Well, perhaps not EVERY mother cares about these words, but I sure do...
"Mom, I'm on page 85 already"
"Mom, do I HAVE to turn out the light? I just want to finish this chapter."
"Mom, can we go to the library soon? I don't have any more books to read."
"Maddie, do you want me to read that story for you?"
Yes, I'm proud to say, my oldest daughters have become book lovers. (The youngest seems to be as well, but so far her books have to be read to her by an older person :-) Nikki is on her third book of the Lemony Snikket series, and Julie is on book 4 of the Harry Potter series. Yay! (It's even BETTER that they seem to have graduated past the Olsen twins and Hillary Duff books.)
If there was one thing I wanted for my kids (and yes, I admit there are others, but this one is important!) it was that they would learn a love for books. One never knows whether that will happen or not - it's not something you can force. But it seems to be happening, and I am delighted.
Last night, as we lay in my bed reading together, I said to Julie "some day soon, you can start borrowing MY books." And she said "Yeah, and you can borrow MINE."
This I vow - that I will always make sure that they have enough books at their disposal to broaden their minds and expand their worldviews. Madeleine L'Engle said you shouldn't limit what your kids read - if they want to start reading "adult" books that seem too complex for them, let them. If they have trouble with them, they'll either set them aside until they're ready for them, or, if they know they can, come to you to help them understand. She said she had a full library of "adult" books at her disposal from a very early age and has been forever grateful that she could read any of them that she wanted - it helped encourage her love for books and her inquisitive mind. (Note: of course I'm not referring to "adult" as in the misused context of "adult" entertainment - I'm just talking about books with complex subject matter that seem beyond a child's grasp. I don't have any of the OTHER kind in my house :-)
Julie asked what my favourite book was. I hummed and hawed for awhile and said "well, right now I guess I'd say 'Traveling Mercies'." Yes, when she asks for it, I'll let her borrow it.
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2 comments:
Well, I'm bursting with happiness too. YAY! And I read "adult" books long before my time too. Sometimes I think I should go back and reread some of them as I might enjoy them even more now.
That is wonderful! My son really enjoys reading with us, and has since he was an infant. I can only hope that he carries this love of books into adulthood.
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