Reading aloud to my daughters is a part of their childhood that I remember with deep and iridescent affection. And since we homeschooled, we read aloud almost every day, almost every evening, almost all the time. I loved it, they loved it. Certainly, on days when my voice gave out, or I was tired or crabby, it wasn't perfect, but it was always there: part of our rhythm, our breath. Our bookish hearts craved it, and thanks to those days and that practice, we share a galaxy of sparkling memories.
So, this poem by Kevin Carey not only spoke to me, it jumped up and down, waved its arms, and said, "Listen! Yes! I get it." ❤️
Reading to My Kids
by Kevin Carey
When they were little I read
to them at night until my tongue
got tired. They would poke me
when I started to nod off after twenty pages
of Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket.
I read (to them) to get them to love reading
but I was never sure if it was working
or if it was just what I was supposed to do.
But one day, my daughter (fifteen then)
was finishing Of Mice and Men in the car
on our way to basketball.
She was at the end when I heard her say,
No, in a familiar frightened voice
and I knew right away where she was.
Reading to My Kids
by Kevin Carey
When they were little I read
to them at night until my tongue
got tired. They would poke me
when I started to nod off after twenty pages
of Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket.
I read (to them) to get them to love reading
but I was never sure if it was working
or if it was just what I was supposed to do.
But one day, my daughter (fifteen then)
was finishing Of Mice and Men in the car
on our way to basketball.
She was at the end when I heard her say,
No, in a familiar frightened voice
and I knew right away where she was.
....
(Read the rest of this short jewel here, at The Writer's Almanac.)
Reading aloud is the best. I remember one time my husband was reading to the kids and he started laughing so hard he couldn't go on.
ReplyDeleteCarey's poem made me tear up. I'm glad Steinbeck was there. xo
It made me tear up too, Tabatha. I have so many memories of the kind of helpless laughter you mentioned, as well as reading through tears (sometimes sobs). You’re right, it’s the best.
DeleteRead aloud was an anchor in my classroom. A non-negotiable. (I might have even written a book about it...) Some of my best teacher-memories center around the books we shared: WALK TWO MOONS, BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON, AS EASY AS FALLING OFF THE EDGE OF THE EARTH...and so many more. And of course, there was that disastrous time early in my career when I attempted to read OLD YELLER and had to hand the book off to one of my students who wasn't also crying. Even that last year when I read aloud through a screen, it was the time when almost all my students showed up. This poem brings it all back.
ReplyDeleteHow lucky were your kids, Mary Lee? SO lucky. We read all those wonderful books, too, except AS EASY AS FALLING OFF THE EDGE OF THE EARTH (I don't know that one!) and OLD YELLER. But, like you, I've had to hand the book off to my eldest child (or whoever wasn't crying in the moment) on several occasions. All that shared emotion — it's part of the magic.
DeleteKeep going, read it to me, please, please, I can take it. Ah, the heartbreak of a story that makes you care. It’s been a few decades, so I am going to have to go back and read Of Mice and Men again. : ) Thank you for sharing, Karen!
ReplyDelete