Apr. 14, 2009 - Bedtime Stories
I climbed up on the bed, ready to read a bedtime story. Instead, Emily said she would be reading the story tonight. “Which one should I read first?” She held up Go Dog, Go. “Sure!” I said. Then she held up In a People House. “Sure!” I said. Then she held up The King, the Mice and the Cheese. “Sure!” I said. She giggled. “Which one first?” she asked. “Whichever you want.” I said. She picked up Go Dog, Go.
She began to read, “Dog.” She turned the page. “Big dog. Little dog.” Another page. “Big dogs and little dogs. Black and white dogs.” She began to point at the spotted black and white dogs. “A black and white dog,” she said as she pointed to each one. “A black and white dog. A black and white dog…” “A black dog and a white dog,” I said as I pointed first to a black dog and then a white one.
“Hello!” Emily read in her best uppity female voice. “Hello!” She read in a deep boy-dog voice. “Do you like my hat? I do not.” She switched voices appropriately. I giggled.
“One little dog going in. Three big dogs going out.” She traced the maze with her finger.
“A red dog on a blue tree. A blue dog on a red tree. They should switch places.” I nodded. She has been saying this since the first time I read this book to her, some 6 years ago. “See, the red dog should be on the red tree,” she explained. “Would you just read the story?” I urged. She turned the page.
“Some big dogs and some little dogs going around in cars. This is a big dog…” she began to point out all the big dogs and then all the little dogs. “At this rate,” I suggested, “We won’t have time to read all three stories.” She quickly turned the page and began to read again.
This continued through the book. On the ferris wheel page she wondered if the dogs got dizzy as they shouted, “Go around again!” On the night page she pointed out the dog with the wide open eyes. “He didn’t sleep,” she said. “Maybe he had a nightmare,” I offered. “No.” She was certain.
By the time those dogs were on their way up the ladder to the tree, she had created a character for one of them. In her best dog voice she ad-libbed, “I wonder why we’re going up this tree…” When she turned the page she found that same dog on the tree, enjoying the big dog party and, in that same dog voice, said, “Oh yeah, it’s a dog party!”
She had slightly less commentary for the other two books, but each was just as enjoyable for me, the listener. As soon as she realized that In a People House was narrated almost entirely by a mouse, she switched to a high, squeaky voice. Except for lines like, “said the mouse,” which she read in a deeper, more narrator-like voice. When it came time for the king to rid his kingdom of the cheese-eating mice, she looked up at me and raised her eyebrows three times in quick succession, as if calling in the cats made him a very tricky king, indeed!
I was pleased to see her read words she has not yet encountered in her reader. Words like ceiling, elephant, and doughnuts. In addition to being entertained, I was also being impressed with how much her reading skills have improved over the past few months. Considering that she read her very first words last October – only 5 months ago – she has progressed rather well. She’s my “late” reader, late being a relative term. Her siblings could all read by age 5. But Emily, being the youngest, has not had my undivided attention as much as the others had. She has also had different priorities. She makes it her business to play and have fun and often to see that others are having fun too. She entertains us with her silly ways and bright outlook.
I sat on the big, comfy bed, with one arm around my new reader, a cup of tea in my other hand, sipping tea and listening to my baby read me bedtime stories. I thought, this is what it’s all about. This is why I do what I do. This is my reward. I sighed a happy sigh and listened as the mice chased those elephants right out of the kingdom... “He sure does like cheese!” Emily noted.
