"The house seemed swarming with boys, who were beguiling the rainy twilight with all sorts of amusements.  There were boys everywhere, for various open doors showed pleasant groups of big boys, little boys, and middle-sized boys in all stages of evening relaxation, not to say effervescence.  Two large rooms on the right were evidently school rooms, for desks, maps, blackboards, and books were scattered about.  An open fire burned on the hearth, and several indolent lads lay on their backs before it, discussing a new cricket-ground, with such animation that their boots waved in the air.  A tall youth was practicing on the flute in one corner, quiet undisturbed by the racket all about him.  Two or three others were jumping over the desks, pausing, now now and then, to get their breath, and laugh at the droll sketches of a little wag who was caricaturing the whole household on a blackboard."  (excerpt from "Little Men" by Louisa May Alcott)

When my eldest son had just turned four we began our first marvelous, foreign adventure together into a literary land... The new world was a farmyard, and there was a girl and the little runt of a pig she named Wilbur, and an articulate and generous spider named Charlotte.  Caleb absolutely melted into me as I read chapter after chapter aloud to him, during his little brothers' naps.  Now, my Caleb, you must know, is  boy who rarely stops asking for what's next... so this sweet, contented time at my side was a treasure.  And since that first journey into E.B. White's fictional world of Charlotte's Web, I have used our read alouds as a sacred time to connect with my darling, who ceases (during this sole activity) from striving, and is simply still.

After we read Charlotte's Web we went on to Stuart Little and then Trumpet of the Swan.  I loved all three of these classics by E.B. White and so did my son.  After each novel's conclusion we would have a special evening to celebrate.  For our first party we rented the movie Charlotte's Web, and I made a cake that we decorated with tiny pink marshmallows into the shape of Wilbur's face.  Caleb and I had spent his Brother's nap-time that day creating Zuckerman's Farm out of an old cardboard box, and the evening went late as we filled the farm with all the boys' farm animals. 

Other favorite books have been Mr. Popper's Penguins, The Wind in the Willows, Pinocchio, My Father's Dragon, The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and many more. And now that Caleb is a reader I like to choose books that he can read an adaptation of at his reading level after I have read the full version aloud.  I think we read three different versions of Treasure Island this past Summer before renting the Disney version of the film and playing *Pirate Music. (*Pirate Music is just the fast paced songs on my Celtic CDs!) 

But this latest read aloud is my absolute FAVORITE!  While I had worried LIttle Men, by Louisa May Alcott, with it's poetic prose was just a hair above his head, he has been a real gem, laughing aloud and asking the dearest questions throughout.  At one point in an early chapter he teared up and said, "I think that orphan boy, Nat is going to make me cry."  

Another day, during another Chapter, Father Bhaer was telling an allegorical story to his students about 12 little gardens and a gardener who had made the promise to cultivate and keep the little plots free of weeds, and producing fruit.  The dear teacher asked his pupils, "what does this story mean?"  To which the boys enthusiastically replied, "we are the gardens and you are the gardener!"  I turned to Caleb and smiled, and he whispered, "that's like you and dad."

The allegory turned to a deep lesson in the lives of the boys living at fictitious "Plumfield," where Mrs. Jo and Mr. Bhaer raise this lot of boys in learning and good living.  Father Bhaer asked each student what seeds they thought needed planting in their own little gardens, so that their loving teacher might help them reap a harvest.  One boy said patience, yet another confessed to being lazy and said he needed a good work ethic... when I asked Caleb what seed he thought we ought to plant in his little garden he said, "I need to listen more and talk less... O!  And probably stop getting so angry at my little brothers."

How dear is that?

I don't quite know how to conclude this post except to encourage you all to read.  Read good books with your children.  Ask them questions, share your thoughts, and keep your own heart open to learning a thing or two as well.  Pinocchio and his wayward heart might remind you just how important learning to obey our Father is, so that we don't have to live with painful consequences;  Swiss Family Robinson may inspire you to read the Bible aloud together as a family; and LIttle Men might have a good point or two to take home as well.  

Here's a section from Chapter One in Little Men that I keep thinking on:

" 'Gently, boys, gently.'

...Everyone... whisked into their seats, trying to be orderly, and failing utterly.  The Bhaers did their best to have the lads behave well at meal times, and generally succeeded pretty well, for their rules were few and sensible, and the boys, knowing that they tried to make things easy and happy, did their best to obey...."

I've stopped myself many times these past weeks from shackling the boys with too many rules.  I've given them more time to play and later bed times so that it can all fit in without (as much) nagging.  Because, truth be told, as Caleb and I cuddled in bed and talked of the seeds he thought ought to be planting in his little heart, I purposed to plant a few in my own.  Trusting the great and loving Gardener of all, to help prune, cultivate, and reap in my life a lasting harvest as well.

P.S. -- Target has been having a series of great early reader adaptations in their dollar bin, so keep a look out. This season the stories were a little to scary for my boys, but we've gotten some great ones in the past!  Also, check out Classics Illustrated for your kids.  They are classics that have been written and illustrated as a full length comic book.  My Father-in-law had a stellar collection as a child and is kicking himself for not keep them in the family.  But each Christmas we get one or two as a gift.  

Welcome Ladies from Blog Bash 2011!