Flexible Friday #3 – Being Nine

It’s hard to be nine.

It’s especially hard to be nine when you have three teenage siblings.

And it’s a hot summer day.

Which always makes me think of staying inside and reading a good book.

So I went to a special cabinet in my room to get one of those classic books out for Scary Baby yesterday.

It made me remember being nine and being able to walk to the air-conditioned library in the small town where we lived.

It made me think of some of my favorite books and authors that transported me to another place and made me love reading…as in it is one my most favorite things to do!

We have three out of four kids that devour books like PhilBillPaul and I do. One unnamed teen much prefers TV to a good book.

Nature vs. nurture is alive and well at our house.

Here are some of my all-time favorites that all my kids have read and still love (even the non-reader):

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
(I love the whole series!)

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald Sobol
(You don’t have to be a boy to love this series!)

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
(might just be my all-time favorite series!)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
(fun to read and then watch the *original* movie with Gene Wilder!)

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
(love, love, love all her books!)

The library is a fabulous place to spend some of your hot summer days. Most libraries have great summer reading programs and activities. Books make great gifts at any age.

Have you passed on your love of reading on to your kids?

Share the titles or authors of your favorite childhood books…it’s always fun to get book recommendations!