In the past year, Noah and Camille have suddenly become very hungry for stories about our childhoods. Begging to hear the same stories over and over: the one about when I hid on the refrigerator...naked and eating cookies, the time Adam's underwear got caught in a mousetrap, any and all Uncle Charlie stories (those are family stories that were told to me as a child), etc. Begging us to share new stories. Trying to tease out more details. I have to admit that in a strange way my memories were pretty rusty but as I started telling more, I started remembering more in odd chunks and fragments. It's been fun to have these storytelling sessions that frequently get started in the car or in a tent with "Tell us about when you were little...."
In addition to listening to family stories, the kids have also been gobbling up autobiographies of some of their favorite writers. It started with Roald Dahl's Boy which we read in anticipation of our trip to his village and delightful museum. And then my sister recommended Soup as an audio book. She remembered how much she enjoyed listening to this book on tape as a kid and thought Noah would like it, too. It wasn't until I downloaded it from the library (can I just say again how much I love being able to do that!!!) that I realized it was Robert Newton Peck's tales of his boyhood. And then for our recent Venice trip I just happened to stumble upon Tomie De Paola reading his stories from his childhood in 26 Fairmont Avenue. There is something so enchanting and entertaining about hearing these stories of childhood, especially when told by gifted writers. I don't blame the kids for wanting to hear them over and over again. I do,too.
Have any good autobiographies or childhood tales to share?
Our children love it too when we tell them stories, though often they do not believe us when we tell them we didn't have certain things. Thanks for the suggestion on books. I am always looking for ways to keep my children interested in reading.
Funny -- that's happening here, too. She also loves her birth story (especially the part when her worried dad spilled juice on the new Turkish carpet) and hearing silly things she did as a tot. It's fun for all of us.
D
I'll just say how much I love downloading books from my library too. Thanks again for passing that tip along.
Still laughing about the mousetrap...hope they were boxers and not briefs! ha haha
Amy
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