booandbunny

Oh so many times I’ve watched a kids’ TV show or finished reading one of them a book and thought “Well, I could write a better story than that!”

The time when I experienced this sensation the most was during the board book years. I mean, you pay at least $7 for a book, your kid loves it to pieces (I mean actually to pieces … my oldest son teethed on Goodnight Moon!) and they want to hear the story all the time. But, beyond the adaptations of longer stories (We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Rainbow Fish ) some of these books are frustrating in what they offer kids. I mean, can’t we at least teach our 2-year-old beginning, middle and end instead of giving them some cartoony drawings and sight words?

That’s why I love the adaptations. Plus, as the kids grew out of board books and into longer stories of more delicate construction, they were surprised to see what they had been missing. (Marcus Pfister’s Rainbow Fish series was a special treasure for my youngest early on.)

And yet, I held on to most of those board books until just a few weeks ago in a post-holiday purge. Why? Because from the very first day of kindergarten they would practice reading them themselves. Oh, the satisfaction on their little faces! “I can do it!” each of the older two exclaimed upon reading one themselves. A handful remain for the youngest. He starts kindergarten in August.

So, with that, I turn to one of his favorite authors: Rosemary Wells.

“Read to your bunny often, its twenty minutes of fun.
Its twenty minutes of moonlight. Its twenty minutes of sun.
Twenty old-favorite minutes. Twenty minutes brand-new.
Read to your bunny often, And … your bunny will read to you.”

And, as I travel the path to “a better story than that” I love combing the library stacks with them. It helps me discover styles I like. It helps me see trends I don’t. But most of all, reading with them (whether it’s Rosemary Wells, E.B. White or Valerie Tripp) reminds me of the simple truths of life and that they never change.

// posted by HoBess @ 1/24/2006 10:09:00 AM