There's always a little battle of wills at bedtime around our house. Not over paja-mas or staying up late (my kids are still a bit too young to realize they might have a say in the matter) but over which books will be read for bedtime.
My son, now in kindergarten, veers towards science: real and fictional.
In other words, his top picks are always titles like Star Wars: Darth Maul's Mission, The Robot Race, All About Rocks, and Creepy-Looking Spiders That Might Come Alive On The Page (OK, it's actually titled The Wonder of Spiders, or something like that, but my heebie-jeebie kicks in while reading it.)
I'm always pushing for something with a story line, and preferably a little literary cachet: my favourites tend toward anything by Robert Munsch, the Pigeon series (a recent discovery) or, for simple fare, Margaret Wise Brown.
Fortunately, we both love The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak but, after about 1,000 readings, there's only so much "Milk, milk, milk for the morning cake" one five-year-old is willing to hear about.
It also sparked several fiery discussions about why we don't actually, at least in our house, have cake every morning.
More recently, I've tried to convince him that we should read a few pages each day from The Hobbit.
That sounds smart and literary, right?
Having several friends who swear that their parents read this to them at five or younger, I figured this would be OK - but we only got through a page when he realized there was no pictures beyond the quaintly drawn line-figure of a dragon on the front and the climax was a long way off.
I'll try again next year perhaps.
My toddler is pretty flexible on genre - she's still at the stage where
she tends to flip the page before I'm actually done reading it. The Potty Book for Girls is a big hit (though she giggles maniacally at the potty-accident scene) as is the board book version of Paper Bag Princess (hurrah for a feisty princess story!)
Anything with Dora gets an enthusiastic
page-flipping read and lately she's taken to sitting on the floor in front of my bookshelf and "reading" my paperbacks. Perhaps two is a tad young for Nora Roberts, but at least she's enthusiastic.
All in all, literacy is a big deal at my house.
Not because I think it will help them academically (though, statistically speaking, it's supposed to) but because I remember all too clearly the sheer joy of an afternoon spent disappearing into a Nancy Drew mystery or one of Judy Blume's new books.
I don't know if it was the generation, or the fact that I was one of four children, but the onus for entertainment rested on our own shoulders - it wasn't up to my mom or dad to find something fun for us to do.
Books filled a fundamental niche when bad weather kept us inside or a fight with a sibling kept us avoiding the family room.
I worry that my kids will never get that magical moment - that zing, snap, buzz that happens in the brain when you're just so excited to find out what will happen next that you can't bear to stop reading for long enough to have lunch or take a shower.
Computers and iPads and all sorts of other technology are far more gratifying in the short-term and, even if we don't have an abundance of technology in our own home, it's ubiquitous in our culture.
I hope that this brave new world won't inhibit their love for a good page-turner (with real pages, even!)
I imagine I'm not alone in that wish - so for fellow parents who love any opportunity to encourage a little more reading, here's a tidbit on an upcoming event.
Sunday, Jan. 27 is the 15th annual Family Literacy Day, an event aimed at getting families and kids of all ages focused on reading.
There's a handful of activities happening close at hand to celebrate the day, and I encourage folks to get out and enjoy them. This year's theme is 15 Minutes of Fun.
At New Westminster Public Library, the literacy day celebration event includes a family story-time with puppet stories and a puppet craft.
Drop in, for ages three and up, happens Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.
If you can't make that one, consider a trip over the border into Burnaby where there are several literacy day events set for the coming two weeks.
In keeping with the theme of fun, families will be encouraged to write and illustrate a story together.
The events are best suited for ages three and up, and parents must accompany children.
It's free of charge and no registration required. These sessions run: Saturday, Jan. 19 from 2 to 3 p.m. at the McGill branch; Friday, Jan. 25, 7 to 8 p.m. at the Tommy Douglas branch; Saturday, Jan. 26 1: 30 to 2: 30 p.m. at the Cameron branch, and finally Saturday, Jan. 26, 3 to 4 p.m. at the Bob Prittie Metrotown branch.
There are also a variety of ongoing children's storytime events at all the Burnaby branches and the New Westminster library, as well.
Check them out online at www.bpl.ca and www. nwpl.ca to find out more.
Christina Myers is a reporter with the Burnaby NOW and the New Westminster Record and a parent of two. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her online at www.twit ter.com/ChristinaMyersA.
