Friday, September 08, 2006
Summer hangs on!
It's warm and sunny and just perfect out there today. I took the little girl to one of our favourite libraries this morning and we had a great time. We went by bike, of course, and got some of books that I loved when I was little. One of them is "Ten Apples Up on Top". Remember that one?
One of the many wonderful things about having children is immersing yourself in children's literature. As well as revisiting some of my childhood favourites I've discovered many awesome newer books. We read stories every night before bed, and in the past couple of years the older kids have graduated to chapter books. Some of our favourites have been "The BFG" and the series that began with "The Stories Julian Tells". There's a whole stack of books waiting, among them the "Wrinkle in Time" trilogy, but I have to read at a level that appeals to a 7- and a 9-year-old, and the younger one gets bored when meanings go over his head. The older one does so much reading on her own, in French and English, that somewhat simpler books for bedtime are still fine, and a good story is a good story. We still read picture books, if they're particularly beautiful and especially if they contain poetry.
Incidentally, not all children's books are good books. Like any books, some of them really suck. But when they're really good there's a kind of magic about them.
It's warm and sunny and just perfect out there today. I took the little girl to one of our favourite libraries this morning and we had a great time. We went by bike, of course, and got some of books that I loved when I was little. One of them is "Ten Apples Up on Top". Remember that one?
One of the many wonderful things about having children is immersing yourself in children's literature. As well as revisiting some of my childhood favourites I've discovered many awesome newer books. We read stories every night before bed, and in the past couple of years the older kids have graduated to chapter books. Some of our favourites have been "The BFG" and the series that began with "The Stories Julian Tells". There's a whole stack of books waiting, among them the "Wrinkle in Time" trilogy, but I have to read at a level that appeals to a 7- and a 9-year-old, and the younger one gets bored when meanings go over his head. The older one does so much reading on her own, in French and English, that somewhat simpler books for bedtime are still fine, and a good story is a good story. We still read picture books, if they're particularly beautiful and especially if they contain poetry.
Incidentally, not all children's books are good books. Like any books, some of them really suck. But when they're really good there's a kind of magic about them.
# posted by becca : 9:13 AM
