I love to read to Zach at night. It's almost the only time we get to do something "just the two of us". Great books too, like The Hobbit, Spiderwick Chronicles, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Moby Dick, and War of The Worlds (the last three of these were children's versions). We also read Michigan Chillers and Judy Blume's "Fudge" books.
Recently we did The Old Man And The Sea which is one of my favorite books. I wasn't sure how much he would like it, it's a wonderful story but not full of explosions or monsters - it's very introspective.
But he LOVED it. He instantly appreciated Hemingway's writing style: descriptive and yet sparse. It's a very "manly" book, and Santiago became a sort of hero for Zach. He appreciated the humor too, the old man constantly admonishing his "traitorous" left hand, or his Cuban manner of speaking (he follows "The Baseball" in the newspapers).
I have heard that it is very important to read to boys Zach's age, that it can make a big difference in whether or not they become lifelong readers. And books offer so much for so little that I don't want him to miss out on that. I can't imagine what my life would be like without all the great books I've read safely tucked away in my brain.
Here are some titles I am considering for possible future reading with Zach:
Gateway by Frederick Pohl
Ringworld by Larry Niven
The Lord of The Rings by JRR Tolkien
A Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
and of course, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
...Just kidding on that last one :)
Suggestions are always welcome.
6 comments:
What about the Hardy Boys, or the Black Stallion series?.. not exactly classics but I devoured them. Definately dating myself.
didn't love it (the old man)
I still have the whole set of original Black Stallion books -- I must have got to them first when it was time to move out of the house.
What I remember the most about Old Man was he mentioned the "Tigres of Detroit"
I LOVED The Old Man and the Sea. I wish someone had read that one to me as a kid. Lucky Zach.
i used to read to my boys a lot, even when they were older. Will you come and read to me?
I will never forget the Old Man and the Sea. I just adore the writings of Hemingway. Not to mention that was one of the first books we had to read in 9th grade.
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