Story Time

One of the most treasured aspects of my own childhood, as well as that of my children, is the memories that were built, and the creativity that was sparked, during story times.  My father read to the family around the dinner table and in the living room before bedtime for years, and to this day, when I read the Chronicles of Narnia or the Lord of the Rings, I hear his voice, his expression, his sense of drama that made the stories come to life!  And even earlier than that, when we were little toddlers, mother would read Arch Books to us until we had them memorized (but we still liked it when she read them to us).  And we also had some recordings of the remarkable story teller, Ethel Barrett, and we would sit in the living room and listen to her exciting stories, complete with sound effects (wooo!!) on the record player.  Kids who have been raised in our high-tech age with easy access to movies and videos might not appreciate just how fun it could be to listen to a story teller this way, with no flashy visuals – just your own imagination taking flight as the story unfolded. Those recordings are hard to find anymore, but I did find this on YouTube (if you want to experience it the way we did as kids, press play, and then minimize the window and just listen!):

Anyway, with our own family, we accumulated a rather large number of children’s books over the years, which were systematically loved-to-pieces by our precious tykes, and by the time a new little fellow showed up in our home, we had virtually nothing left for the pre-school stage of life.  Well, thanks to a dear friend Julie, from my days at Oak Grove Lutheran Highschool,  who sent me a little collection of Arch Books she had saved from her own kids, we now have some bible stories for Beedo.  And does he ever love his story time!  Most of all he loves to sit on Paul’s lap and listen – he is never quieter or more attentive than those special times!

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It is a special joy to be able to read these stories that I remember and love so well from my childhood to yet another child of God.  We are on the lookout for more books for Beedo — do you have any favorites in your household? Share them in the comments, wont you?  We’d love some new ideas as well as the old favorites that we will be reacquiring as we’re able!