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Tonight, on a whim, I started reading to Sebastian early. Rather than continue reading Doctor Dolittle's Garden where we had left off last night, I grabbed a copy of the Just-So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.
I'd never read them before, and even as a child I'd never heard them. My only knowledge of them was from some references in a couple of Heinlein books, as far as I can recall. But Kipling's Kim is one of my favorite books in the world, so sometime in the last few months I picked up a cheap copy of the Just-So Stories just in case. I looked at a few pages, and it seemed a little dated and icky - "Best Beloved"? - but for some reason I told Sebastian about the book tonight, and he was interested.
I sat on the couch, and he lay down next to me. I found it easier to read the stories than I had expected. And he loved them. I read the first two stories, and he wanted me to keep reading. Once he got upstairs and into bed, I started on a third, but he fell asleep after only a couple of pages. That has almost become an automatic reaction for him, I think, and so I'm going to try to spend more time reading to him in the living room, before he goes to bed.
I love reading to him. If I can only read a couple of pages to him every night...well, that won't be enough for me. Too soon, he'll be too old for me to read to sleep.
One more thought: it's strange to think of it, but I doubt that one in 100 American kids has ever so much as heard of the Just-So Stories, much less had them read to him or her.
I'd never read them before, and even as a child I'd never heard them. My only knowledge of them was from some references in a couple of Heinlein books, as far as I can recall. But Kipling's Kim is one of my favorite books in the world, so sometime in the last few months I picked up a cheap copy of the Just-So Stories just in case. I looked at a few pages, and it seemed a little dated and icky - "Best Beloved"? - but for some reason I told Sebastian about the book tonight, and he was interested.
I sat on the couch, and he lay down next to me. I found it easier to read the stories than I had expected. And he loved them. I read the first two stories, and he wanted me to keep reading. Once he got upstairs and into bed, I started on a third, but he fell asleep after only a couple of pages. That has almost become an automatic reaction for him, I think, and so I'm going to try to spend more time reading to him in the living room, before he goes to bed.
I love reading to him. If I can only read a couple of pages to him every night...well, that won't be enough for me. Too soon, he'll be too old for me to read to sleep.
One more thought: it's strange to think of it, but I doubt that one in 100 American kids has ever so much as heard of the Just-So Stories, much less had them read to him or her.
