(Who doesn't like being in on the joke?!) Lorelei still doesn't get all the jokes she loves, loves, loves when I sit with her and read a few poems and explain the jokes to her. The pictures make the anthologies good choices for pre-readers and early readers, and the poems are good for stronger readers. I was thrilled to have them playing so happily together (read: without me), but they were so cute and funny that I kept walking from the kitchen to the family room to look at them. They flipped the pages and, every 4.2 seconds called out, 'Look at this one!' and giggled wildly at the other's illustration. Once they sat on the sofa, each with a volume. The poems are mostly short- or medium-length, and each has a funny and/or bizarre picture alongside that amuses Ben too. We have all three: A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Every Thing On It. Lorelei and Ben often grab Shel Silverstein poem anthologies before getting in the car.

Granted, Ben and Kiefer read for 30-40 minutes versus Lorelei's 90 minutes of the drive, but.every minute of peace and quiet in the backseat is one more peace- and quiet-filled minutes in your day! After some rounds of 'ABAB!' the kids climbed in and this is what Jonathan and I saw from the front seats. Makes me smile.and wish I was in the back seat reading with them rather than driving!Ī few weeks ago my husband planned a fun family outing to Luray Caverns in Virginia, a two hour drive from our house. A few weeks ago I taught Lorelei and Ben the ol' Peace Corps rule: Always Bring a Book (ABAB)! Now they often chant to each other 'ABAB!' as they to the shelves before a longer car trip. Thanks the continued supply of books and her fantastic example, Ben and even Kiefer do it now, too. She has the same routine today as she did two years ago: Climb in the car, grab a book, start reading. We don't need no stinkin' DVD player! (I am very fortunate that no one has carsickness in our family.) From a very early age, Lorelei had a basket of books at her disposal in the car. One specific reading-related thing I'm proud of: getting our kids in the (good, lifelong) habit of reading in the car.

Soon is, like, this afternoon.for most things, at least. But it will happen soon, as things do when your kids are so little. I can't yet say 'They love to read' because Ben and Kiefer are still working on reading.

But I do pat myself on the back when it comes to getting my kids into books: They love books. Lorelei's hair is usually unkempt, I still haven't gotten to the bottom of Ben's itchy bottom, and Kiefer once handed me a steak knife I left hanging out on the counter.

A light in the attic book