The baby has been given some beautiful books for his library from several friends, colleagues and family members. It doesn't rival the J.P. Morgan, but it could... someday.It's been fun for me because some of the "favorites" that people gave us I had never read as a child. I save these books for a quiet moment, snuggle up on the sofa or bed, and read through them with relish. I've read Corduroy, Jamberry, Polar Express, The Giving Tree, Guess How Much I Love You, The Glorious Flight, Curious George Rides a Bike, and Good Night Moon.
I have such fond memories of reading together with my mom and sister. As my mom gave voice to each of the characters, my eyes lingered on the illustrations, creating wild and vivid fantasies in my mind. We always read before bed. It was a ritual. If we were really good, we might each get to select a second book for the night. That's four books. My poor mom. She got to do all of this before heading back downstairs and digging into the reams of papers that she had to grade for the next several hours.
My dad was a "guest speaker" reader. He read to us only on specific occasions, like when my mom was away on a trip or a few times when she was hospitalized. He read from a volume--quite literally--of Uncle Remus stories. It was several hundred pages long and smelled a bit musty. It had a faded yellow book jacket with edges that had curled over the years. If it had any pictures, I never saw them. But we didn't need to. He was masterful at impersonating all the lively characters in the stories. You'd have to know my dad to appreciate how out of character it was (or it appeared to us, anyway) for him to break away from his Mr. Serious persona.
These are a few of my memories about reading. How about yours? What were your favorite books?
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3 comments:
Lizzy...Andy's favorite book was definitely Good Night Moon but so many teachers "love" I'll Love You Forever (a real tear-jerker of a kid's book!) Maybe I should say teachers from my age group and slightly younger. Children's books are real addictive...just you wait! I was checking my e-mail and looked at your blog...2 nights in a row -- Wow! Love to all, Judy (Maybe I loved Good Night Moon more then Andy!)
well-my fondest memories of reading to Joey every day since he was about 2 months old-most of the time he was sleeping, but I enjoyed just holding and reading to him. Later when he stayed awake and was able to focus on pictures he loved Winnie the Pooh then Babar. When he was about a yr old he would take the book into the crib-sit up in the corner with just his nite lite and would turn the pages and giggle all by himself. I would peek around the corner to watch him with such delight. My love to you Mom V
Hi guys...thanks for the memories. I often think of those days of snuggling up in the bottom bunk bed or whereever we were! Those are some of the best times in life. You'll see. Here's to many more years of reading to kids!
Love, Mom
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