You don't have to be a magician to turn your child into an avid reader.

Parents are the greatest influences in their children's lives, and teaching a child to read and love books is one of the greatest gifts you can give. It's never too early, or late, to start. Some people read aloud to a baby before it's born.

Babies love books. From the time they're a few weeks old, they like looking at pictures and listening to your gentle voice as you tell about them. This early nurturing experience teaches them to associate books with pleasure later in life.

Buy durable books for infants and toddlers-board books so pages won't bend and crinkle under the eager grasp of tiny fingers. These can also be wiped off with a damp cloth to remove fingerprints and slobber. (Babies have a "real taste" for books.)

At first, you may want to read only part of the text, or paraphrase it to make listening time shorter. Young children are eager to turn the page, both for the activity and to see the next picture.

Enroll preschoolers in Storybook Time at the library. If you work, ask a grandparent, sitter, or relative to take them. Discuss the "class" with tikes later as you would older kids' day at school.

Let your youngster make a book. Staple papers together and provide safety scissors, glue stick, and old magazines. Let them cut pictures, glue them on "pages," and tell the story. Vary this activity, as they grow older. Write words beneath magazine pictures to tell a story. Draw pictures and glue words. Create the whole thing. Encourage them to title their books and write their name as author.

Let your kids see you reading. Children mimic adults they respect. If you sit down to enjoy a book with the TV turned off, they may follow suit. Even if they only look at pictures, they are learning to interpret and assimilate information.

Take them to the library to get their own cards. Go when the library isn't busy and ask a librarian to give pointers on how to select and care for books.

Teach children to treat books with respect, but don't make handling a threatening experience. If a youngster tears a page, share concern while showing how it can be mended.

You might like to set aside a daily time when everyone in the family reads. This needs to be as short as fifteen minutes. As children gain interest in reading and become involved in a story, they may voluntarily extend the time so they can finish a page, chapter, or story.

Provide an array of appealing books, and they may start to read on their own. Rainy days in summer, snowy evenings in winter are conducive to reading.

Take them to the library whenever they've finished the books they've chosen. Don't insist they read a book if they don't like it, but do ask what they don't like about it, to help avoid repeating the experience. Was the print too small, the book too long or old? Did the story fail to appeal to them? What kind of stories do they like best?

Ask your child to read to you while you're doing a chore such as stirring a pot on the stove or ironing their clothes. Listen. If they stumble over a word, let them try to figure it out, then offer help. "What sound does it begin with?" "Can you tell what word would make sense here?" Express interest in the story. Ask questions as if you're curious, thereby increasing their comprehension.

Sign kids up for summer reading programs. Praise them for accomplishments. Frame their certificates or post them on the refrigerator with magnets.

Children love anything electronic. Buy them e-books so they can sit at the computer to read, or buy them a handheld reader. Interactive books are fun for kids and will appeal to even reluctant readers.

Teach reading for practical reasons so kids see value in the process. Ask them to check the TV listings. Let them cook something, reading directions from the package or a cookbook. Ask them to check the cereal box to see what grain, etc., their cereal contains.

Read books together, taking turns. This is especially helpful when they're reading material that's slightly above their comfort level. Suggest they read a book, and then rent the video to see how the stories compare.

Subscribe to magazines for young people. Kids who read about sports or pop stars may also decide to read books about their heroes. Biographies often appeal to kids. Help them read books outside the realm of fiction.

Share the titles of books you loved when you were young and suggest a trip to the library to see if copies are on the shelves. Many of them will be, especially the classics.

"Parents reading with kids" is a magical experience you will treasure long after they're grown. Enjoy!

Betty Jo Schuler has written several children's books. Baby for Sale, Secret 'Till We're Grown, and Vanilla, Plain, and Shy are young chapter books from DiskUs Publishing.

Brain Man and Double-Trouble Ditto Box are middle-grade chapter books about a young inventor whose inventions go wild. They are published by Writers Exchange.

Camp Cheer is an upper-grade pick-a-path mystery from Hard Shell Word Factory.