Read into it

I've always loved to read. Let the record show:

When I was in elementary school I loved to read the Baby-sitters Club books. Oh the thirteen year old drama! They were so much older and more sophisticated than I was! Does Logan really like Mary Anne? Will Claudia's parents ever find all the candy she hides in her room (her room with its own phone, by the way!)? Will Stacey have to move back to New York and leave the club when her parents split up? Is Kristy really too bossy?

Confession: Natalie, I never really liked the name Mallory because I hated the character Mallory in these books. Thank goodness your daughter is so much cuter and has since changed my opinion.

In my young teenage years I started reading Jack Weyland books. For those of you who haven't read them he used to write all of these kind of "teen case study" books about a character that got into trouble in some way but then found his/her way back. They always had dramtic titles which were the names of the main characters like "Kimberly" or "Nicole" or "Brenda" (like a Dateline story or something). There was one named "Stephanie" about a girl who got mixed up in drugs but then through the help of her family and friends was able to let go and live a healthy life.

One time I found out that Jack Weyland was at a mall downtown signing autographs (yes, THE Jack Weyland!) so my sister and I made sure to go. We found him at a table and there was only like one person in line. We waited and then approached him with our favorite book copies in hand. When he asked my name for my signing I said, "Stephanie... but I'm not a druggy." Jack set down his pen, threw back his head and started laughing really hard (probably harder than the joke deserved). I felt a little sheepish but also secretly proud that I made this favorite author laugh. (P.S. He was a little strange in real life)

Right now I'm re-reading "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Of all the books I was required to read in high school, this was one that I remember liking. But I found that I'm loving it so much more as an adult (makes me want to go back and re-read all the classics). I love his writing style and how descriptive he is. I love the era he's portraying--there's something so glamorous about the 20's and Long Island and the parties under canopied tents with white lights and live jazz bands playing. I'm loving it.

So all this being said, I really want my children to love reading. I want them to grow up loving the smell of books and being fascinated with new vocabulary and getting lost in places they'll never go in real life. "Readers are leaders," my dad always said. And in this world of television and video games and ipods I want them to also to know the joy of printed words on a page. It doesn't matter WHAT they read, just THAT they read. Which is why ever since birth I've been trying to read to them as much as I can. Not quite daily, but pretty close.

So far Jenna's partial to romance stories and Lucy's getting a kick out of comedy. But I'm confident there is room in their hearts for all genres as their own books are still unwritten and we're going to have YEARS of reading together ahead of us.

P.S. Ever read Beatrix Potter's classics like "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" or "The Tale of Two Bad Mice"? They are a hoot! That Beatrix! Who knew?