![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Much to my delight, Ganon has recently revealed he has a favorite book series! He likes the Geronimo Stilton books, which are about an anthropomorphic mouse that has grand adventures. The portion of the series that officially hooked him is the Kingdom of Fantasy books, but there are only 8 of them and he needs to branch out. I'm kicked out of the house this morning because Olga is there, so I came to the library to snag him some new books!
I got 2 from the Spacemice series and one from the Thea Stilton series.
Upon first looking inside one of the books, I was disappointed. The weird changes in font and the illustrations on every page irked the book snob in me. I watched him read a page, though, and read a few myself to examine my own responses, and I figured something out. In his case, the font changes and photos are keeping him engaged by drawing his eye to the main points of the story. For him, it increases his ability to pay attention to the book. I was sold at that point.
What really surprised me is that he KNEW the 9th book in the series was coming out soon, and he's eagerly waiting on it. This from a kid who has always ever been just "blah" about reading, and acts like we're killing him when we make him read for 30 minutes a night. He's already doing well on his Accelerated Reader goal at school, and we're well on track to meet his 22 point goal by October. I've already challenged him to beat that goal.
This is another parenting lesson for me. Kids aren't little clones of their parents; I knew that logically before he was ever born. But somehow, I keep being surprised at the ways he's different from me. The very first one was his cautious nature. I may have been that way when I was young; I don't quite remember. I know I was reserved, but I don't recall being as outright fearful and sometimes anxious as he is, and I am certainly nothing like fearful now. Years ago when I realized that, I had to adjust. I'd always thought I'd have a kid who would sail off on their own & I might sometimes have to restrain them. I never expected I'd have a kid I had to PUSH to find interests and achieve goals. Reading has been another adjustment. I read voraciously from the moment I learned how. Little Golden books turned into chapter books, which turned into Nancy Drew books, which turned into other novels. I would read anything I could get my hands on. I read so much it was constantly remarked on by my family, none of whom ever had a particularly literary bent. Again, I never expected to have a child who had to be told to read something, and then acted like it was a chore. That's a profoundly alien concept to me!
So. Another adjustment for me, and I'm thrilled that he's found something that interests him. Bryan was not much of a reader when he was young, but discovered comics in his preteen years, and his progression into an avid reader was similar to mine, only it happened a little older. Maybe Ganon will follow a pattern similar to Bryan's, and this is his start! He could not possibly have a more supportive Mama. ;)
I got 2 from the Spacemice series and one from the Thea Stilton series.
Upon first looking inside one of the books, I was disappointed. The weird changes in font and the illustrations on every page irked the book snob in me. I watched him read a page, though, and read a few myself to examine my own responses, and I figured something out. In his case, the font changes and photos are keeping him engaged by drawing his eye to the main points of the story. For him, it increases his ability to pay attention to the book. I was sold at that point.
What really surprised me is that he KNEW the 9th book in the series was coming out soon, and he's eagerly waiting on it. This from a kid who has always ever been just "blah" about reading, and acts like we're killing him when we make him read for 30 minutes a night. He's already doing well on his Accelerated Reader goal at school, and we're well on track to meet his 22 point goal by October. I've already challenged him to beat that goal.
This is another parenting lesson for me. Kids aren't little clones of their parents; I knew that logically before he was ever born. But somehow, I keep being surprised at the ways he's different from me. The very first one was his cautious nature. I may have been that way when I was young; I don't quite remember. I know I was reserved, but I don't recall being as outright fearful and sometimes anxious as he is, and I am certainly nothing like fearful now. Years ago when I realized that, I had to adjust. I'd always thought I'd have a kid who would sail off on their own & I might sometimes have to restrain them. I never expected I'd have a kid I had to PUSH to find interests and achieve goals. Reading has been another adjustment. I read voraciously from the moment I learned how. Little Golden books turned into chapter books, which turned into Nancy Drew books, which turned into other novels. I would read anything I could get my hands on. I read so much it was constantly remarked on by my family, none of whom ever had a particularly literary bent. Again, I never expected to have a child who had to be told to read something, and then acted like it was a chore. That's a profoundly alien concept to me!
So. Another adjustment for me, and I'm thrilled that he's found something that interests him. Bryan was not much of a reader when he was young, but discovered comics in his preteen years, and his progression into an avid reader was similar to mine, only it happened a little older. Maybe Ganon will follow a pattern similar to Bryan's, and this is his start! He could not possibly have a more supportive Mama. ;)
