1st Library Book

One of the parts of parenthood that I most looked forward to before having children was getting to read to them and hopefully passing on my love of reading to them.  I have always loved lying in bed at night and reading a good book.  It was how I got myself ready to go to sleep every night.  I really love children and young adult books the best and have a whole list (on this blog) of books that I want my children to enjoy one day.  That list is not all-inclusive by any means, and I always find new books to love.  Evan does seem to enjoy me reading to him as long as the book is a theme he particularly enjoys.  He likes funny stories, books about dinosaurs and dragons, books about kids going on adventures, and other boy stuff. I do usually enjoy the books he likes too although I have a whole bunch of old books to pass on to a little girl should I ever have one (I was a Sweet Valley Twin/Babysitter's Club/Nancy Drew/mystery book loving pre-teen).  When we go to the mall, I always love perusing the children's section of the bookstore and can usually find at least one new book (on sale) to add to our collection.  Since Evan started school, he gets to go to the library once a week and is supposed to be pick out a book to check out.  Well, the last couple of weeks, he wasn't bringing me home a book.  I, of course, questioned him on why he brought ME no book to read...why yes, he is supposed to be bringing the book for me because he knows how much I love to read.  Ha!  But he would tell me there was no book on the shelf where he was told he could pick from that he liked.  I told him I didn't care what kind of book he picked, but he better bring me home a book next time.  I was just kidding, but we did have a serious discussion about his needing to pick out a book because it was important that we have something new to read every night.  I also reminded him that we have read lots of books that he wasn't always sure he would like in the beginning and did end up really liking.  His teacher had also sent me home a note to warn me of the problem she was having getting Evan to pick out a book.  Apparently, he had gotten very upset at the library because he couldn't find a book he liked.  He told his teacher that we were already reading a book at home (we have been working through the Narnia series this summer).  That boy is such a sensitive soul, I tell you.  After much encouragement, he promised to bring home a book next time.  Today was library day, and he brought home two books, and he was very excited about them.  He told his daddy, "I found two books at the library, and I actually like them."  Yay for me...and Evan, of course!  We read this one tonight:

It was a very sweet story about a class who each got an egg to incubate and watch hatch into baby chicks.  Every child's egg was the same except Sally's which was big and spotted.  Of course, when her egg cracked open, it revealed a slimy, scaled little creature instead of an adorable, fuzzy little chick.  When she tried to "complain" to her teacher, her silly teacher just said, "Don't be difficult!"  Ha!  I don't think that gives teachers much credit.  As Sally watched her little Argus grow into a great big dragon while all the other children had adorable little chicks to cuddle and hold, she began to feel a little left out.  She felt isolated because her dragon kept trying to eat the chicks and other children and had to be kept separate.  One day, when her Argus disappeared, she realized how much she cared for him and missed him.  She was very happy when Argus was found.  I thought it was a sweet story that showed how we don't often appreciate what we have until it is gone.  I look forward to reading many more children's stories in the coming years.