Right Book, Right Time

Okay, peeps.

Let’s talk about READING!

If there’s one parenting thing I’ve managed to accomplish it’s this: my kiddos all seems to be active and happy readers (knocking on a giant piece of wood, here), and I’ll continue to do WHATEVER I CAN to ride that wave!

Including…our first trip to the public library in a very long time:

But first…let’s back up a bit (a few years, actually), and talk about the right books coming into our lives at the right time. :)

Chica’s third grade teacher was (and still is!) universally known as a kiddo-favorite within our school. She was super engaging and kind and tended to maintain relationships with the kiddos even after they moved on to other grades and classes. Amplify that by the fact that it was a COVID year and the kiddos were super attached—and vice versa. 

Welp. After the year ended, Chica’s sweet teacher gave Chica the first in a popular books series, along with a novel study guide, and offered to work through it over the summer break.

Unfortunately, it’s just wasn’t the right book at the right time for my girl.

It was a 500+ page book (a little daunting for a just-out-of-third-grader) and though Chica was actively reading back then, it wasn’t the type of book she was drawn to…at that time.

Fast forward about two years and Chica was going through some book angst for a short period of time. She was having a hard time finding a book or series she wanted to begin, and moreover, she had extra time to devote to reading because she was staying up a bit later than her siblings at bedtime. Which made her lack of an amazing book extra frustrating. 

Lo and behold…I dug out the book her teacher had given her two years prior, and within a couple nights of reading she was hooked. Victory! Better still, she proceeded to blaze through that entire series, plus a companion series, over the next couple of months:



She was a reading machine, and it made my heart SO happy. It was the first true middle grade series she connected with, and she was distraught—absolutely distraught!—when it ended.

Of course, as an avid and attached reader, myself, I know this despondent feeling all too well, and did my best to find another series that Chica might connect with.

I did some research, and, holy cow, I HIT THE JACKPOT with this one:

Though my girl will never admit it out loud (she never ranks things or voices strong opinions when it comes to favorites among books or movies, ha), she is OBSESSED WITH THIS SERIES.

She’s reading morning, noon and night. This is only week two since I handed them to her, and she’s on book FIVE, and they’re 500-600 page books a piece. AMEN, HALLELUIAH!

In fact, the MOST AMAZING thing happened today! Chica and I were working on a bit of math this morning, and my computer was malfunctioning, so I asked her to go grab her iPad instead. It took AGES for her to find it, and when she did, it was still zipped up in her backpack from our return to Florida a FULL WEEK AGO.

That’s right, peeps. My girl hadn’t touched her iPad for seven days, instead choosing to READ. (I seriously might cry.)

Now, for a reading picture montage. Happy, happy, joy, joy!













A brief aside for a second: I don’t know if I’ve ever shared a pic of my girl’s resting hand pose. All her life, she’s sort of balled her hands like this, and one is often in this state while the other is holding the book. I die.







So…the point of this whole soap box: sometimes it might be the right book, but the wrong time. Or vice versa. And it just takes BOTH THINGS to coalesce and reading magic will happen!

I am a firm believer that everyone can be a lover of books…they just have to find the right book (at the right time)!

Okay. Now. Pivoting to my boy.

He is also a lover of books, but it’s a known fact that he’s seven years old, and just out of first grade, so things are vastly different on his reading front.

His reading proficiency is amazing, BUT…he tries to put himself on level with Chica and expect himself to read the same type of books that she does, and it just doesn’t work. Oye. I mean, even two short years ago, Chica didn’t successfully connect with these type of books. 

Call it a by-product of birth order, I suppose, but I often see Little Man trying to keep up or gain significant strides just to feel older or on par with his siblings, and…it’s tough. Especially when it comes to reading.

Because he might be totally capable of reading at that level, but he just doesn’t enjoy it, yet, like he might in a few years, but he wants to make himself enjoy it. There’s nothing wrong with graphic novels or shorter chapters or younger subject matter, as I always try to tell him. There’s no need to rush reading and aging!

Welp. 

Because of this desire of his to age up his reading, we tend to have difficulty finding books he connects with, long term.

We had fantastic success with a series or two in the spring, but now this summer, he’s trying to push himself a bit too much, with the net result that he loses interest in the books he asks me to buy, or, rather, they’re just not the right books at the right time (am I hammering home the topic of this post enough??).

So.

In the interest of NOT wasting money and instead allowing him to select any and all books he thinks he might be interested in…we made a trip to the public library a couple days ago. Woohoo!

What a trip to be there, as we hadn’t since pre-COVID days. Which seems a bit ridiculous, considering how much our household reads, but…during the school year, the kiddos utilize their school library (complete with beloved librarian), and during the summer, I’ve perhaps been a bit too indulgent in buying them books (though I never regret it, ha).

Anywho. What a concept! The public library! Where Little Man could check out UP TO 50 books in ONE GO. Wild. His mind was blown!



Presented with alllllll the options in the world, book-wise, Little Man was a bit manic, to be honest. He was zooming from one thing to the next; truly like a whirling dervish, just grabbing without thought or motive. Gah. 

But when I tried to focus his search a bit, I made the mistake of saying something like: “I think this book might not be the best reading level for you,” and I accidentally made him really sad…



I found him sitting like that, staring at the shelf and/or out the window, just stewing in his sadness, and I felt AWFUL.

He talked me through how it made him feel when I told him a book (admittedly, a middle school-aged, 600-page, no-picture book, of a subject matter I didn’t think he’d enjoy) wasn’t an appropriate level for him. I mean he’s SEVEN YEARS OLD! But I should know better with my boy. :( UGH.

Welp. We talked it out, I made many apologies, and we proceeded to blaze through any and all books he wanted, and he wound up with a very happy pile, indeed.





He was so proud to display them, and carted them all over the house that afternoon, gladly showing them off.



He’s only consistently picked up one of the books, but it’s a solid one, definitely a reading challenge—but one he’s up for!—and I’m anxiously awaiting the verdict on how much he gets through over the next couple of weeks.



So.

In summary.

Books are AMAZING. Truly and completely, reading is the most important aspect to my life (beyond my family, chapstick, chocolate and coffee…and I might even give up two or three of those for books)! And I’m so glad my babies are avid readers.

But there’s something to be said for the right book at the right time, and I think I’ve gotten pretty adept at identifying the right type of books to intrigue my girls, and now I’m making it my personal mission to keep finding series to spark interest for my boy.

Okay…off to read, hehe.

So, Happy Monday, peeps!

Over and out.