The Dynamic Duo

Okay, since I can’t just sit back and enjoy hearing a chapter READ to me, I guess I’m going to have to post. Sigh. Since UBob started this, I have been thinking about READING.
As a child, reading was always very important in our family. In the summertime, where temps in California not uncommonly ride about the 100 degree F range for weeks at a time, we would often visit Public Libraries. Yes libraries plural, as one could contain treasures missing from another. I can still feel the pleasure of coming home with several new books from The Wizard of Oz series. You thought there was only one Wizard of Oz book? No, no, there are about 50 with several different authors. Dorothy, though the most famous, was not the only child to visit Oz.
I was determined that my children would experience this same love of reading, and have succeeded in varying degrees. I used to read to Ultra, my first baby, long before he could exhibit expressions of comprehension, but he seemed to enjoy the sound of my voice. Later, reading became at least a nightly ritual, but we would often read chapters from the book du jour on summer afternoons also. And we also visited the library, but being a bit more isolated than in my childhood, we usually contented ourselves with the offereings of the Howe Library. There was always a Summer Reading Program there, and the longtime librarian, Hazel, always had a prize for each child at the end.
We made our way through many classics, and some not-so-classics. Young children, for some reason, LOVE repetition, and, if given the choice, select the same favorites over and over, which can get a little boring for the reader. But, come to think of it, I have my own favorites that I re-read from time to time, and, sometimes, the pleasure is only enhanced by knowing “what is coming next”. Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So” stories were great fun to read, as was his “Rikki Tikki Tavi”, full of interesting phrases and sounds. The “Hobbit” could be challenging, as my voice repertoire isn’t extensive enough for the range of characters, and I often mixed them up, as my young listeners were quick to point out. As Harry Potter came on the scene, we were in the beginning of the end. I was allowed to read that one to Jim, but he let me know that in the future, he preferred to read on his own.
Now, I find that I like being read TO. As I travel an hour a day to work and back, BOOKS ON TAPE have become my constant companions. As the selection of this media type is a bit eclectic at my library, I have digested books that I would ordinarily not have selected if given a wider choice.
It has been a lot of fun to hear UltraBob read chapters from this entertaining Mark Twain book aloud. Keep it up, UltraHoney.

Literally Yours,
UltraMom

UBob’s Aunt Francie reading him a story