So often, starting a project is the hardest part. Last month, a literary friend, Kristen den Hartog, whom I know only virtually (another reason that I love blogs!) asked whether I'd like to write a guest post on her blog, which is charmingly titled "Blog of Green Gables." In fact, hers was the first blog I ever subscribed to by email, and I'm always happy to find an update in my inbox. (You can subscribe to my blog the same way, if that sounds appealing.) Kristen posts beautifully illustrated, thoughtful, informative, long-form reflections on reading books with her daughter. Most recently, they've been reading through Roald Dahl, and her last post was on Peter Pan.
I was thrilled to be asked to contribute on the subject of reading to/with my kids.
And then I got stuck. I tried this, I tried that. The subject seemed suddenly vast, my thoughts on it scattered and disparate. I set the attempted essay aside. And I waited. It took me several weeks to understand why I was feeling overwhelmed and disorganized: because the shared reading experience has changed so much over the years. There have been more stages than I can count. Many detours. Memorable moments. So many amazing books discovered. And perhaps just as many tedious ones too. When I think about reading with my children an entire photo album of memories comes flooding into my mind.
Once I understood the problem, I embraced it. I decided to write about the many stages of reading. And here is the essay. I love the way Kristen has illustrated it. I hope you'll enjoy it too.
:::
P.S. Met my deadline without breaking a sweat yesterday. Now onward to writing week. Talk about starting being the hardest part ...Labels: blogging, kids books, reading, writing
