My earliest memory of being enchanted by a story is sitting on the couch before bed with my sister Joyce while our mother read us Thornton W. Burgess’ “Mother West Wind “When” Stories”. His stories and the many Little Golden Book stories read each night helped foster my life long love of books. So when I married and began my life as wife and stepmother, I determined to carry on the reading tradition with first my stepchildren, and then with my three sons. Sharing all the classics from my childhood and then reading through such treasures written by masters such as C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Sterling North, Jack London, Laura Ingalls Wilder etc. and introducing them to my childhood heroes like Nancy Drew, the “Little Woman” sisters, and “Little Men” brothers, was a time of bonding with the children as well as a wonderful time of reconnecting with past friends for me. My hope to foster a love of reading was realized as most of the children, now adults, enjoy reading today. But the nightly reading time ended for each of the older children by the time they were age 10 or 11 when they could read to themselves before bed. For Micah, the nightly reading continues.
As Micah is nonverbal, I have no clear idea of his choice of books. He cannot choose his favorites like his siblings did years before, but I do know that he is used to the routine of a quiet time of reading before lights are out and his music is playing as he drifts off to sleep. Through the years we have read all of the books read to his siblings and many more. A friend from church, Amy, has been helpful in recommending new books that she thinks he might like, so her suggested books are interspersed with classics and books that I have been meaning to read, but have not made time for. Micah rests quietly and is usually still awake at the end of reading time, unlike his mother, who often falls asleep and wakes with the book waiting to be given the expected read to the end of the chapter. At times I need to go silent when reading an unknown book and coming on scenes that I think Micah might find too violent or containing content that I really do not want to read aloud to my son. But year after year, the nightly reading time has been a time of blessing and bonding with Micah as well as with new and old characters in the books shared.
Earlier this year I had to be away for a few days for a work conference and asked Micah’s older brother Josh to help out with his care while I was out of state. Josh is a voracious reader, but I have often tried to encourage him to read lighter, shall I say, more positive books as he seems to prefer dark, brooding tales, many of which are considered classics, but are too violent for my taste. Josh knows Micah’s nighttime routine well, so he picked up the book I had left on the table next to Micah’s bed and opened it to the bookmark and began to read to Micah, only to tell me later that he stopped reading and closed the book after one page. The next time I spoke with him I was astonished to get a lecture from my son on the negative book I was reading to Micah; noting that he had to stop reading it to Micah as it was so depressing. I am rarely speechless with my son, but this time he had me. The banned book…..”Tuesdays With Morrie” by Mich Albom, a book acclaimed by many, but a book that has been deemed too sad and depressing for a younger brother, by an older brother making sure the blessing of books continues.
Jan Lessard Peightell June 17, 2020