Today was a very good day. Not only because it is the weekend, but something rather cool happened today. I took the kids to the local B&N bookstore this morning, and told them they could pick one book each. Daughter immediately knew which book she wanted, while Son, who has thus far glossed over the joys of reading (do I have to, Mom?) meandered aimlessly through the kids section.

"Can I get a sticker book then, Mom?" he asked.

"No you have to get a real book that you will read," I said firmly. I pointed to a nearby scaryish looking themed Halloween chapter book that he might like. He shook his head no. Apparently talking wooden puppets on Halloween didn't appeal to him. He wandered around some more until he found the Geronimo Stilton series by Scholastic. It was perfect for his reading level and he was drawn into the book immediately. After we paid for the books, he actually read in the car, and all at home! For a few hours!! My son!! He read a whole book on his own! Without me prompting him!! And he liked it!! OMG!! And he wants to read more!!!!!!

Whats the big deal, some may think but I must consider this a personal triumph because he's never shown ANY interest in books until today. Daughter was easy enough to get hooked on reading (horse books galore), but Son was a bit of a stubborn stinker. So now I am so happy, and hope this newfound interest can be nurtured into a lifelong love of books and reading.

The really interesting thing is when I tried to expose Daughter to various books I had grown up with, such as Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys, Choose Your Own Adventure Books and some books by Beverly Cleary, she looked through them with polite interest, but only really got into current series that are popular, such as Harry Potter or the Warrior Series.

"Another convert to the fold!" I said happily to Hubby.

"Yes, dear," was all he said as he rolled his eyes.