You know how we feel about reading aloud over at our house.
If it weren’t for the pesky realities that some of us need to make money and some of us need to learn our times tables, we’d all just as soon sit around and read to each other most of the time.
(This, despite the fact that we’re all capable of reading to ourselves, silently, in our own heads.)
On Monday nights, my Small One and I have our own special book club while Tall One and her dad are off making music. Last night it was time to start a new book. But oh, the drama. The weight of the choice on our little shoulders. The groaning bookshelf, vibrating with siren songs of "read me, read me…"
Finally, after much angsty eenie-meenieing, we cuddled under the quilt and cracked open The Wind in the Willows.
Now, I haven’t spent any good time with the little mole since I was my daughter’s age but I’ve gotta tell you, he had me at "Hang spring cleaning!" And then here come Rat and Otter and Badger — mercy, all these critters and their funny wisdom:
"Such a good fellow… but no stability — especially in a boat!" (Otter talking about Toad)
"What’s a litle wet to a Water Rat?" (Rat, after Mole tipped them in the drink)
And, my Small One’s favorite, "Onion-sauce! Onion-sauce!" (Mole to the rabbits in the hedge)
She nearly sang it the whole way to school this morning.
To the neighbors pulling their trashcans to the curb: Onion-sauce!
To the couple walking their St. Bernard: Onion-sauce!
To the family running even later to school than we were: Onion-sauce, onion-sauce, onion-sauce!
We locked up the bikes, the girls grabbed their backpacks and I sent them off, chattering, "a babbling procession of the best stories in the word, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea."
This post made my day. Onion sauce! I reread WITW last summer and fell in love all over again. There’s nothing like sharing a picnic hamper full of treats with a good friend . . .
Oh, ain’t it the truth, Jama! I can’t believe how charming it is. I really had forgotten…
I second small one’s favorite quote, “Onion-sauce, onion-sauce!” Great classic! My Wee daughter and I are reading the Junie B. Jones series. It’s scary how alike they are 🙂
We’ve definately gone through the Junie B. stage over here!
Reminds Me
Hi Liz,
This post reminds me of something I do on my blog called Timeless Thursdays where I remember an old favorite that’s been around a long time. And I actually forgot about this book and how I saw kids still reading it when I subbed in a 4th and 5th grade classroom a couple years ago. Thanks for the reminder! Great post.
Margo
http://margodill.com/blog/
Re: Reminds Me
There are so MANY old favorites — that’s the thing! My nephew just started Where the Red Fern Grows and I about started crying just thinking about it!
Oh Liz, this just made me smile. I so agree with you about the magic of reading aloud. I still read to my big kids (well, when my high schooler lets me!)
Yes. I do not plan to stop til they plug their ears 🙂
Liz, this made me cry. I am so so so happy this book is being loved in your home. I taught it last year in my children’s lit class, and only 2 or 3 of the twenty year olds liked it. I promised to take it off my list for next semester. In all other ways, they were a great group so I took them pretty seriously, though I think it’s really charming and meaningful.
Really???? Oh, I’m surprised. The anthropomorphism too much, maybe? I’ll keep you posted how our adventure goes. I have to say, I think the writing is truly lovely…
I think that’s one of the things I miss most about my kids growing into teen agers, read alouds at bed time. Enjoy them!
I’m going to push it as long as I can 🙂
This post brought tears to my eyes! Just lovely. So wonderful to hear stories like this.
Caroline from http://www.crowdingthebooktruck.blogspot.com
Nothing like a good cry 😉
Delightful! Onion-sauce! Aren’t read-alouds the best thing in the world? I was trying to read Rumer Godden’s The Kitchen Madonna to the kids this evening, and I kept choking up. That book is a nearly impossible read-aloud, it’s so touching, but how can we not? Those shared moments, the phrases that enter the family lexicon, the laughs…
As I type this comment, I can hear my husband doing his famous Hagrid voice in the next room. He’s reading Harry Potter to the girls—it’s the 8yo’s first time, and the older ones don’t mind hearing it again.
This is such a terrific post, Liz. Made my night. 🙂
Oh, tell me!!!
I am a total crier.
We finished Anne of Green Gables on a plane once — I had to read Matthew’s death aloud and I was gasping for air. Mercy…
I love hearing about your read aloud times. Mine would never sit still for that after a few years. Onion sauce, indeed!
It does seem like different kids react differently. We’ve been lucky…
Oh, rock it! We *just* read this one. At first, the four-year-old was very squirmy. Now, she keeps asking for a re-read. No kidding. They loved it.
And it was my, ahem, first time reading it in its entirety myself. We read the lovely Inga-Moore-illustrated one.
(I linked recently at 7-Imp to an NPR segment with Daniel Pinkwater where he talks about his wife reading that in the hospital during a VERY scary operation/recovery—weren’t-sure-if-she’d-make-it kind of thing, as he put it—and she found great comfort in the book. She told him, “they’re always eating toast.” I love that.)
Jules
7-Imp
Oh, I’m going to go find that NPR blurb, Jules. Love D.Pinkwater AND toast. I’ll be sure to serve it next Monday night as we move into our next chapter…
For some reason, I missed W in the W as a child, even though I read (and was read to) so many classics.
It was a joy to discover it with my son, a few years back. An entirely valid reason to have kids, I think — to rediscover old favorite reads and introduce yourself to a new set of gems!
wind
(from the comment challenge) We’re between read-alouds, so this perfect timing for me to come across this post. That’s coming off the shelf next. I love that moment before you choose the next book. We’ve spent a lot of time with Edgar Eager lately. Time for a different world.
Re: wind
Oh, yes. I love choosing the next book, too. Sometimes we have a list hanging in our pantry — sometimes we start cold. Enjoy!