M is getting a longer attention span, we’re nearly done with all of the various George Selden books about Harry the Cat, Chester the Cricket and Tucker the Mouse and friends. He wishes there were more illustrations, and like B before him, found "Chester Cricket’s New Home," more boring than the other ones. But he’s able to give little narrations to me or DH when one or the other of us picks up the story at a new spot and we want to know what we missed. "Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy," and "A Cricket in Times Square," were the two books with the most powerful begging at the end of each chapter, to rate their interest level.
B is reading "The Fellowship of the Ring" to himself, and I’m reading "The Hobbit" to him. He has recently read "Eragon" to himself. Last night he and DH had a long conversation about who’s bad guys were more believable, Tolkein’s or Paolini’s.
For family read aloud after dinner and before bedtime negotiations, DH has been reading some Patric MacManus humor essays collected in "A Fine and Pleasant Misery" I think they are originaly from Outdoor Life? Not a whole lot having to do with Advent, but we can all laugh together over them. I finally did find my collection of Madeleine L’Engle Christmas stories from that safe place I’d stashed it last January, so I can read some of those. I also like to read various Christmas chapters from novels, and from our 50 year old ‘Children’s Hour’ anthology I inherited from my Grandparents. It was a freebie with an encyclopedia set.
We don’t usually pick special advent Bible readings, just whatever comes next at bedtime from wherever the boys were in November. After dinner, DH reads the psalm and proverb of the day from the One Year Bible, whichever version we happen to have stashed in the tea towel drawer handy to the table. We like to trade versions with my Mom for variety’s sake at New Year.