One of the greatest gifts Christopher got for Christmas was from his favorite babysitter Kylee. That smart girl bought him a bevy of books that she thought he might like -- that would be at his level for reading, would be interesting for a boy, and are parts of series so that if he liked them there would be more. She picked out "Flat Stanley" (great book with lots of laughs), an "A to Z Mystery" book (which has been recommended by others and was on the list) and a "Time Warp Trio" book.

Now all his Christmas presents have been great, but while I've been recovering I haven't been a very active and fun parent. That has meant way more TV and video games than my strict parenting usually allows. So, I have made myself feel better by telling Christopher that if he wants a show or a video game he has to come and read a few chapters with me first. We share -- I read a page, then he reads a page, then he reads a page, then I read a page.

It tends to work out best for my boy who likes to enjoy the communal nature of a book reading that has been his experience up to this point of becoming his own proficient reader. He doesn't like giving up that cuddle time. And it gives him confidence as he branches out to harder books. We have been reading up a storm and I've been really grateful to have these books in the house during recovery. Should have made a trip to the library right before surgery but thankfully Kylee helped ease the fact that I didn't. The end result is that we need more of these great series. I'm so happy to have branched out beyong "Magic Tree House" -- and to see Christopher enjoying and feeling confident in doing so.