Reading out loud
Do you remember your parents reading to you as a child? I do. They are memories that I treasure – each and every one that I have is precious to me.
My mom reading The Secret Garden to me, her voice lilting as she read the heavy Brit accent written in the pages. My dad reading Tales of the Kingdom and Tales of the Resistance and making sure to give each character specific inflection. I would curl up at their feet and I could see the characters, I lived with them.
A few years ago, my sister and I bought a book for my mom for Christmas. Between the two of us and our voracious reading appetites, we’d pretty much ruined my mom’s paperback version of Moonraker’s Bride. So that year for Christmas we got her a new hardback version (now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure it was Danae’s idea). We stayed up for 6+ hours taking turns to read it out loud to each other in the living room. We finished it with hoarse voices, but smiles on all our faces. It was magic. The experience stayed with me so much that not long after, while I still lived with my parents, my mom and I began reading the Chronicles of Narnia to each other. We started with the Magician’s Nephew, LW&W, and got through 3/4 of Horse & His Boy before I got married and our reading out loud sessions stopped. I really do regret that we haven’t picked that back up together. Even though I’ve read those books dozens of times, I loved reading them out loud with my mom!
I took a hiatus from reading aloud for the past few years, but this year has been different. This year for our anniversary in May, Marc and I decided to go to South Dakota, to see Mount Rushmore. It was an amazing time, cave exploring, hiking, driving, getting licked by wild donkeys (I will have to blog about that sometime!). But we drove, and it’s a 5 1/2 hour drive from Denver to Custer. On our way back, we got pretty bored coming back through Wyoming. I had brought Stephen Lawhead’s The Paradise War (The Song of Albion Trilogy), and I started reading out loud to my husband, who had never read the book before. I read for 4 hours straight, right into the garage – and then some. Marc and I are both hooked. Since we carpool to work, I read to and from work everyday. About a week ago we finished the Song of Albion books. It was bittersweet, and I found as I finished reading that I didn’t want it to end. So we’re not ending. I’ve already started reading another set of Lawhead books to him, and we plan to do the Harry Potter series as well. I don’t intent to stop reading aloud – ever!
I actually do have a point, and even though it sounds like a Public Service Announcement, it has the ring of truth. If you have kids, read to them. It may seem silly, they may not seem to care, but you are creating memories they will carry with them forever. I still hear my mom’s voice when I read the Secret Garden, and my dad’s when I read the Tales books. I look forward to the priviledge of being the voice of a book to my future children.
justspeaz said,
October 16, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Ok, first, welcome to WordPress
Second, our two oldest are really bright. I know all parents say that, but Ryan and Aidan actually score off the charts in the standardized reading tests. People ask all the time what we do with them. We read to them, that’s totally it. That and Baby Einstein (I swear by it, I totally do). So, you’re right reading out loud is so improtant. I’m glad you and Marc have been doing. Rob and I read outloud to each other as well. Actually, Rob does most of the out loud reading, because he’s way better at it
Rob in Gallup said,
October 16, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Reading aloud to each other has become a favorite pastime for Liesl and me, especially now that it’s a half-hour drive to get into town. Glad you and Marc are finding this to be something to enjoy together as well. (Excellent choice of material to start out with, by the way!)
And I completely agree about reading to your children. Not only do I think it creates memories, I think it makes kids smarter. I really do. When I was younger, I read aloud to my two youngest sisters (a LOT — including the Song of Albion) and it just so happens that they are the only ones of all my siblings who are actively pursuing college degrees and who achieved very high grades throughout high school. Coincidence? I think not.
Anyway, all that to say, excellent blog. Your children’s lives will be enriched by having a mom who reads to them, and it’s awesome that you and your husband can enjoy a good book together.
Mother of the child of the king and also a daughter of the king said,
October 17, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I remember reading a Psalty book (can’t recall which one except the cover was purple) out loud to you when you were four. It was your favorite book at the time, so I read it often; and you loved it so much you memorized it. Much to my surprise, one day you started reading it out loud yourself. When you picked up another book and started reading it out loud, I realized that the connections were permanently woven and the floodgates were open.
My sister, who is two years older than me, taught me how to read when I was four, and I’ve been in love with it ever since. Memories of books are powerful ones indeed. I remember my great aunt, Auntie Lee, who lived behind us walking to and from the bus stop on her way to work at a bookstore. She loved working there. I always looked forward to my birthday and Christmas when I would get a cherished book from Auntie Lee, usually a Nancy Drew mystery, with a special inscription on the inside cover. It was an honor to be a part of passing that love down to my daughters.
There’s something about reading out loud that is particularly special. I remember the pure pleasure I got from recording books on tape for my girls’ elementary school, particularly the book, Sign of the Beaver. Helping their classmates by being able to listen to a story because they were struggling to learn to read themselves was gratifying. However, I believe I got more out of that experience than I gave.
Do you remember the book I read out loud to the family as we drove from Colorado to Iowa and then Illinois on vacation? I don’t remember which one it was exactly, but I do remember being amazed that if I kept my head down while I read I didn’t get carsick. I also remember how much everyone enjoyed that experience. What a wonderful way to pass the hours. Now days people just turn on a video to keep the kids entertained in the car. In the current visual age, being able to use ones imagination to internally create a picture what’s being read to you is special, an art that should never be lost.
I’m so glad you didn’t lose the passion for reading out loud, for continuing to do so, and that you will pass that on to the next generation. I love you and am so proud of you, for starting your own blog, for continuing to read out loud, for everything!