GratiTuesday - Bookworms

I've always loved to read; at least, I don't remember ever not wanting to get lost in a book.  I used to hide them everywhere - the linen closet in the bathroom, in piles of my 'stuff' on the steps, my backpack and school desk, etc.

When My Big Helper came along, I read to her often and rocked her while she slept and I enjoyed a good mystery.

Imagine my dismay, then, when our Little Man came along and absolutely refused even to look at a book!  I tried snuggling with him, speed reading, and finding books with all sorts of exciting features like noises and wheels.

Nope.  Nada.  Nothing.

Then one day he stopped running away from books and ran to them, instead.  In no time flat he was sitting for an hour at a clip methodically turning pages and studying pictures.

About the same time I was reading a Joel Rosenberg book that a friend lent me.  My husband picked it up, and that's the last I saw of him for about three days.  He resurfaced after finishing the book.  While he doesn't read often, he gets really into books when he is reading one.

This all came together over the weekend.  My Big Helper began her very first Nancy Drew book and loved it.  I kept finding her curled up on the couch, book in hand.

My Little Man was enthralled with the Hardy Boys' book that we're reading together and would snuggle up beside his sister to look at the pictures inside the covers.

My husband discovered that I've got an ARC copy of Dee Henderson's newest title, Full Disclosure, and commandeered it.  I'm not sure that we've talked about anything else since Saturday, and this is where I'll find him until he's finished.

This may all sound a bit crazy, but I like knowing that my family is creative. They're learning new vocabulary words and expanding their horizons.  They're acting out the stories and searching our house for clues (the kids, not my husband) - although I haven't figured out yet what those clues are for, exactly.

Someday in the not-so-distant future, when I can get my hands on Full Disclosure and get the kids to put away their detective kits for a few minutes, I'm sure we'll be having some great family discussions about the stories that we're reading.

I can't wait.

In the meantime, though, I hear a book calling my name.

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** Come back on Friday for my Top 10 Reasons to read the Hardy Boys' and Nancy Drew over (most) contemporary kiddie lit!