Raising Readers

And an update on Week 4 of our summer reading program

Sometimes I think I might actually be raising readers. When I begin reading aloud, they swarm like little bumblebees, jostling for their seats. When we go to the library, the librarians know us by name. I’m even passing on my book-hoarding qualities. Yesterday at the library, Sophia had a stack of books so tall she could barely carry it. She never complained. (Though she did ask me to carry a few of the last acquisitions that she couldn’t manage).

Klaus is heavily in the favorite books stage. He picks a few that are his FAVORITES out of each library haul and requests them over… and over… and over…

These were some of his favorites this week. Do you see a theme?

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For our read aloud we’re reading The Borrowers by Mary Norton. I find it delightful, and the kids think it’s okay too. Although Sophia recently got her hands on a Great Illustrated Classics copy of Heidi, and she’s been reading that while I read The Borrowers. Not sure whether to be proud of that or not, but it is what it is!

Even Eva gets in on the reading action these days.

It is not uncommon for her to drop a book or five down beside you and then clamber into your lap with a purposeful glint in her eyes. She sits and “reads” on her own too–picture book open on her lap, paging through it and jabbering contentedly in her singsong baby voice.

I’ve been reading too, pretty consistently. So far, I’m listening to the Harry Potter series (always). It makes it downright fun to clean the kitchen up in the evening. I catch myself dragging my feet and puttering about jobs that I would probably just skip, for “just one more chapter…” (The audio books with Jim Dale narrating are superb!) I’ve also read The Other Einstein, Their Finest, and Small Town Girl. I’m currently reading Our Mother’s War. I have a whole stack that I’m hoping (probably unrealistically) to dive into this holiday weekend.

My Top Three

1. The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict is fantastic. I highly recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction and/or learning about the things women accomplished even when recognition of their work was limited. It is heavily based in fact, but it is historical fiction. It’s all about Einstein’s first wife, Mileva Maric, who was a brilliant scientist and mathematician. I don’t know how much of the emotional drama depicted is accurate, but based on the facts of her relationship with Einstein, it seems plausible. In any case, even if the emotional drama is completely fictional, it makes a fantastic story. After I read the book I did a little research on her, just curious to see whether the facts of her life were accurately portrayed. Overwhelmingly, they were. Read it. On the other hand, if you want to keep feeling like women in the US today are really treated unfairly, this might disillusion you.

2. Their Finest by Lissa Evans was okay. I wanted to love it, but I just didn’t. I think I would have liked it better if I’d been able to read it in chunks, rather than 15 minute spurts. Partially because the storyline follows a handful of different characters, and partly because of the sporadic way I read it (thanks, kids) it just seemed very fragmented and difficult to follow. Really though, I think the best books stay with you, even if you have to read them sporadically.

3. Our Mother’s War by Emily Yellin is superb. Nonfiction and very informative regarding the roles women filled during the second world war, but it reads so easily. It’s riveting. (Oh, I’m so punny it hurts. :D) I’m reading it partly because the subject fascinates me, and partly as preliminary research for my next hopeful writing project. So, double exciting!

That’s it for this week! How is your summer reading going? Favorite book so far? Let us know in the comments!