Reading Aloud to Muffin

It has been a year of great read-alouds! And some less exiting, ones that Merry loved and I just enjoyed watching her reaction to the stories. The Geronimo Stilton and Magic Tree House books have been loved by her more than me, but she gives crows of delight at the witticisms aimed directly at her six year old's sense of humor. I love the way that she thrills at each plot development and loves the happy endings, always reacting with relief, as if she didn't quite trust that Mary Pope Osborn would be able to rescue her characters and tie up all the loose ends by the time the book finishes.

Of the books we have read this year that I have delighted in equally with her, the Beverly Cleary Henry Huggins books stand out. The stories come back to me from my own youth, as I read them aloud, or listen while my husband reads them. I am a little shocked at how often Henry thinks that someone is crying just like a girl, or that Beezus has "good ideas for a girl." However, the first Henry Huggins book was written in 1950, and considering how much life has changed since then the books have held up remarkably well. Beverly Cleary is wonderful at entering the minds of children, and giving life to their struggles.


Right now we are reading Owl's in The Family by Farley Mowat which she is enjoying. How could an animal lover like her dislike a true story of a boy and his animal pets, and the funny things that happened to him?


She enjoys fiction, but also is strongly pulled to nonfiction. She especially loves books about dinosaurs, animals, and nature. One smash hit that we read was called Evolving Planet: Four Billion Years of Life on Earth by Erica Kelly and Richard Kissel. This beautiful book provided an overview of life on earth from the very beginning, to the present age of mammals, a topic above all others that is dear to her heart. I find that the vast number of books on evolution that we have read together cover the same ground, again and again. This book provided the same basic information as many others, but was very beautiful, and had fascinating descriptions of various ancient extinct creatures.