My Three Bibliophiles

OK, so maybe they are not truly bibliophiles quite yet, but my  three girls love books.  And I can't even express how happy that makes me.  I am a book lover as well, in fact I have eight books by my bedside table waiting to be read.  Having back-ups ensures zero chances of having to (gasp!) go to sleep without cracking open some fascinating tale that helps me escape into another time and another place, if only for a few brief moments. 

E was an early book lover.  I remember sitting with her before bed when she was only a small baby, looking through picture books, and pointing to the images over and over again while exclaiming the words out loud.  Soon she was saying the words herself, and then we graduated to reading books with stories.  Finally, she wanted to flip through the books on her own at night. I can recall so clearly plunking a stack of board books into her crib, kissing her goodnight, leaving the room, then walking by a few minutes later to hear her say "Mo boots," which means, more books! So I'd take out that old stack, and hand her a few more, and we'd go on like this until she conked out. 

Quite effortlessly E passed on her love of books to her little sis, Cubby. Now the two girls sleep side by side in their little twin beds, sharing books back and forth.  Actually, this is sort of an overly harmonious view of things.  What usually happens is that the girls fight over books, over which pile is theirs, over who gets to read which book first, and so on.  But sometimes they share, and I like to think that these days are growing in number. 

Now the torch is being passed on to G.  G pretty much likes to do anything her big sisters do, so reading books just comes with the territory.

This happens almost every night now before bed.  G will sense that it is getting close to bedtime, and she will get my attention, point to the rocking chair and say, "Boots, Ca-wuh!"  I know that she wants Cubby to read her some books, so I tell Cubby, who is all too happy to oblige.  The two girls sit like this for as long as they like, reading books, pointing out words, making animal sounds, and having a good old time.  Once in a while J.D. enters the scene momentarily, hammer in hand, to see if any books need fixing.  The books are normally just fine, thank you very much, and he continues on his way, trolling the house for squeaky hinges to bang on. 

E is the only one who can entertain J.D. with a book or two, but usually by the second book, he is scooting toward the edge of the bed.  She prefers to read alone, I think, and the larger the stack of books on her bedside table, the better. 

G and Cubby are reading a book called, "No Jumping on the Bed!"  This book is required reading at the Walker house. 

I am so glad my girls love books, it's one of life's pleasures and I fully intend to foster this love in my daughters for their lifetimes as well.  Now, maybe J.D. needs a book on tools, just to get him interested....