Happy summer slicing!
It’s vacation and a time when I look forward to reading, but books can still surprise us. Today found us at a water park with family–not somewhere I expected to have book encounters.
Early in the day as I walked through one section of the park I noticed a girl sitting huddled over. I glanced back over my shoulder to confirm if I was really seeing it. Sure enough…she was sitting with a kindle. Reading. As bells clanged, fountains splashed, and crowds buzzed all around her. I silently cheered her and continued on with a smile.
Later this afternoon when the heat had settled in and my boys were off on a water slide, I slipped my phone out of my bag and reflexively checked my school email. (I know, but I was working as recently as yesterday and we’re still trying to wrap up book orders.) Was that…? An alert from Kidblog about a post pending approval. I hadn’t seen one of those in a few months since our blogging workshop ended. I clicked over to the site and sure enough, there was a post pending from one of our Reading Ambassadors. At our summer reading kickoff assembly, I’d invited the ambassadors to keep blogging, writing, reaching out about books. And she did! Not only that, when I looked more closely, she’d written three posts today, each reviewing a different book she’s read on vacation. Way to go, Alana!
The final book encounter is the one that touched my heart the most. My older son is a dormant reader. (He used to read avidly. Required reading assignments, 6-week-long class novels, etc. drove him away from books for a long time.) Last winter I visited R.J. Julia’s, a fantastic independent bookstore in Madison, CT and spent half an hour chatting books with their knowledgeable and friendly staff in the YA section. I came home with three books for him based on their suggestions. I produced them one by one, some with fanfare and others stealthily left near his place at the table for him to bump into. Last week when school finally ended, I had a chance to read one. He still hadn’t cracked the cover. Since then I left it in view, oohed and ahhed about it and pitched it to his brother. Then today, very casually, he mentioned something from the book! He’s not entirely sold yet, but he’s only a few chapters in (it gets good in chapter 5). My heart fluttered hopefully. If Invictus gets him reading again, even a little, I’ll be thrilled.
So there you have it. Three times summer book magic!
Happy Reading!
ureadiread 
Such happy bookish moments you’ve shared! I was on a beach recently and was delighted to notice quite a few people reading. Yay! That always makes my heart happy. How lucky for you to have three such moments in a day. Here’s hoping there are many more, and I’m crossing my fingers that your son enjoys his new read as much as you did. (Smart mama to keep books available and in the forefront, but not push!) Happy summer reading!
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Hooray for summer reading! We have a Padlet where kids can post their thoughts about their books. Happily, the kids are slowly but surely filling it up with posts about their reading. Hope your son keeps reading!
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I loved your slice. Makes me think of that Instagram account that has photos of people all over NYC reading. And RJJulia- love that place. Was just there two days ago. Hope your son is still reading the book.
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