Monday, August 17, 2009

Why Books


returning books previously borrowed
only to check out more
having fun with another kid, while waiting for us
putting together the wooden parts, also while waiting (we were also checking out books)
a train of names of Summer Readers glued all over the ceiling
of the County Library...
some shelved books at home
crying to be shelved (and a great many more in boxes, under the beds - gulp - and everywhere else, in the house)


It had not all been play and fun trips for the boys this summer. They're registered at the Durham County Library, and we've had countless trips there, checking out books and educational DVDs, with the boys using their own library cards. Matthew was also in the Summer Reading Program which offered incentives (prizes) after every 10 days of reading. Between M and AJ alone, we had brought home and returned at least 48 kiddie books in the last month alone. Here's the last list of those we toted back to the Library:


Matthew's:

Frankenstein

We Three Kings

William Tell

Trust Me, Mom!

Hello Ocean - Hola Mar

Chickens, chickens

Animals Are Sleeping

Piglet and Mama

You're Too Small

Winners Never Quit

Hungry Hyena


AJ's:

Yuck! A Toad

Country Animals

Favorite Mother Goose Rhymes

The Colors of My Jewish Year

Sarah's Shovel

My First Nursery Rhymes

My First Songs

Thomas and the Animals

Oh Davey





As you can see, they didn't need to be impressive, they just had to be FUN.

With the advent of all this hi-tech stuff these days, so many children (some as young as three) are already prolific PSP handlers, owners of ipods, and strongly compete with adults in the use of computers. Our sons are no exceptions, but the house restrictions apply. The computer has a password (Aris is setting up the other one now, and M has gotten it into his head to put in HIS own password, to protect it against US), and has played with his PSP only twice (last Christmas, and last month, for his birthday). He WAS big on his ipod but the honeymoon feeling lasted only for about a week. Now he'd rather follow the song and dance moves of his favorite teeny-boppers as they pop up on tv. And then again, when they are on the internet or watching tv, we are there to screen the shows.

Otherwise, it's hit the books instead. Not that they are excuses for the lack of better shows. They're just always there.

Books occupied my summers when I was a little girl. They kept me away from silly gossip and boy talk when I was growing up. These days, they provide inspiration for my blogs.

We had no Summer Reading Programs when I was seven. Nor did we need one. The nuns drilled us on Reading and Phonics, and this Catholic magazine whose name escapes me. Kids were made to stand in the corner in front of the class if they didn't know how to pronounce (I was spared that, thank goodness). And at home, our mothers and fathers (mothers more than fathers) made sure we spoke and wrote English as it should be spoken and written. I cannot remember a household without a complete set of encyclopedia, or a giant Webster's dictionary, alongside stacks of Reader's Digest magazines, and a Bible. All my childhood friends had and probably still have theirs in their homes.

It was such an ordinary thing not only for myself but for families like mine, at least in the town where I grew up, to live with books. We thumbed through countless card catalogues for researches and book reports in libraries FROM GRADE SCHOOL ALL THROUGH COLLEGE and didn't mind it. From that we learned organization and patience. In contrast, all that the librarians do now is punch in a few buttons, and ta-dah, we know which aisle to go. We didn't get voicemails from librarians saying our deadlines were up - we made sure to make that trip back to the library on time precisely BECAUSE we avoided the wrath of the mighty guardian of the books. We viewed librarians as fearsome creatures in those days, I think, which, for me, just reinforced the belief that books were sacred.

Which is why I am all for continuing the tradition of reading, and encourage everyone to do the same. Books, unquestionably, are.

















18 comments:

Unknown said...

I love this post Cherie! And I love the library too...that is quite the impressive list your boys have racked up over the summer!

I remember card catalogues and the Bookmobile was my absolute favorite!

Ebie said...

My main blog is here.
Hi Cherie, kudos to your kids! Reading is a great help...hopefully they may become future writers and authors and I might be reading their books. RYC: We did not go swimming, I felt the water with my toes and it was cold.

Stephanie Faris said...

We didn't have a summer reading program when I was in school (the honors kids did but not the rest of us) but I'd spend my summer reading anyway. All books I wanted to read. The library may have had a program...I didn't discover the library until I was a teen, though. Now I'm one of the few adults I know who use the library system.

Sabrina said...

I work in a library, so of course I love to see kids reading and loving books! Awesome!

Dea said...

Thanks! And boy would she love you for saying that! Although i hope that doesnt mean i look old...ha ha. And wow,lots of books! Books really are wonderful!

happyone said...

Libraries have always been one of my favorite places to go!! Since I learned to read, I've never been without a book that I'm reading.
When my kids were little we were always at the library.

Inday said...

That's it! when you have little children. just enjoy. don't mind those unshelved books, they will not starve or die. lol

Jesusa said...

You said it sister! Books can take you places. I'll read a book any chance I can get. Library is truly a wonderful place. It's also one of the places to go for "Hayden's and Auntie's Day."

betchai said...

oh, remember the days where i had to baby sit my nieces and nephew during summer while I also have teaching load, I just drop them at our library and ask our librarian to check on them and asked them to sit in front of librarian, haha, they did not mind being left alone as long as they had books! :)

Pamela said...

we had dictionary,encyclopedia etc and I remember spending hours in the "book of knowledge" series.

Now it's just a touch of the keyboard --

My grandchildren really know how to use electronics. I'm a dufus.

Reader Wil said...

Great post Cherie! You are exactly like my daughter in Australia, and your children like hers. They love reading and go to the library once a week and spend there a few hours reading and playing while my daughter has a meeting.
Thanks for sharing!

cherie said...

thanks, ms. trudy! school starts on monday!!! i can't believe it, i have a second-grader! hope he'll STILL enjoy reading then...

hi, ate ebie! it is my hope, too! re: swimming, it's okay, you took fantastic shots!

hi, steph! oooh, love the barnes and noble, too! i guess everybody discovers the library at point and then never lets go, lol!

thanks, sabrina! the thing is, they don't ever follow the rule of NOT putting back on the shelf, and just leaving books on the table. i know what a pain it must be retracing all those misplaced books,lol! sorry, mine are guilty, too!

dea girl, you both look young! re: the books, none of them kiddie, all mine, lol!

nice to see you here, Ms. Happyone! books are just make greatest investments, don't they?

ate inday, thanks! at first i thought aj would make towers or castles out of my books, but now he just ignores them. they're allowed to touch everything else but mommy's books!

hi, tita grace! ako man! i bring one everywhere, including the doctor's waiting room, lol!

hey, that's great, bethsky! haha, natakot sila o natakot ang librarian? lol!

ms. pam, the biggest thing then was the 'book of knowledge,' wasn't it? ours were about torn by the time i reached high school, lol!

thank you, ms. wil! i think the earlier we start these kids on the right path, the easier it is to make them walk the straight path, so kudos to your daughter, too!

HUGS TO ALL ON THIS PROMISING WEDNESDAY MORNING!!!

JennyMac said...

Great post. Books are SO important. My entire family is avid readers and my Hub's too so hopefully our son has this inclination.

Your boys are beautiful!

Sol said...

CORRECT!!!!! karuruyag man mga kids mo... and for sure, they will grow up to be like you.... nice discipline.....

cherie said...

hi, guys! just read back, and discovered typos! sorry! my fingers get excited at times!

hi jennymac! thank you for the compliment! yeah, very nice to see everybody in his corner reading! i'll be over at your sie soon!

thank you, sol! from your mouth to God's ears, haha! more posts from you, please! loved your last one!

Melissa G said...

Oh fun! I love the library!

I just wanted to let you know that i have a give a way going on this week! I hope you'll come check it out!

cherie said...

melissa, hopping over right now! thanks for letting me know, girl! hope i win!;) lol!

sunnymama said...

Our city library has been closed for renovations for nearly two years and I just heard this week that it's going to finally open again next month! We have been using another much smaller library that's further away but I shall be so happy to have our main central library back :)

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