Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Happiness is...

I'm so happy.

When I was a kid, some of my favorite books were Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time plus the sequels, Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series, and Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain. (I had other books that I read and reread, but I would rank these three series as the top three, in no particular order.)

A. is a voracious reader, but isn't ready for the first two sets of books; I had gently pushed The Book of the Three on him a while ago, and he gently pushed it back. Last weekend, though, he picked it up again...and he loves it! He has been reading favorite parts out loud and asking me which characters I like. I have known Taran, Gurgi, and Fflewddur Fflam for such a long time; having A. meet them for the first time is like reliving a very important part of my childhood.

Lloyd Alexander did a book-signing in a little toy store in our town when A. was about 2 years old. He was fairly reticent - I read later that he was extremely shy - but when I asked him to sign a first-edition copy of The Book of Three and told him how much the series meant to me, he became quite animated. I remember telling him how much I was looking forward to sharing the books with my son - and now I am.

This is true happiness.

3 comments:

Doc Jen said...

How cool is that! I now understand how happy my mom and grandmothers were that SS and I were readers . . . because they were such avid readers themselves.

And don't you feel about ten years old when you discover a new series or a single book that just captures you. (On the day of the dead when the year too dies . . . ).

I envy A. in the worlds he is discovering for the first time.

holdenj said...

Oh, I know Julie, for S it was the Betsy-Tacy books when she was young. Even my mom had read those growing up, so it was a treat to have her read them as well.

Interestingly, neither ever really plowed into all the Dark is Rising, but both S&J did the L'Engle and various Alexander.

And yes, DJ, I get pretty darn exicted when I find a new series etc! Also, I thought it was neat there was something the kids and I shared, like HP (or Georgia Nicholson with S)--I remember how cool it was to be reading and sharing Agatha Christie books with my dad when I was in middle school. It's another neat way to connect with your kiddos. (or nephews/nieces/godchildren)

crossons said...

Makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it!