A Mother-Son Bond Through Books

When my son was very young I would talk to him and read his books in Spanish because I wanted him to be bilingual. I still talk to him in Spanish, but not as much as I use to. 

This is how it started: 

Every night after I helped him brush his baby teeth, he’d grab a book and climb up to bed. Sometimes we’d lay down with the bed cover over us. Sometimes I’d sit cross legged and he’d sit on my lap or right next to me. He would lean his little elbow onto my thigh, my arm wrapped around him, and his wet hair from a warm bath tickling my chin. As a baby and a toddler he’d choose Kiss Good Night, Sam by Amy Hest. 

*I will place the list of books and a very short summary at the end of the post, if anyone is interested in reading them.*

As a preschooler he’d choose The Hair Scare by Jeffrey Fisher, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, or Corduroy by Don Freeman.

Then he learned to read (in English) and would do so on his own but still we continued to read together (still in Spanish). Sometimes in bed, sometimes on the sofa. The Henry and Mudge books by Cynthia Ryland as well as other preschool and kindergarten books. 

We continued with chapter books, and this time in English as it was a little difficult for me to translate such long and more complex books. Finding Spanish books that I wanted to read with him had been a hassle, so I choose to now read in English. 

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was one we really enjoyed. We could not put the book down even when it was past bedtime. Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern was a beautiful story too. There are so many wonderful children’s book out there that even as an adult you would enjoy.

Look at the Time

Then eventually it was getting difficult to read books at night because of time. We’d get home pretty late, usually right at or after sunset, with only time to make and eat dinner, and get ready for bed because our day always started before the sun rose. 

When I finally bought a car, I was so happy that we could listen to audiobooks on our way to school/work! When I write I was so happy, I really mean I was super excited! I truly was. 

We've always enjoyed trips to the library and rarely bought books. The library was practically our second home. We'd check out the books there, and put books on hold that we wanted to read. They had a small but nice selection of audiobooks too, and if our library didn't have one we wanted then we checked the catalogue and put it on hold because another library had it. We'd wait for it to arrive and eagerly checked it out.

We enjoyed listening to the whole book series of The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley—all 9 books. As well as The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, Number The Stars by Lois Lowry, and Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell, and others. Sometimes we'd get home and stay in the car to finish the chapter, or even take the CD and listen to it in the house while I made dinner.

I always tried to choose books that portrayed different ethnicities, culture, or social-economic status (which wasn't too difficult because there are so many books out there). 

Our commute was about one to one and a half hours each way, so we could listen to an audiobook for at least a couple of hours a day. It was a completely amazing time during a very time consuming commute.

Getting Older

A few years ago he was really into Harry Potter (actually he still rereads those books), and then he got to book four, which was longer and a higher reading level. That’s when I decided I should read the next three books with him. We read before bedtime, and during the day on weekends, we’d read for hours! I loved the books as much as he did. After each book we would watch the movie and talked about and compared them, it was pretty awesome.

Now he’s older and enjoys reading fictional and nonfictional books about The Holocausts. He’s the one that recommended The Book Thief by Markus Zusak to me. Other than that he hasn’t gotten into any books lately so he rereads the books he already has, with the exception of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (Which I haven’t read!). He didn’t encourage me to read it but he said he really liked it and thinks it is his new favorite book (of course it’s not the first time he has said that about a book). 

In the car he rather listen to music than an audiobook. What a bummer. He’s older though and I’m glad we had books to bond with.

However, there was one night about a week ago when we were looking at a box of his old books and he grabbed Alexander y el Día Terrible, Horrible, Espantoso, Horroroso. He plopped onto my bed on his belly and surprised me. I had never heard him read in Spanish, and I did not know he knew how! He read the whole story and I was pretty impressed. Now, I don't think he can read a whole chapter book in Spanish, but it still warmed my heart. He read the story and couldn't stop giggling (it's a pretty funny story).

I miss those nights when we would read and get excited about a part in a book or upset about a character, or guffawed at a funny part (we learned guffawed from a Harry Potter book). I know he is almost a teen but I think I am going to attempt to get at least one more book in before he officially enters that stage. Oh, I almost forgot. We actually read one a few months ago The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I am very grateful for the time we've spend with together through book.

I’m already excited to try and squeeze in one more book!

Do you bond or have you bonded with your child through books? 

Image by Theo Crazzolara from Pixabay 

Books Mentioned

* Kiss Good Night, Sam by Amy Hest- Cute story of a baby bear where his mother gets him ready for bed and asks him after each routine if he's ready, and he responds "no" because he is waiting for his momma’s kiss good night.

* The Hair Scare by Jeffrey Fisher- A fun book about a boy who loves to give strange haircuts, which everybody—including the King, likes. (Reminded me of Edward Scissorhands)

* Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst- We all have a bad day every now and then, well this is a story about a boy who seems to be having a very bad day. 

* Corduroy by Don Freeman- The classic heart-warming story of a teddy bear who lost a button from his overalls, goes in search for it, and waits on the shelf of a toy store for a friend to buy him.

* Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Ryland- A series of easy to read books about a boy and his large lovable dog.

* Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor- A story about a boy who befriends an abused dog and what he does in order to keep him. This story takes place around the time just before television (or when it just starts) in West Virginia. 

* Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern was a beautiful story about an autistic boy who forms a bond with a dog that is being trained to become a service dog. 

* The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley- A magical book series about two sisters who find out they are descendants of the brothers’ Grimm when their parents are kidnapped. They turn detectives to help their grandmother find their parents. As detectives they have deal with real life fairy tale characters. Each book leaves you hanging for the next book. Very suspenseful!

* The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin- It's a cute book about a Chinese girl living with her family in a neighborhood where they are the only Asians. A book the author "wrote because it was the book [she] wished [she] had growing up." 

* A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle- A fantasy adventure book about a girl who goes in search of his father, who has been kidnapped and held in another planet. 

* Number The Stars by Lois Lowry- A historical fiction story about a girl and her family who help her Jewish friend and her family hide and escape from the Nazis. 

*Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell- A story about a Native American girl/woman stranded on an island for years. Based on a true story.

*The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- A historical fiction that takes place during the Holocaust. I wrote about it in a previous blog post.

*The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman- A book about a boy who is raised by ghost in a cemetery after his parents are killed. Awesome story!

Do you bond or have you bonded with your child through books?