The Giving Tree

by Shel Silverstein is mine and Lily's favorite book.

We hadn't read it in awhile. Her reading has advanced to the point where she was able to read much of the book to me this time. Having a book that we take from the shelf and each time we read it together she is able to read more and more of it herself is magical.

The first time we read the book she was mesmerized by the repetition of words and seeing those words on the page she noticed that apple and happy both contain app. She fell in love with learning the spellings of words and she memorized dozens of words. Now she is reading in school and skims over the apple and happy not even noticing the app in both.

This time she is hearing the story. She is asking me questions, who is not really happy? Why aren't they happy? Read this page again mommy. Tell me again why is the tree not happy. Why did the boy take her apples, branches and trunk. Tell me again mommy.

We talked about the story, the meaning, for a couple of days and then it was gone. We moved on to another book, another story, another thought. The Giving Tree sits beside me on my desk, ready to be reshelved for another day. I wonder what magic this book will bring to us the next time we pull it from the shelf.

-do you have a favorite book that you share with your child?

Each of my children have different books they love. At this age for Mandy it was Dr. Suess's ABC's. She made me read that book to her every night for more than a year. Lily gets consumed by a book and talks of nothing else and then we move on, consumed by another book only to return and reacquaint ourselves with a book again on another day.