The Tiger's Bookshelf: Children Reading to Children
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
Although my mother taught her children to love books with a fierce and covetous passion, it was a rare occasion when she read to us. She was a woman who had five children in nine years, who lived in Alaska with no electricity or running water, who baked everything we ate from scratch and was either cooking or washing our clothes or doing her best to keep us in a presentable state. She had time for little else.
My father read to us in the winter when the nights were long–Heidi, The Rose and the Ring, Treasure Island, –my earliest memories are of these books that enthralled me long before I went to school. Then he went blind.
By the time my father was no longer able to read aloud, I was hopelessly ensnared in the tradition. The minute I finished a book that I loved, I would promptly begin reading it aloud to my younger sisters and brother, my captive audience. They were, however, a strongminded group and would certainly have rebelled if necessary, but instead they would frequently ask me to read to them, even after they could read to themselves. (more…)
