Book Worms

Dec. 2010

I love books!  I was raised to love them.  Mom read to us a lot.  Mostly from the classics, which I have grown to adore.  She also read us the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Engles Wilder.  Several times. :) She would get so into the story, always doing the voices, even of the men.  She would paint such vivid pictures in my mind of each different scene. 

Dad read to us too.  I'll never forget his voice reading Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.  He wasn't as dramatic as Mom, but I loved it just as much.  I knew he loved the story, he loved me, and that was why we were reading together.

I think it's amazing how you can pick up a book that you don't even recognize, turn a couple pages, and suddenly, your back on Mother's lap, or in a school room, or wherever you were when you heard that story, and it's like it was yesterday!  Or sometimes you don't know where you were, or when, but you KNOW that book!  You remember those pages!   Deja vu is a norm for me these days as I search for books with the kids.  We frequent the library, going about once a week, and the book section is always the first place I attack at any thrift store or yard sale. 

I've tried to pass on that love of reading to my kids, and as you can see in the photo, it seems to be working.  They will sit and read for an hour at a time, or more.  The only trouble is that one of my little book worms, Jane in particular, can't seem to figure out putting the books back on the shelf when she is done with them.  In fact, sometimes I'll see her pull one off the shelf, open it to the very middle, mumble about three words, shout, "DE END!" and toss it onto her growing pile on the floor.  It's one of her favorite ways to pass the time.  I want the books to be accessible, so I let this continue, but it's getting out of control, as our collection of books continues to grow.  I'm thinking it may be time for some shelves up high, and a basket on the floor filled with books that I will rotate every other day or so.  Any better solutions?