Re-reading the classics

Since the Munchkin sometimes has the attention span of a mosquito, it is hard to read to her. There are some books she loves, mostly because they have pictures of kittens, but she’s not ready for anything longer than one sentence on a page – a very thick, board-book page – just yet.

Still, I’ve begun to think about the books that I want to read to her when she gets older. I’ve been re-reading the “Little House on the Prairie” series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (mostly to nitpick all the inaccuracies of the Disney miniseries on ABC at the moment – I will fully rant when the series is over), and realizing once again what wonderful stories they are. I also want to read her fairy tales, classic and Japanese, because I’ve studied some of those, and books like “Heidi” and “The Secret Garden.” These will all have to wait until she’s at least 3 or 4. Short children’s books we can start with much sooner.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much memory of my parents reading to me. They read to my siblings, but I was kind of a lost cause. I began reading at 3 and a half on my own. I don’t remember not being able to read. And not only did I read early, but I read fast. I still do. It exasperates the Webmaster. But I re-read everything, so buying a book is not a waste.

I do remember reading to my siblings once or twice – more often to my youngest sister, who is 14 years younger than I am. My mother read the “Little House” books to us as a group before our baby sister was born. I had already read them by then, so I was allowed to do my cross-stitch at the foot of the bed while my brother and sister asked to see the pictures.

While my reading precociousness was highly unusual, since I have always been this way I hardly think about it anymore. I certainly never did while I was growing up. But now that I’m a mom, I realize how strange it all must have been for my parents. I honestly don’t quite know how I’ll handle it if the Munchkin turns into a early reader. I know I’ll feed that addiction, for sure. But in the meantime, early reader or not, I hope to cultivate in her a love of good books. It’s safer than TV. Although I should stop her from eating books first, I suppose.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 14th, 2005 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Children.
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