Uday’s reading journey began from very early on. Since I still feel very new to the whole parenting journey, I do feel that I will not or am not the parent to “stress” too much on a particular hobby but I DO want Uday to be excited by the smell of the books and I definitely want him to be marvelled by the many many layers that are hidden in words.
Soak up everything while reading!
I don’t obsess about anything in particular, but I DO get absorbed by the beauty of some sentences that I come across, scrolled on random pages of books. Imagine me a sponge soaking in water, until it can hold no more and VOILA!! You enter this overwhelming world of emotions.
Oh! Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy!! WHY don’t you marry already and your eyes seem to want to race against the pages and the words to get to the part where they actually do. Or when you cry the whole bus journey to Jaipur, because thank you “No Greater Love, Daniel Steele“. Even when Patti Smith moves you beyond imagination and you feel yourself living like just kids. Oh! the softness of those words and the honesty of it all. I get goosebumps just by thinking about it.
Books take you places
Looking back to when Enid Blyton made the golliwogs, magic forests, the faraway tree, exciting picnics, living on islands real and even now, when you’re all “grown up”, a part of you still wants to wrap your arms around the secret-whispering trees. A part of you still hears the “wisha wisha wisha”. In the very wise words of Dr. Seuss, and I don’t think I can sum it up any better, “Oh! The Places you’ll go!”
Books set you free…
Of course there are people, who are managing their lives just fine, without reading but you don’t know what you miss until you miss it.
And even on some days, when everything seems so wrong, I know that I am completely free. I am free to love, to hate, to leave the negativity that is engulfing me, behind.
And you know how I know that I am free…..because a character was being tied, tortured, beaten up and covered in blood but in that moment he still felt free, to hate his tormentors or to forgive them. With that freedom of choice, he chose his own life story. A few lines made me believe and I carry those lines with me.
I just want Uday to be able to experience the magic of books in his own way.
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links to some of the books have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! Do let us know if you’d like to buy some other children’s books that are not listed here by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com and we’ll enable a shopping link for you!]
sumira, sumira, sumira! this blog warms the cockles of my heart for many reasons!! i love the fact that you are so candid about the fact that books and only books set you free! that’s all we had when we were small to lend wings to our fantasies. i’m so grateful we didn’t have any other distractions at home apart from DD :))).
i’m sure uday will be a reader for life, just like you. and will savour each word, each story he reads and will say wisha, wisha, wisha even when he grows up!
thank you for the lovely lovely read.
you give me hope sumira. i hope my childoo gets to meet you some day. you will rub some wonderful vibes on her 🙂
Hi Sumira. I am glad to read your post after a long time. I so miss yout writing and would definitely wants to know this mantra of writing(how u manage to pen down so wonderfully that one feel attached and related). I can vouch that Uday will be an avid reader like u. Keeo writing 👍👍
Hi Sumira. I am glad to read your post after a long time. I so miss yout writing and would definitely wants to know this mantra of writing(how u manage to pen down so wonderfully that one feel attached and related). I can vouch that Uday will be an avid reader like u. Keep writing 👍👍