Long delayed joys
I have long considered Eleanor Estes's book _The Witch Family_ to be a beacon of perfection, a book that I read knowing that it would be even more wonderful read aloud. This was a strange feeling, seeing that in living memory I usually hate it when people read to me, unless I can't read for some reason that I'm not grumpy about (I'm driving, for example). There are a few exceptions, but not many. But I always knew that this book was meant for reading aloud.
Now I'm all grown up and I have two kids. Two boys. Who are of perfect read aloud age -- five and seven. But they are boys. So I was a little nervous about pulling this book off the shelf. Well, also because no book is really that perfect and I worried that I would be disillusioned. But mainly because the book is about two imaginative girls who meet and respond to their creations. And the girls are six going on seven. Conventional wisdom says that boys don't like books about girls and they don't want books about younger kids. And my boys aren't even big on drawing or making up stories beyond plot excuses for whacking each other with sticks.
Yet we are all loving the book. Moneybags has stopped boycotting the chapter book portion of bedtime (he hated Harry Potter, especially OOP -- not that I blame him, but he also didn't like Princess Bride and he was bored by Ramona). TheGreat loves it and tries to get me to sneak in extra chapters. He almost had a conniption last night because we ended a chapter just as Amy and Clarissa are abracadabra-ed to Little Witch Girl's birthday party -- this is the first time the witches and girls have met and he can't wait to see what happens. I am a complete sucker for tantrums about not finishing books -- I don't give in, but I really don't blame you for them. I completely see the point.
Unfortunately both kids just flew off to spend Memorial Weekend with their Dad, so they'll have to wait to see if anyone gets hurt.
Now I'm all grown up and I have two kids. Two boys. Who are of perfect read aloud age -- five and seven. But they are boys. So I was a little nervous about pulling this book off the shelf. Well, also because no book is really that perfect and I worried that I would be disillusioned. But mainly because the book is about two imaginative girls who meet and respond to their creations. And the girls are six going on seven. Conventional wisdom says that boys don't like books about girls and they don't want books about younger kids. And my boys aren't even big on drawing or making up stories beyond plot excuses for whacking each other with sticks.
Yet we are all loving the book. Moneybags has stopped boycotting the chapter book portion of bedtime (he hated Harry Potter, especially OOP -- not that I blame him, but he also didn't like Princess Bride and he was bored by Ramona). TheGreat loves it and tries to get me to sneak in extra chapters. He almost had a conniption last night because we ended a chapter just as Amy and Clarissa are abracadabra-ed to Little Witch Girl's birthday party -- this is the first time the witches and girls have met and he can't wait to see what happens. I am a complete sucker for tantrums about not finishing books -- I don't give in, but I really don't blame you for them. I completely see the point.
Unfortunately both kids just flew off to spend Memorial Weekend with their Dad, so they'll have to wait to see if anyone gets hurt.