I love to read. I suspect that this is probably something that is common among Kossacks. Most of you, like me, probably went to the library as kids, raided our parents bookshelves and could easily while away a summer day lost in books. Unfortunately, the pressures of adulthood, parenting and work have diminished my ability to just find a book for escape in recent years.
Reading is something that I grew up with. My sisters, brother and mother (but not my dad) were all voracious readers. At my Granny's memorial service last year, my aunt pointed out the love of books that Granny instilled in her children. My aunt noted that Granny read and she read to her kids. As my aunt pointed out, "If you go into the house of any of her children, grandchildren or great- grandchildren, you will find books. Lots of books." The interesting thing is that she (Granny) grew up in the dust-bowl of Texas as a child and none of her many siblings or parents were readers. Granny's greatest disappointment was that she was forced to drop out of school in the eighth grade to help pick cotton to support the family.
Down past the jump, see what has reinvigorated me as of late.
Reading with my kids has led me to a nice little escape; an escape from a job that is frustrating, the issues of living in a separated marriage and of course the overbearing realities of a political leadership that has run amok. I have been going through a period of apathetic dissonance from the fact that our country has been run into the ground by a criminal enterprise that concurrently is wasting lives in a criminal war, attempting to destroy our system of justice and enriching themselves boldly while daring anyone to stop them. I guess I have political-criminal fatigue.
We all know it is coming. How can we not. The signs are everywhere; the hype and buildup overwhelming. The final installment of the Harry Potter series is set to land on bookshelves and like any family with children, we anxiously await it's arrival. There are two copies ordered for this house which will somewhat alleviate the fighting over who gets to read it first. Of course dad (me) will have to wait until the older kids have raced through it.
I read the first Harry Potter to my eldest when he was seven. I then read the next two or three to him when they came out until he was a teen and he took over reading it for himself. Meanwhile I've read all of the books at one stage or another to the younger ones. Now I've begun reading the first one to my youngest who will be six soon. Of course my daughter, who is nine, and has read and reread them sits with us as I read it to my youngest. I noticed when I read them to her a few years ago, her older brothers, although they had already read them, would kind of mosey into the room and you know, just hang out. Not being read to of course. They were just "sitting there." I would suppress a small laugh and play along reading to my daughter and remembering how I used to have them on my lap when they were younger as I read to them.
But another book came up recently that reminded me of how enjoyable "children's literature" can be for the children and those who read it too. My five year old pulled out Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back by Shel Silverstein. Shel is big in our house and if you have children, you have probably read his poetry collections to your kids. They are well loved by children because Shel had the talent of being an adult while retaining that vivid imagination of a child himself.
Lafcadio though, may be one of his lesser known works. It is a story about a lion living in the jungle. When hunters come Lafcadio has an encounter with a hunter and winds up eating the hunter. He finds he cannot eat the gun and bullets so he teaches himself to shoot them. He becomes a great marksman and is discovered by a circus man who makes Lafcadio his marksman. Lafcadio becomes famous, wealthy and lives the high-life as he becomes more human and less lion. However, he also becomes very unhappy as he becomes richer. In the end he goes to Africa on a hunting trip and encounters his old pride and is faced with the dilemma of whether he is a man or a lion. It is a beautiful story, funny, sad and tragic. It is also very understandable for children. My five year old pointed out to me that the book is funny in the beginning and sad at the end. His review is the book in a nutshell.
There are many books out there; Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter, Silverstein and so much more. Although I don't get to read much for myself now, as my youngest gets older, I am rediscovering the shared experience of reading with him and talking to him about what we read. It has been enjoyable and invigorating. I have spent a lot of time here watching the kids while my ex works this summer and the reconnection of the shared reading experience has made my summer fun again.
So, if you are reading this, what books have you pulled out to read to your kids that you really enjoy as much, or more than they do? If you don't have kids, no problem, treat yourself to a little light reading anyway. This is all at the local library and an escape into children's books can be a great diversion from the world we encounter everyday.
And finally, thanks to Shel, J.K., Dr. Seuss and all the others who make childhood (and adulthood) fun.