Currently Reading
The other day at our kids’ swimming lessons, I met an illustrator of a book we carry in the shop. I was aghast in the face of the interaction. The car had broken down and Jon had brought it into the garage and I had hoofed it on foot with the three kids to the YMCA. I was wearing my crazy pants (before I left the house I asked Jon if they were too crazy and he said they’re all I know of you and I took that for a no but upon hindsight I regret the choice) and Naomi was being her usual chaotic magnet self. In any case, the illustrator was lovely and gracious and didn’t mention my pants and the whole thing reminded me of the fact that we’re mostly a stationery shop but books are magical, too, and I’m lucky to be able to carry them in the shop, as it means I can order them willy-nilly.
Caleb is still thick and heavy into his graphic novels and comic books and manga (reading is reading! I know it!) but I worry about him missing out on The Good Stuff that he might miss out on if he doesn’t pivot to chapter books in a substantial way soon. Does Percy Jackson come at you the same when you’re 25 as when you’re 10? And so I’m still reading to the kids at bedtime, and we’ve been crunching our way through some good things: Percy Jackson, Girl Giant and the Monkey King, The Great Gilly Hopkins, Hatchett.
Not every book is a winner. I’m aiming for high volume, even if I don’t always get there. Some books are a blast, some we muscle through until the end, and others we set aside to try another year (or maybe never). We had to give up on The Hobbit 60 pages in because it was moving too slowly, at the speed of a hobbit on foot, I suppose—but I’m stemming the tide of existential crises by trying to drown us all in books, literally and metaphorically, as someone slips on a hardcover going down the stairs.
I picked up One Time, by Sharon Creech, from the library, a true nostalgic read for me, even though I’d never heard of this book, as I loved Sharon Creech when I was a kid. It was a thrill to discover that she is still writing books, this one published in 2020. There was even a quotation from the poet Mary Oliver at the beginning and end of the book, as if I needed more convincing that this was the Walk Two Moons of my childhood. It was exactly as I remember her to be, the flow of it, the sort of meandering through time and thinking and words. It wasn’t totally plotless but certainly there were no adventures or sword fights. Caleb and Naomi both enjoyed it, although Caleb was ready to move onto a book with more action when I finished. Mr Penguin! Come rescue my mother from the clutches of sentimentality and boring books! We could all use a kung-fu spider in our lives.
As Naomi, age 6, gets older, and has had the advantage of listening to me read chapter books and stories to her brother for years, I’m enjoying the company of a different audience, and I’m realizing how completely different she is as a reader from Caleb. She has thus far grown up and learned to read in the shadow of Covid school closures and an older brother who’s already traversed Narnia and befriended Captain Underpants, and yet she is making her own way through the forest of books. She is recognizing her favourite series on the library bookshelves by their spines, beelining to the library check out with a stack of books in her arms.
For some time now I’ve been waffling back and forth and around in the air trying to find books that will suit both. I’m often surprised by what the kids, one or the other or both, will like, the moments when they will gasp or laugh out loud or snicker or fall asleep on me. I’ve given up, a bit, on trying to find ones they will like and I’m aiming mostly for stories that I think will be good, because usually, fingers crossed, the Venn diagram will be generous to those who come at it in good faith. The pace of The Secret Garden doesn’t quite match the thrill and speed and high-stakes drama of The Hunger Games, but both offer their own language and worlds and crispy friendships. Because the magic is there waiting, in little sparks or giant, hanging moons.
Not every book is a winner, that’s for sure, but there are so many good ones out there, if I just keep at it—and maybe not every book needs to be a winner. They can just be stories and ideas and adventures or non-adventures and people in their worlds that we can peek into. We all need this wash of stories over us, kids more than anyone. Adults maybe even more so.
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Comments
Nina said:
You continue to open up worlds for me that go beyond inks and pens. I was fortunate to find you back in – was it 2009 on Dundas Street. And the fun and surprises have continued. Let’s praise books and the people who write them for us, using (I like to imagine) pens + inks. What would this world be like without books. :)HOORAY for books! And Hooray for Liz!
Helen said:
My 7-year-old loves Dory Fantasmagory. She’s a character with a gigantic imagination – so entertaining to read out loud.
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Wonder Pens replied:
Thanks so much for the recommendation! I’ll have to see if I can find it at the library for Naomi, the next time we’re there.
Lynn Greiner said:
My sister and I loved Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series. The protagonists are kids similar in age to your brood, and they have kid-friendly but still exciting adventures.
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Wonder Pens replied:
I read the first Swallows and Amazons with Caleb, but it was some time ago. Maybe time to revisit, now with Naomi along for the ride, too!
CJ said:
I recommend the Greenglass House (a somewhat sedately paced mystery set in a quirky hotel) and Ember and the Ice Dragons (a fantasy book set in a parallel Victorian era where dragons and magic exist). There’s a lot of Geronimo Stilton books, with different types of adventures (everything from crime reporting to high fantasy); those books are available as chapter books of varying complexity and graphic novels, so it might be easier to encourage a segue into wordier prose with them. You could also try the Swindle series by Gordon Korman, if your young readers enjoy humourous books. Your library probably has access to NoveList K-12. You can find read-alikes for books you have already read and enjoyed, or you can tell it what story elements you want in a book and it will make suggestions (e.g. stories with creepy settings and orphans would bring back lots of different books). Good luck with your summer reading!
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Wonder Pens replied:
Thanks for so many great recommendations! Actually I have the Greenglass House packed away for our trip, what a fun coincidence. I will definitely have to try the Swindle series—we haven’t read anything by Gordon Korman and I think it’s time. I never know how well some of my childhood favourites will age, in pacing, ideas, humour, but I feel like Korman is going to outlast us all. Thanks for taking the time to write.
Jo J said:
Play Boggle and throw out half the rules. This often underrated game is a brilliant way to better understand the mechanics of reading, language and the structure of words. Be open to words of any size along with invented words that people can create a definition for or defend. Give points for the longest word, the silliest word, the most frequent word. Children always learn best when they are having fun with their families and expressing themselves. It is amazing how different perspectives can add up to utterly different lists.
De : Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com <Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com> Envoyé : mardi, juin 18, 2024 10:18 a.m. À : Info Wonder Pens <info@wonderpens.ca>; Elizabeth Chan <wonderliz@wonderpens.ca> Objet : There’s a new comment from Jo J on your Shopify blog———
Wonder Pens replied:
Caleb loves Boggle! He is indeed a bit creative with his words and spelling. I think kids naturally lean towards being a bit loose with the rules. So much fun! We’re working on convincing Naomi on it, too. Thanks for taking the time to write.
Diane said:
“Whales on Stilts” was a true delight to read out loud to my kids, with them snuggled up next to me. They’re adults now, so the book is definitely not new, but I still remember that one in particular. It’s very silly, but we all laughed together.
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Wonder Pens replied:
Thanks for the recommendation! Adding it to our list. Silly books are the best ones.
Zuzanna said:
Happiness is reading under the covers with a flashlight which never runs out of batteries!
One of my boys said the book doesn’t really matter; what is important is the pictures it makes in your head as you drift off to sleep.
Books came from anywhere in the library as well as the childrens section. Once on a theme we would hit the adult non-fiction for more detail. We would read books about wild animals, national parks, first nations traditions, folklore of other countries, heavy machinery, building barns … sneakily adding to what they were covering in school at times.
We must have picked some good books though, as they kept me reading almost through Junior High School. This in addition to reading on their own.
Pierre Burton, The Secret World of Og for a Canadian author recommendation.
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Wonder Pens replied:
We have not approached too much non-fiction in our nighttime reading! What a great idea. And of course what a gift it was for your kids to be exposed to so many ideas and so much knowledge.
Although we do branch out a bit, Caleb especially, once he hits on a topic he likes, usually they revolve around still magical worlds or stories, for example after watching the Star Wars movies, he’s borrowed graphic novels adaptations, behind-the-scenes making-of. We do follow authors from one series to another, which has led us out a bit farther afield sometimes.
Reading through junior high! I would love to make it that far. Crossing my fingers for it!