January 5 - Story Time

Reading has always been a huge part of my life, and it's something that I was eager to pass along to my children.  One of the first things that I did when we brought Elliot home from the hospital was to read him my favorite children's book, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (I have also read it to Eleanor numerous times).  There were so many classic stories that I grew up with, and I was excited to share them with the kids.

One of the popular gifts that we got when Eleanor was on her way was new books, which was fantastic.  But as I saw them start coming in, I realized there was a whole section of children's literature I had missed, simply because I was not a girl.

Now, I preface this by saying I don't think Eleanor can't read Mike Mulligan because it's about a guy, or that Elliot shouldn't read Peppa Pig because it's a story about a girl pig. They each should and can read what ever they want and they should be exposed to many different things.  Elizabeth and I are doing a pretty good job of this so far.

But there is a group of stories that I just missed out on when I was little because I was reading more "boy centric" stories, and since these were the ones I knew and remembered these were the ones I started reading to the kids first.  Stories like Olivia, or Anne of Green Gables, or Heidi, or Little House on the Prairie were not on my radar at all. The same can be said for the story that I read to Eleanor last night.

The Madeline books were stories that I was obviously aware of, even if I hadn't read them before.  It's hard to miss that little girl in her yellow hat and coat.  She's as iconic as Corduroy or Paddington. But despite her universally recognized status, I'd never read one of her books before Eleanor came along. Last night, I changed that.

Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline's Rescue is the second in the series of books about the little French girl living in Paris.  Published in 1954, it concerns the rescue of a puppy by Madeline and her friends in Miss Clavel's class.  The rhymes were not as precise as, say, a Dr. Seuss book, but it was still an engaging story.  My first impression out of the gate was "Wow, what amazing illustrations."  Elizabeth and I had visited Paris as a "babymoon" trip before Elliot got here, and it was so fun to follow along with Madeline's adventures and see the places we had been as well.

Eleanor mostly ate her hands throughout story time, but she did keep her eyes locked on me and the book, so I'll take that as a win.

I can't wait to read the rest of these stories.  And Nancy Drew.  And Little Women.  And the American Girl stories.  And all of the things I haven't gotten to explore yet.  It'll be even more special because I'll get to explore them with her.