My mother read all of Lewis’ Narnia series to us (my sister and me) when we were young...I am reading the first book to my son. It feels really good to do so. I can't tell you how many times I have reread the books over the years...but what I remember is sitting next to my mother, with my sister on the other side, listening to the stories. I hope my son remembers it as fondly one day.
Mind you, it also lead to some fun family stories. She also read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings to us. She has a tendency to doze off in mid-sentence when tired (or mid-stitch…she has knitted rows and rows in her sleep only to have to pull them all out…strange woman, my mother). The most famous of these events was when she read the sentence, “Aragon is as strong as a wet elastic.” My sister and I both looked up at her as she started, knowing that something was wrong…we laughed and she decided it was bedtime. Nearly 30 years later, we still ask my mother if Aragon is as strong as a wet elastic as she appears to be dozing off (her responses, in recent years, are much more crass than when we were kids *laughing*).
There is something about having one’s child curled up next to you while you read…hanging on every word…totally engaged in the “world” that the text creates that is really wonderful.
On the dark side of things, Disney is behind the film adaptation of Narnia. I am hoping for the best…but fear the image of Aslan hocking Diet Coke.
Labels: bookish
