A Little Librarian

I have 2 kids. A 13 year old boy and an 11 year old girl. I read to them daily before they could read themselves. Once they started reading, they were avid readers and as they grew older were often very picky or would not finish books. They could not relate to Enid Blyton, Alfred Hitchcock,etc.  

Several years ago they totally lost interest except for Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, Graphic novels or one series about a Mouse which had several pictures (Stilton? I can’t remember) and hardly any text. They must have read Calvin and Hobbes 50 times!  

I tried every trick in the book and every book they chose or were gifted collected dust.
And then came along Jaya Bhattacharji Rose who loaned my kids a few books that matched their personality. She also asked them to give an opinion on the cover and if the title was suitable so she could inform the author. Ah!, the kids religiously read the books and gave their opinions. 

Once done, they started asking for more books and were introduced to Anthony Horowitz, Neil Gaimon, Tolkien, Shel Silverstein and the list goes on. 

There’s no stopping them now. 

When a book is not available in book stores and I suggest downloading it to my Kindle instead; My son says, ‘No way, I love the smell of a book’. 

And when I tell them’ lights out ‘at night, they complain and say ‘ You’ve been asking us to read and now we are reading and you are telling us to STOP!’. 

This happens every night. And even during their exams. Its delightful but a bit catch 22.