Some mornings when I'm up early and it's just me and my oldest boy awake in the house, wandering around pulling out cereal bowls and wiping away sleep, I pull my feet up on my chair and I start telling him about the book that kept me up late the night before. I tell him about the parts I know he might connect with, that might start the beginnings of a smile on the corner of his face the way they do on mine. Like when Park lets Eleanor read X-Men comics over his shoulder on the bus. Or how Puck and Sean Kendrick ride Corr above the bloodthirsty beaches of Thisby. Or that golden day when Peter and Tiger Lily lie in the tall grass and watch the wild horses run.
But then when he inevitably asks if he can read it as soon as I'm done, I'm forced to answer sometimes that he can't. More often than not because there's some little thing in it, some element, some dialogue, some scene that makes it so I can't just hand it to my 10-year-old boy. And I feel sad. I want to share every good book I read with him right then. I want to let those scenes land inside him and watch his eyes light and his corners smile and talk about them with him in those early mornings when it's just the two of us awake. I know it will all come in time. It's just sometimes I'm bad at being patient. But someday. I know.
Someday all the books, Will. All the books for you.
But then when he inevitably asks if he can read it as soon as I'm done, I'm forced to answer sometimes that he can't. More often than not because there's some little thing in it, some element, some dialogue, some scene that makes it so I can't just hand it to my 10-year-old boy. And I feel sad. I want to share every good book I read with him right then. I want to let those scenes land inside him and watch his eyes light and his corners smile and talk about them with him in those early mornings when it's just the two of us awake. I know it will all come in time. It's just sometimes I'm bad at being patient. But someday. I know.
Someday all the books, Will. All the books for you.
Aww Angie, this is so sweet. I love that your kids are readers too. Someday! When that time comes, you'll probably be surprised at how fast they're growing up.
ReplyDeleteAngie, I feel your pain! btw: I would love for this to become a standing element in all your reviews--youngest age you would allow to read it OR appropriate for X and older, etc. I know we all have different standards/values/whatevers that make some books OK for our kids and others not OK, but I would love your opinion.
ReplyDeleteLucky you! I wish I could talk about books with my son, but alas, he is not interested at all.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chachic. And I know you're right. That time will come and they'll be such grown-ups I won't know what to do with myself!
ReplyDeleteI bet you do, Sally! I've tossed around the notion of something along those lines because you're not the first person to ask. I haven't implemented something yet because I struggle to hand out definitive or blanket rankings or recommendations (hence the no star system, etc). But I know they would be helpful to many. *ponders*
ReplyDeleteLol. How old is he, Marg? Would he be interested in graphic novels at all? Sometimes they're the gateway drug . . . haha.
ReplyDeleteAw, what a beautiful sentiment. Just lovely. And I'm in the same boat, except that my girl is only six, so I have that much longer to wait. But it'll be worth it to see her smile in that same way. =)
ReplyDeleteIt so will. :)
ReplyDeleteHe is 15. We have tried gaming type novels but apparently it is too boring reading a book. The look on my face must have been one of mortification!
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely post! It's cool how you connect with your son through reading, even if the books aren't quite appropriate for him yet, someday, they will be.
ReplyDeleteHa! I can see it now.
ReplyDeleteThey will. And I know how lucky I am that he already loves reading as much as he does.
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