Day114 - Bubble of Rin

While I was in NZ Bubble and I began reading Rowan of Rin together. This book came highly recommended and rightly so - it has been generated much excitement, imagination and interest.

Bubble has not been in the habit of being read to, so the first night took a bit of adjustment and getting over the fact that there are no illustrations aside from the map at the front. She kept telling me "but, it's senior fiction dad", as if she was intimidated by the notion. The fact is, the book is the perfect level for her: easy enough for her to read herself, with the occasional new word, phrasing or idea to stimulate her own love of language. The second night was easier, the characters and quest were starting to take shape, and by the third evening she was excited by the prospect of story time and disappointed the night we ran out of time to read, due to such a full-on day.

She became especially invested after requesting that I replace all references to Rowan with her name. As easy as it sounds to read a book of this level, having to replace every second pronoun while maintaining flow is a lesson in concentration.

We didn't manage to finish reading "Bubble of Rin" while I was visiting so we've been continuing over the phone. I gave her a set of fairy lights that were hanging up in my room when she visited me in June, so she has a little ritual now: prep for bed, turn on the fairy lights, then off with the main light and a jump into bed. She mentioned last night how she would usually be scared to lay there in the twilight glow but doing so while listening to me she feels safe. I love that she volunteers this sort of information.

I tried phoning in bedtime stories a couple of years ago, starting with The Great Glass Elevator but the attention span just wasn't there. Maybe it just needed the personal touch to kick things off.

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Instant like of a fun song:

The DNC - Jungle Flames

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