. . . and so we did, one of us sipping on tea, the other bundled up, pacified for the time being, quiet. Sunlight was streaming through the curtains, the house settling, as houses are wont to do. There we sat, on the couch, two peas in a pod; she nodding off, me cooing and sipping.
I picked up my book du jour, Little Women. We will be discussing Little Women in our book group in a few weeks. I have read this book many-a-time since I was a young girl and I still cry over Beth and get angry at the schoolmaster who so cruelly punishes Amy for her cache of pickled limes. I have a few good copies of the book, and a “reading copy” I found at the Frugal Muse for $1.98 in the young readers’ section. A paperback copy I knew would travel well and that I could read abed or about.
The copy at hand was from 1987 and looked brand new and never opened, though it’s pages were yellowed and its original price a mere $3.99. I pitied the poor child who had never opened it up! Shame on me, for our Jo didn’t like pity!
I was in an early chapter with Jo and Aunt March. Jo was reading aloud to her crotchety old aunt; a job of sorts that brought much-needed money into the household reduced to genteel poverty. A good place to start, I thought, and so, I did. Book in hand, my bundled companion armed, and my best reading voice turned down low.
It doesn’t hurt to start early the endearing pastime of reading aloud to one’s grandchild – even if she is sound asleep and only 10 days old!
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, illustration by Jessie W. Smith
Lifeonthecutoff's Blog 
Reading the classics is always a good choice. My parents never read “down” to us unless it was an old favorite reread just for fun. I remember my Dad reading Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn when we were very young and Mom reading Little Women and James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan probably when I was 5 or 6. I believe babies learn the beauty of the language if they hear it early on. 🙂 Enjoy that baby.
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Wow, that was fast Janet. I just posted then edited (I’m always editing my own words – can we say obsessive?). My dad read aloud as well. I think we were lucky children to have heard stories from both genders, don’t you?
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How wonderful you finally get to read to your grandchild, carrying on the family tradition!
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And I even had the pages turned right side up.
This little girl is sure to be a reader. Her parents have amassed a library that exceeds mine already, including a pretty healthy collection of children’s literature. Wonder where my daughter gets it from?
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[…] aired a docudrama about Alcott’s life and the glee I felt when our book group discussed Little Women. You can only imagine my excitement as I came to the realization that this little gem of a book […]
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