our home library

Yesterday afternoon Will and I headed over to the local library to pick up some books the friendly and helpful librarian found for us on classical music. Unfortunately for Will he couldn't find any more old Hardy Boys books and he didn't want to read anything else so he left empty handed. Later when he complained that he had nothing to read, I said, "Will, you must be kidding. There are literally thousands of books in the schoolroom that you can pick from." Then I went through the shelves pulling out "boy" books he might enjoy, just like the helpful librarian. We went through the selections together, discussing the merits of everlasting life in Tuck Everlasting, the differences in the movie and book Charlotte's Web, and his dissatisfaction with the dryness in Swiss Family Robinson. I shared how Danny the Champion of the World and My Side of the Mountain were some of my favorites from childhood.

Later in the evening Tim whispered for me to come look at what Will was doing. He was hunched over a drawing pad copying a picture of a birdhouse out of the book Learn How to Draw and was even using an architectural scale to get it exactly right. He went on to draw a bowl using perspective and shadowing. I have to admit that it looked better than some of my art class projects in 7th grade (this from a member of the Nat. Art Honor Society).

While the 3 bookcases full of picture books have been read and reread to the point of falling apart, I am finally beginning to see some fruit from my 10 years of searching and scouring used bookshops for quality "big kid" children's books. While part of me never thought the children would really ever be old enough to read real books, I wanted them to have instant access to all the classics and my old favorites. Even if they don't enjoy every tome, I hope by the time they grow up they will have at least skimmed every book on the shelves.