Other than my husband and our three wonderful beans, there
are truly only two things in life without which I know I could not survive.
One is chocolate. My love for chocolate started early. It
has never wavered. And it never will J
The other is books. Some of my earliest and most treasured
childhood memories involve books. My mom sitting in the middle of the green
and gold plaid couch (yes, it was the mid-70’s) reading to us, my brother
tucked in close on one side, me tucked in just as close on the other. She read
us stacks and stacks of books. Even after I was an independent and capable
reader, she read from books we would both enjoy. One that stayed with me is Adopted Jane by Helen Fern Daringer. I know
I loved the story, but more than that I remember the feeling of snuggling down
in bed, listening to my mom tell it to me.
A love for books is a gift that my mom gave me and that I
give to my beans every day. We have books all over our house. We take regular
trips to the library and come home with our own stacks of books, something for
everyone.
So it wasn’t a complete surprise when one day Professor Bean
came to me and asked if he could start a book club. Of course I said, “yes!”
In that moment, the “All Boys Book Club” was born. The Professor and I talked about some
friends who we thought would enjoy it and issued our invitations to three
fellow kindergartners and two first graders. We were thrilled when all invitees
accepted with pleasure.
The overwhelming success of the first meeting of our book
club took me by surprise. All six of the boys were excited. Really excited. The
kind of excited that only five and six year-old boys can achieve and sustain.
It was loud, it was chaotic, and it was FUN. There were book related crafts and
activities, of course there were snacks, and there were discussions about the
book. We’re now three meetings in and going strong.
There is a lot of talk about boys and books not going
together. Boys are too busy. Boys don’t like to read. I say bull to all of
that. I say give it a try. Pick books the boys will enjoy – we’ve read from
series featuring fantastic, boy-relatable characters like Stink Moody, Nate the
Great and Mercy Watson. As long as you have some structure in place, the
support of all of the moms, good snacks, and a healthy tolerance for noise and
the occasional potty joke, I promise a good time will be had by all.
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