On reading and read-alouds

[Apparently I'm on the twice-a-week blogging schedule of late. Probably because I have a little beauty in my arms most of the time. Is anyone even still reading here?]

Ella has become quite the reader. It is so fun for me to watch her. A few days ago I heard her sigh contentedly on the couch and say, "I just love to read. I love books. I wish I could just live at the library because there are so many books there. I could just wake up and there would be all those books! And then I could open the doors and let all the kids in and we could all read!" I so get that. If our library had comfy couches with blankets and pillows and a well-stocked fridge, that might actually be a dream vacation for me.

Today, I took Ella and Adelia out on a "girls date." Our primary goal was to get some spring clothes for Ella, but we had a couple of other stops to make, too. One of those stops was the library, and Ella wanted to go to the library first. We dropped some books off and then I told her we had about half-hour to get some new books. She was thrilled.

When we got back into the van and headed off to our next errand, it was rather... silent. When I glanced in the rear-view mirror I realized that she'd taken a stack of books with her and her head was bent over a book. I missed her usual chatter, but understand her love of reading, so I asked, "Why don't you read those out loud to mommy?" She said, "No. I'd like to just read them to myself." Great. Nice bonding time that was. (Next time I'll know to tag the library trip on the end so that I may actually get to talk to my her as we drive around.)  ~smile~

We've also been doing several read-alouds lately, and let me just say right off the bat that I did not at all care for Stuart Little. ~shudder~

But here are a couple of our favorites: The Courage of Sarah Noble and The Family Pilgrim's Progress. 

But those don't even hold a candle to our current read-aloud:


Could you just cry for joy at the happy memories that book brings you? Or is it just me?  OhmygoodnessIlovethisbook. The kids, of course, love it, too. Ella adores anything Laura, Mary and baby Carrie are doing. And Jack is a bit hit. Isaac is really into the parts with Indians or Pa going hunting with his gun. Isaias gets distracted after about 2 minutes but jabbers on about Indians any time they come up in the story.

The other day after we finished up a chapter, Isaac asked, "Is this a real story?" (Most of the books we read are true stories, or "based on a true story".)

I turned to the outside cover and asked Ella if she could tell who the author was. She read aloud: "Laura Ingalls..." She stopped suddenly before getting to the "Wilder" part. Then she exclaimed, "Laura Ingalls is the same Laura we're reading about! That's her name, too. Laura Ingalls. And Pa Ingalls. That's their name. It's the same!" She was so excited. I said yes, it's the story of Laura as a child and her family's adventures, and when Laura grew up she wrote it all down. Ella looked up at me, beaming, and she literally had tears in her eyes upon making that connection. Really. She was that excited to know that Laura was real and that all of this had really happened; that this family had really existed. (Isaac was hoping they were still alive.  Cutie.)

That's what we're up to in the read-aloud department.  

What books have you been reading at your house?