading and I truly believe that the books you read as a child impact you in a way that no other literature in your life can. I also believe that the current scientific research claiming that reading, or being read to, from infancy to young adulthood is absolutely crucial to a child’s future success in school and in life.
So, I decided to make children’s literature my life’s work. In 2015, I received my Ph.D. in Children’s and Young Adult Literatures from the Department of Comparative Literature at Harvard University. I’ve spent the last decade studying, reading, writing, and teaching children’s and young adult literature and learning about how the books we read to our children can help shape the adults they become.
As a mother now myself, I am so thrilled to be able to apply to my own life what I’ve learned about how reading the right books to your children can help shape not only their cognitive development, but also their social and emotional development. But, I also want to share all of that knowledge and experience with other parents and caregivers. I think it’s the responsibility of all parents to help make other parents’ experiences easier by paying forward whatever knowledge, tips, or tricks we may have. We ALL want our children to grow up to be kind, intelligent, empathetic, successful human beings; in the end, that’s what will change the world for the better.
In every episode, I hope to provide relevant information/tips to help parents or caregivers navigate the process of choosing great books for their children that are appropriate for their ages and maturity levels–books that don’t talk down to them, but instead can stretch their intellectual capacity and help them grow in kindness and empathy. I also want to help you learn how to read to your child with intention and delve more deeply into books to mine the resources that will help build your child’s brain and character.
Thank you so much for visiting my little corner of the internet! Happy reading!
Once Upon a Time: A Few More Things About My Life
As a graduate student at Harvard who spent most of her time buried under stacks of books in the library and whose obsession with Harry Potter verged on the maniacal, I was pretty convinced that I was never going to find a life partner who would embrace all of my idiosyncrasies. That is, until I participated in a slosh ball game at Harvard Business School and met my husband.
It was a relief to find out that he was almost as obsessed with the Lord of the Rings and fantasy literature as I was obsessed with Harry Potter and children’s literature, although he continues to hide his nerdiness much better than I do! Fast forward 2 years and we were married.
And fast forward another four years and we welcomed our son, James, to our family.
And then another two years and our son, Luke, joined our family.
Finally, speaking of family, I am very close to my enormous Greek family and the reason we left Cambridge was so that James and Luke could grow up the same way that I did: being with their yiayia (grandmother), pappou (grandfather), aunts, uncles, and cousins every day. We also have a family home in Greece where we travel almost every summer to visit and nurture our relationship with our extended family there.
Thanks again for visiting!
