The Law of The Jungle...

At first I thought reading "James and the Giant Peach" to Zoey was ambitious, but awesome. She hung on every word, and I could read chapter after chapter before she grew tired. Then we read "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and she was less enthused at first, then came around, and finally was indulgent of the effort. Of course "Peter Pan" was a home run, a Grand Slam of sorts, and stuck like no other pages have yet. Now "The Jungle Book" has found Zoey's attention, and I think will keep it. She likes Mowgli, and she loves Bagheera, and sometimes, I think, listens just so she can grit her teeth at Shere Kahn.

We read from chapter books each night, and some nights she's fast asleep after mere paragraphs, and then others she can hang on for a chapter or two. It's never very long, and she's eager to lay down, and to close her eyes, and start imagining. She often asks questions. She is certainly learning new words, and gaining a sense for plot and anticipating twists and turns. It's brilliant...maybe one of my most favorite parts of each day...on the very heels of watching these two little girls giggle and splash together in the tub. I don't know where the idea came from...I think with the intention of boring her to sleep...but she's latched onto it, and so have I.

I thought for certain that she'd shrug off "The Jungle Book," but no. She loves it. I wonder if we're building a lover of books, or at the very least a girl who can dream, and imagine, and think in bold and wondrous terms. I know we're building a habit I won't ever want to go away.