LIfe time Reader

As I mentioned, I went to the library yesterday. My daughters are hell bent on reading their summer away, which, of course I'm happy about but seriously? AIR people. Fresh AIR. It's out there while I'm inside typing. When I was a kid, my mom opened the door after breakfast, and told us she did not want to see our mugs until lunch. My kids needs ta go OUTSIDE! (so I make them have a mandatory hour outside, in which they usually take their books and read. Outside)

Anyway, Al won 1st place this year in her class for Accelerated Reader. That means she read more books and got more points than anyone else in the class. She's a nut I tell ya.

Now Rug, she's not my reader. And that is totally okay. She is my 'pretender'. She will go down to the Polly Pocket table in the basement and play for hours, making up elaborate and sometimes tragic plays and it usually ends up in a big huge Polly mess, with at least one Polly missing a head.

But at the end of the year this year, all of a sudden she was INTO books. I couldn't figure it out, but wasn't asking any questions. She was reading like a fiend.

Last day of school, and I found out why. The boy she has a huge crush on, C, apparently is the winner in the Accelerated Reader in her class. Aha! Reading books = taking AR tests = sitting next to C!!! It all makes sense now.

She enjoys Magic Treehouse books, and if you have a 7-year-old or there abouts, there is a website for them and if they read one of these books, they can answer questions and get a 'passport' for that book. You print out the passport book and get the 'stickers'. That should occupy Rug for a few weeks anyway. She is already on #4.

Al, well, she needed a new book to read. I asked her if she had read "Blubber" yet. Nope. This was one of my favorite books as a child. I had the 4 book set of Judy Blume books, with SuperFudge, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Blubber, and of course, Are you There God, It's Me, Margaret. I read them over and over. Mostly to figure out the whole 'pink belt' thing (careful boys---it's girl stuff) and to digest the characters Ms. Blume created, some of the first fallible characters I'd encountered. So I figured Al, who reads books like "Inkheart" and "Doll People" would enjoy Blubber. Buttttt, knowing and remembering Judy Blume as I did, I re-read it first before giving it to her.

I was amazed at how mean the main character was, and was surprised at myself for holding her so high in my memory, not remembering her calling her teacher a 'bitch' (which, oh my gosh, in my Catholic household was a HUGE no-no) and her brother a little ass. She also eggs a house, and torments another girl in the classroom unforgivingly.

I gave it to Al to read, because it shows how someone can justify their own actions even if they are deplorable, and that inevitably, these actions result in huge consequences.

Now then. Books for the summer--check. Sanity--hopefully intact for at least a few more weeks.