Bonding Over a Book

Apr 14, 2011 by Yolanda Fontanez-Coleman | Reading

From time to time we will be featuring guest bloggers and I would like to begin our guest blog series with a blog from one of our parents. She and I were recently talking about encouraging boys to read and she mentioned that she had started reading the same book as her 9-year old son and how the two of them were bonding over the experience. She was so passionate in her account that I suggested she blog about it… and thus we have our first guest blog. Enjoy!

On a whim, I recently started reading the same book as my nine-year old son. He was reading Holes, by Louis Sachar in school during independent reading and he would come home every day and tell me how much he loved the book. The book centers around a boy named Stanley Yelnats and his imprisonment at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, for a crime he did not commit.

My son was so into the story that he begged me to take him to Barnes and Noble so he could buy the book and read it at home. As it turned out, his Aunt gave it to him for his birthday, along with three of Louis Sachar’s Wayside School Series books. As he picked up one of the Wayside books to leaf through, I grabbed Holes and started reading it to see what had him so intrigued.

Well, you should have seen the look on his face when he saw me eagerly turning the pages. He was beyond excited. He grabbed the Wayside book and sat right beside me – we continued to read alongside one another for about a half hour. He was so pleased by my interest in “his favorite book”, that every few minutes he would look over and smile at me with such affection that I had to hold back tears. It’s not always been easy for the two of us to find a common interest, so you can imagine my excitement!

We decided that we would read together for at least 15 minutes each day and compare notes on what we read. We’ve been at it for almost a week and he can’t wait to talk about what chapter I’m on and what I think will happen next. I must admit, it’s hard to put it down. In fact, he’s caught me reading the book in the evening and he immediately jumps on the sofa next to me and quizzes me on what I’ve read so far.

It just goes to show that little boys really don’t need much. To my surprise, a good book and Mom’s attention was more than enough to put a smile on my little boy’s face! I’m looking forward to the finishing Holes and selecting our next book together!

Karen is a client of Team Tutor and the proud mother of two rambunctious and wonderful boys.