Day 7: Family Reading Time

When it comes to books, the only thing that brings me more joy than a good read is sharing a good read with my family.

Sometimes this sharing just means handing each other a favorite book or discussing our readings at the dinner table or perusing the library shelves with one of the kids in mind. But one of my favorite family traditions is "family book time" each night before Sally and Huckle go to bed.

For awhile, Husband and I alternated: he would read to the kids one night and I the next. If it was a book we both knew well (like when Sally asked for E.B. White's Trumpet of the Swan three times in a row), we alternated in the same book. Other times, we alternated books. For example, Husband really wanted to share the Chronicles of Narnia with the kids, so he read them solo. On my reading nights, I chose a different book, such as Meindert De Jong's sweet children's tales, which Husband had never read.

Lately, Husband has been traveling often enough that he has chosen to read to the kids every night that he manages to be home. The kids love this -- they love every second with their dad. Right now, he is reading them Tolkien's The Hobbit (again), and they look forward to each new installment with great pleasure. When Husband reads downstairs, I enjoy listening as I tidy the kitchen or check email. When he reads upstairs, I enjoy a little post-dinner/homework/music practice/clean-up quiet time. But, I also love my turns to read aloud. Whether they snuggle up beside me or wander as we read (Huckle is an inveterate pacer, especially during the exciting passages), it's a joy to get lost in a story together -- to laugh, to wonder, to tense, to follow each word and scene as the story unfolds.

Recently, it was the Great Brain books by J.D. Fitzgerald. When we finished those, I was determined to try Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer again. Last fall, it didn't hold the kids' interest. I realized it was my inability to read it with interest, not the book's lack of interest. So now we are listening to the recorded book, read with accents and panache. It's truly a joy. Now that my eyes are not buried in the page, I can watch Sally and Huckle for their reactions. We can exchange a smirk at Tom's doings or at the actor's funny voice impressions. Now that my hands are not holding a book, I can pull Sally into a hug or pet her arm the way she likes. I can see Huckle closely following the story even though his body never stops moving. I can grab him as he passes and give him a kiss before sending him back on his way.