Bibliophiles

Reading is one of my favorite pastimes. It always has been and always will be. My parents tell tales of me as a toddler making a giant pile of books, going through them one at a time, page by page, and then moving the completed book to a pile on the other side of me. I could happily entertain myself with books for a long period of time, even at a young age. As I got older and learned to read on my own, my love of books and reading only grew. I read voraciously, and I gravitated towards other readers. Lit courses were among my favorites in high school and college, some of my very best friendships have been cemented with books (thinking particularly of Becca and Erin), and my amazing book club in Chicago was among the highlights of my twenties/ early thirties in Chicago. I can even say that Jason reading "The Stranger" by Camus (which I have NOT read!) was one of the (many) things that intrigued and drew me to him early on in our relationship. Reading opens my eyes to the world, to new ideas, to amazing stories. These days, it admittedly takes me a lot longer to get through a book because I can rapidly find myself nodding off during my nighttime reading (which I NEVER used to be able to understand when people would describe that happening to them), but those pages each night are, for me, still one of life's sweetest little luxuries.

All of this is a typical long-winded-Allison way of saying that it is no surprise that I have hoped to raise my children with a sincere love of books and reading. Since birth, our kids have been surrounded by books, and we started library trips long before the age of 1. I get overwhelmed by the amount of toys we own, but I could never fathom being overwhelmed by the amount of books. Both of the kids are read to (or with), religiously, at least twice a day (usually more). And both, at least to this point, seem to be following in my book-loving footsteps...

I am amazed that my little Emmett, at only two years old, can sit and occupy himself at the bookshelf for up to an hour. He sure loves his "boots" (pronounced like books, but with a 't')! Here's what happened recently when mean old Daddy tried to get him to play outside on a beautiful spring day, just when Emmett had gotten himself all comfy with a big stack of 'new' books from Miri's closet.

Among Emmett's favorite and most frequently-requested books are The Pout-Pout Fish, The Little Engine that Could, and his "God book" (The Baby Bible Storybook for Boys).

Miriam also loves to read. She looks forward every month to receiving her Ranger Rick Jr. magazine in the mail. She loves the library, and she cherishes her own large collection of books. And for about the past 6 months, Miri has been officially reading on her own. She is so incredibly proud of herself and just beams when she masters a new book. It truly makes me heart burst with happiness listening to her read. And watching her read books to Emmett is a whole new level of sibling-sweetness! Here is a sweet video of Miriam pretending to be a school teacher and reading a book to her "class" (me and Jason).

Miriam right now is VERY into Mo Willems books, especially his "Pigeon" and "Elephant and Piggie" series, and the "Fancy Nancy" series.

It is just so much fun reading with these kids, and I can't wait for more book adventures with them!