Monday, August 16, 2010

All Children Love Bedtime Stories

I have been learning about Gifted Children lately. My daughter Jan is in the gifted program at her school. While reading about characteristics of gifted children, I have been reminded of my own childhood. I have always had a love for books. I inherited my love for reading from my father.



I my mind's eye I picture my father as a young man reading Robinson Caruso, Treasure Island and other classics to me. He would sit beside my bed in a chair. I can hear his deep booming voice as he reads. He would describe the colorful pictures in the books. I would drift to sleep as he read with visions of tropical islands or pirates in my mind.



Since Jan was a toddler, we try to read every night. Even though she was a tiny baby I would read to her. She has always loved story time. I have always loved story time too. I do not care what we read as long as we read something Jan l enjoys. Currently we are reading of Fairies by Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones by Barbara Parks and Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish.



We like to go to the library.  Jan is excited to play the computer games the library has. She also likes to choose books. We are fortunate the library has puppet shows, magicians and story tellers. We want  Jan to love going to the library.



Books open a window to a wide world of fact and fiction. I always loved reading and would be transported into a world of my own imagination. I enjoyed going to the library with my father when I was young. He introduced me to Turgenev, when I was twelve. I enjoyed reading of the life of Russian peasants on the Don. I read the complete works of Ian Fleming too. I like to read the writers that the writers I like admire. I have been introduce to Kafka, Camus, Sarte, Gogol, O'Neil , Ibsen and Hemingway. I currently love reading Dean Koontz, Patricia Cornwell and  Lee Smith. I have read many horror writers that I enjoyed to like Rick Hautala, Brian Lumley, Charles Grant, Melanie Tem, Poppy Z. Brite, Yvonne Navarro, Robert Block, Shirley Johnson, F. Paul Wilson, and H.P. Lovecraft.

I hope Jan grows to love books, libraries and bookstores as much as I do.

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