That is what we are reading tonight - or rather, a SHORK in the PORK if you follow Stan's rather interesting pronunciation.
After a lovely day out today, in the park (with no sharks) Pete and I went book shopping. He chose a paper aeroplane book, and then we spotted Shark in the Dark by Nick Sharratt - the sequel to Shark in the Park. So we had to have it.
Stan loves these books. They have a simple structure as Timothy Pope looks around through his telescope, spotting what might just be a shark - except it never is, until the very end. The boys love yelling THERE'S A SHARK IN THE PARK every time - so it's not exactly a calming bedtime read, but blimey, it's funny.
And when we realised that Shark in the Dark has glow in the dark pages....well, no wonder it took a long time to settle to sleep tonight!
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Even older favourites
Well, our Thomas phase was a brief one and tonight we went for some really old favourites - Ladybird Well Loved Tales.
We actually have two sets of these in our house - my old set, that I read 35 years ago, and a set of modern paperback reproductions. The reproductions have new illustrations, although the story is the same, and to me that means they have lost part of their charm: even now, years later, I can remember the original pictures in vivid detail. Sadly, my set is rather battered - they were hand-me-downs in the first place, and then read and re-read by me and then by my brother. Some seem to have disappeared, and in replacing them I found out just how precious they are: an original Cinderella, in good condition, can fetch up to £35. No wonder it has become such an iconic image.
Anyway, tonight we read from the newer versions, and Pete chose The Princess and the Pea - a very strange story, when you begin to think about it as an adult, but easy to see why it captures a child's imagination. We followed that with Peter and the Wolf, another Ladybird edition, which has the interesting twist of having the wolf 'taken away to another forest'.... Do we really believe that? If we can take the ending of Chicken Licken, then surely we can cope with the idea that the wolf is killed? Maybe not. As the boys drifted off to sleep, Stan was heard to ask 'Where is the poor duck?'
We actually have two sets of these in our house - my old set, that I read 35 years ago, and a set of modern paperback reproductions. The reproductions have new illustrations, although the story is the same, and to me that means they have lost part of their charm: even now, years later, I can remember the original pictures in vivid detail. Sadly, my set is rather battered - they were hand-me-downs in the first place, and then read and re-read by me and then by my brother. Some seem to have disappeared, and in replacing them I found out just how precious they are: an original Cinderella, in good condition, can fetch up to £35. No wonder it has become such an iconic image.
Anyway, tonight we read from the newer versions, and Pete chose The Princess and the Pea - a very strange story, when you begin to think about it as an adult, but easy to see why it captures a child's imagination. We followed that with Peter and the Wolf, another Ladybird edition, which has the interesting twist of having the wolf 'taken away to another forest'.... Do we really believe that? If we can take the ending of Chicken Licken, then surely we can cope with the idea that the wolf is killed? Maybe not. As the boys drifted off to sleep, Stan was heard to ask 'Where is the poor duck?'
Friday, 12 August 2011
Old Favourites
So, on the first day of the blog, what was tonight's choice?
Thomas the Tank Engine, of course.
Pete chose tonight, and was in a Thomas mood. We have been reading these for three years now - started out with the modern paperbacks, but a few weeks ago we bought a set of the original stories: well worth the £15 we spent and the 100 mile drive to collect them, as they have already been read and re-read.
So, we read Percy Runs Away, and then their dad read another Percy story, all about a rain storm - very apt given the current weather. Both boys sat open mouthed and listening as he did his Ringo Starr voice - yes, Daddy does voices, but that's another post. Then we wondered about what 'deluge' meant, and talked about how Thomas would miss Percy if he really ran away, and then it was bedtime.
So, is this the start of a Thomas phase? Something tells me that tomorrow morning I will be reading Thomas stories before we even get up...
Thomas the Tank Engine, of course.
Pete chose tonight, and was in a Thomas mood. We have been reading these for three years now - started out with the modern paperbacks, but a few weeks ago we bought a set of the original stories: well worth the £15 we spent and the 100 mile drive to collect them, as they have already been read and re-read.
So, we read Percy Runs Away, and then their dad read another Percy story, all about a rain storm - very apt given the current weather. Both boys sat open mouthed and listening as he did his Ringo Starr voice - yes, Daddy does voices, but that's another post. Then we wondered about what 'deluge' meant, and talked about how Thomas would miss Percy if he really ran away, and then it was bedtime.
So, is this the start of a Thomas phase? Something tells me that tomorrow morning I will be reading Thomas stories before we even get up...
To begin at the beginning...
What is the one fixed immovable point in your day?
For me, it's the bedtime story. No matter what time it is, or what time we've been up since, I read a bedtime story to my sons. Then their dad reads one, too. And, if they've been very good, we might read a third one - but that's a real treat.
I can't resist books. The boys know that they are always onto a winner if they ask for a book. In fact, they'll probably get two. Our house groans with books - in the living room, in the dining room, on the landing, in the loo, in the bedrooms...and that's without mentioning the attic. So, we get through a lot of stories. And there seem to be patterns. Some are old favourites, brought out every few months for a re-read. Others are obsessions, read every night for a week and then forgotten. They sum up our moods and preoccupations. They make us laugh and cry.
So, this blog is intended to record our books at bedtime - what we are reading and why. Not every day - but as often as I can. I hope you enjoy sharing our stories.
For me, it's the bedtime story. No matter what time it is, or what time we've been up since, I read a bedtime story to my sons. Then their dad reads one, too. And, if they've been very good, we might read a third one - but that's a real treat.
I can't resist books. The boys know that they are always onto a winner if they ask for a book. In fact, they'll probably get two. Our house groans with books - in the living room, in the dining room, on the landing, in the loo, in the bedrooms...and that's without mentioning the attic. So, we get through a lot of stories. And there seem to be patterns. Some are old favourites, brought out every few months for a re-read. Others are obsessions, read every night for a week and then forgotten. They sum up our moods and preoccupations. They make us laugh and cry.
So, this blog is intended to record our books at bedtime - what we are reading and why. Not every day - but as often as I can. I hope you enjoy sharing our stories.
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