grandma's summer reading club

Justin's Grandma Beal was a great reader, and encouraged her 13 grandchildren to read by starting a summer reading club. A certain number of pages or books earned them prizes, and at the end of the summer she'd treat all her (reading) grandkids to ice cream, toys, videos, and even grand prize money. (Justin and I, already big readers ourselves, and a bit old for the club, got the satisfaction of being able to exchange books and opinions about them with Grandma.)

We lost Grandma Beal to cancer just four days before Juma was born, this week seven years ago. Justin's mom, Vicki, re-instituted the reading club for her six grandchildren.

Juma's was a little reluctant to start, but since I allowed him to read in bed before he falls asleep, he's been reading three or four books a night. That kid, like many, will do anything to put off sleep. He's already earned the first two levels of prizes:

a slurpee




and a dollar store purchase of his choice



I've also continued to read to him, especially books that he believes are a bit hard for him. Lately, we've read The Indian in the Cupboard, the entire Great Brain series, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, and How to Eat Fried Worms, all books I read when I was a kid. We've also read most of the Harry Potter books, but have taken breaks as things get a little scary for him. We are currently paused in the middle of the Order of the Phoenix.

As for me, (Grandma Beal would like to know) I'm currently reading When Atheism Becomes Religion: America's New Fundamentalists, In Fact: The Best of Creative Non-fiction, and Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, and Speak Peace in a World of Conflict.