I still love to read...

When I was younger, I loved to read. I read Sweet Valley High, the Babysitters Club and Fear Street. Gradually I morphed into more mature reading, where I read most of Michael Creighton's books.

Then I had kids.

Michael Creighton was quickly replaced with Curious George and Barney. Since my kids have been little, we have accumulated quite a large collection of children's books. It started with Logan and every night he would pick out a book and we would read it. Then his little brother came along and Logan would read to both of us. Now, Logan likes to read on his own in his room before bed (which I am thankful for because he and I don't see eye-to-eye on book choices...Pokemon, Nintendo Heroes, Star Wars...but a book is a book, right?) Sometimes, Logan will ask if he can read to Tyler, which I think is so sweet. I think it shows how much he loves his little brother.

It makes me sad to think that the clock is ticking to Tyler's interest in books like his brother. But for now, I will enjoy every second I have to read to him, even if it's just "A Kitten Tale" over and over.

So now, in my office, there is a book shelf devoted to my favorite of all children's books. They are books that I shared with my boys and I hope to give them to my grandchildren one day and foster the same love of reading that Logan and Tyler have. Here is a brief list of a few of mine and the boys favorites:

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Hunting the Daddyosaurus by Teresa Bateman
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster
Knuffle Bunny, A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
A Creature was Stirring by Carter Goodrich (Moms of boys can appreciate this!)
You're All my Favorites by Sam McBratney
GuessHow Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (The movie comes out this year!)
The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathman

Right now Tyler and I are reading "The Tale of Despereaux". We read a chapter every night and are going to go see the movie as soon as we finish. We're almost there. I think we are going to start "The Great Gilly Hopkins" next. It has always been a favorite of mine.

Believe it or not, I do read books other than those found in the children's area at Borders. I am currently in the middle of a few books..."Feasting, Fasting," "Fool's Crow," and "An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness." Sure, they are all what I like to call "mandatory fun" readings, but they have all been enjoyable nonetheless. I'm glad that I picked a career in life that allows me to do something I love to do, and is something I can foster in my boys as well.

Wish me luck...my first rough short story transcript is due in a week and a half and I am still tossing around ideas. I'm trying to stick to literary fiction, but sometimes it can get tricky and you end up sliding into genre fiction without even realizing it. Hopefully it will go well!

Oh, and one more quick note. I'm not sure why everyone is okay with the "Twilight" books but are so against "Harry Potter." I love Harry Potter. I read every book. I was at Borders at midnight the night the last book was released. I dressed up as Harry Potter for my kids Halloween parties at school. I have a Harry Potter snowglobe in my collection and Ed got me a Harry Potter Christmas ornament to add to my literary Christmas tree in my office (don't laugh...all the ornaments are from storybooks). I want to start reading the series to Tyler and Logan soon. Sure, there's technically wizardry, but it is a story about good prevailing over evil. What's wrong with that? I think it goes along with my argument that letting my kids go trick-or-treating doesn't make us devil worshippers.