...because you have turned Kaye into a reader. When we started homeschooling, I had illusions of children curled up with good books, choosing the written word over the overstimulation of television and computer. Instead for three years we tried book after book without any investment. I'd learned that reading took practice just like learning to ride a bike; first you can barely balance, then you practice your steering, you finally have it down and enjoy being able to turn and brake, then you're riding to get from place to place, it's not the riding, it's what it can do for you. It was obvious she wasn't enjoying the ride yet. Then, the Nancy Drew movie came out and Kaye loved it!
This led her to re-examine the collection of yellow Nancy Drew books at the library. Somehow the visual of the movie helped. She completed a book, begged to go to the library asap, then finished another. She brought her book in the car, to restaurants, up to bed, and even missed her favorite t.v. show to read some more. The North Pole got word of this and Santa brought her books 1-54. She's now on her third since Christmas. 
I remember the first time I finished a book for enjoyment - a Silhouette Romance. My Sister and I could ride our bikes to the library in the afternoon because it was only a few blocks from school. Besides my fixation on the library's pet turtle, I noticed a sign that said "free books." The idea was to bring in a book to trade but instead we just took them (In all honesty, I didn't quite understand the program). We grabbed a handful of Silhouettes and rode home not having to check-out with the Librarian. As far as I remember, the content wasn't too bad, just embellished, and not the healthy reading material you want to be feeding your children. I think I got through two before my Mom noticed and took them away...but I was then a confident reader - looking for enjoyment in books. My sister too likes to read, although I believe it was something earlier than the Silhouette romance novel. Afterall, she didn't ride to the library to have her little sister stare at the pet turtle.p.s. at least it was a Silhouette and not the obscene book my friend read. She covered it with white binder paper and wrote "Holy Bible." To her surprise, her Mom didn't buy it and she couldn't come out to play for awhile, a long while.
3 comments:
I can't remember what the first book that I read, by myself, was. Two that I remember so fondly are Charlote's Web and Lisa and Lotie. Charlote is a classic of course and Lisa and Lotie is what the Parent Trap was based on. I loved both of those books. I also loved Nancy Drew! I don't ever remember reading any Silhoutte books. The funny thing is that the older daughter of that family was the one that showed me a book she had gotten at the Library and I was SHOCKED! She said that the Librarian won't even question you if you go check out the book. It makes me blush even today!
This post is certainly interesting. I'm a little confused about the sister thing. Is there another older sister? It must have been the "hardworking ant" that gracefully rode the bicycle with you to the library and the other older sister that checked out that shocking book?
By the way, Kaye is lovely! How wonderful to be such an avid reader. I'll have to try the Nancy Drew books with my daughter.
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