Superheros and pigeons

Picking books to read at night is a delicate balance.  They cannot be too exciting because the kids will get riled up and not sleep but it can't be so long or boring that they get distracted and squirmy half way through.  I also have to keep in mind that the books Autumn likes are not always the ones that Dash will enjoy.  To keep the peace I try to pick one that is targeted for each one and then a few that they will both enjoy.

Last night was a little heavy on the Dash books because he had a full day and deserved a little extra attention, also Autumn really likes superheros so it worked out

The first three books were a series of books about Superheros that Dash got for his preschool graduation.   The books were pretty generic introductions to the superheros.  One was about Batman and the other was about Wonder Woman.  I did notice that in the Wonder Woman book Batman and Superman show up at the end to help her fight someone.  Not to get all preachy but I feel like she could handle things on her own.  She doesn't show up in Batman's book so why does he need to show up in hers?  Oh well, in the other book a dragon attacks Gotham City (as they are known to do) and Superman tries to help but he can't since it is a magical dragon.  So Wonder Woman shows up and lassos it, then she talks to it since she can talk to animals and dragons are animals(?).  As a friend pointed out Wonder Woman talks it out while the boy superheros just punch or trap something.

With the superheros out of the way we moved on to How to Heal a Broken Wing.  Before I even opened it Autumn did not want to hear it.  She gets really sensitive about animals getting hurt or even people being mean to each other in books so this was a real test for her.  There were not many words in the book so I think that helped.  The  book was very sweet and in the end the bird made it and flew away.  I have a feeling next time we see an injured bird Autumn will insist on picking it up and reference this book.

The last book we read was from a story collection.  I try to pick these because there are not many pictures so the kids tend to roll over and just listen.  This makes it a little easier for them to fall asleep.  These story was the Star Maiden from a collection about nature fairies.  I try to read the kids a book from another culture a few times a week.  Autumn really like stories from Native American cultures so this was right up her alley.  And it did not hurt that it was about a beautiful star maiden who come to Earth looking for a new place to live.  Spoiler alert: She ends up picking a water lily so she can be near the humans at the lake and still see the reflection of her sisters in the water.  It was very pretty and Autumn stayed awake for the whole thing, Dash not so much.

So there you have it our first reading list.  Hope you enjoyed.  We will be homeschooling in the fall so this list may grow a bit as time goes on.


The actual List
I am Batman
I am Wonder Woman
Meet the Super heroes
How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham
The Star Maiden from The Book of Fairies: Nature Spirits from Around the World by Rose Williams

Saying the words out loud...

Reading and books are a big thing in my house.  It is not uncommon to trip over a book, to a find a slightly waterlogged paperback near the bathtub, or to pull a book out from the depths of the covers.  All of this drives Ram a bit bonkers but to me it is heaven.  I love that the kids don't have to go far to find books. I love that their old favorites are always sitting on the shelf and perhaps some new favorites are just waiting to be pulled from the overstuffed library bag.
So you could say we read alot in the house.  Autumn has to keep a reading log for school but all it is titles and time spent reading.  I want to make a record of the books they read and what they thought of them.  Some books have brought Autumna and Dash to tears, others have them cracking up.  I want to remember all these moments and so I will share them with you.