How does reading develop taste buds?

How does reading develop taste buds?

January 21, 2010

Author: Graham Scharf

Reading is like eating
The food that a child eats in the early years of life has a profound effect on the range and flavor of foods he will explore and enjoy later in life. Some Americans are amazed at young Indian children eating a spicy curry - precisely because their own taste buds were not developed in the same way. What is normal to them is not normal to young Indian children. The early experiences of both Americans and Indians (and all of us!) shape our palates.

Food and Books
If, in the early years of life, a child develops a taste only for sweet things, he may well resist eating other foods that are good for him. His taste buds have been shaped in way that affects his nutrition and health. In a similar way, if a child is exposed only to "junk books" (to say nothing at all of other media) in early life, it may be difficult later on to sink his teeth into more substantial books. In both cases, a child's palate is significantly influenced by his diet. Gladys Hunt captures it beautifully:

“Reading develops the taste buds of the mind as children learn to savor what is seen, heard, and experienced and fit these into some kind of worthwhile framework.” (Honey for a Child's Heart, p21)

A child who is frequently "fed" delightful, beautiful books will find that they not only fit in a worthwhile framework, they help to create the contours of that framework.