A New Book!!!

We finally finished Stuart Little last week, much to my relief. I have to say that I was not a big fan. I remembered that I didn't really enjoy that book as a child either. Stuart is rather full of himself and doesn't have a lot of common sense. He also leaves his family and the book ends with (spoiler alert) him riding off into the sunrise with no resolution!!! Argh!! I hate books that do that. Suffice it to say that I hurried through the last third of the book, once I remembered what was going to happen. I will say that it was fun to help the girls picture what life would be like for a mouse who was part of the family. That part I thoroughly enjoyed, but the ending was lame. I think the movie was better.

But on to better things! We started Little House in the Big Woods this weekend! Now I'm pretty sure that I haven't read these books since the 6th grade at the latest, but there are so many images that have stayed very clear in my mind. My favorite is when they pour the syrup into the snow in designs to make maple candy. I also thought it was cool/gross that they played with the pig's bladder as a balloon or ball.
I love reading the story and then talking about it with the girls. I try to help them understand how completely different her life was compared to theirs. But also, they have a lot in common with Laura and her family. In the beginning of the book, there are the two older girls and the baby...just like our family! She loves to help her Ma and Pa and she plays "house" and other games with her sister.

Lizzie is usually pretty attentive during our bedtime story and will often ask questions. Miriam tends to gaze off in other directions and snuggle in her bed while I am reading. It's fine with me, as it is the last thing we do before bed, but sometimes I wonder how much of the story she is getting. Then she'll blow me away the next evening when I ask them to tell me where we left off in the story and she remembers specific details.

I can't tell you how much joy I get from sharing these amazing books and stories from my childhood with my girls. Sometimes I miss a bedtime reading session if I go out for whatever reason. I don't think much of it as I'm heading out the door, but the next evening when I open the book and realize that I've missed our reading together, my heart hurts a little inside. Some of it hurts because I'm out of the loop in our story and some of it hurts because I missed that connection with my girls. It's a great way to end our evening together.