The Book Discussion

I was reading when the phone rang.  Deeply engrossed in my current library book, Emily Alone by Stewart O'Nan. I'm loving the book and taking it slowly, a chapter or three of an evening. When I close the book, I think things like: Do I want to be Emily when I grow old? Am I already turning into Emily? Would my Book Club find enough in this gentle, understated story to chew on?

So I sort of reluctantly marked my place and got up to answer the phone.

It was Sam, newly turned six and two-thirds through Kindergarten. He was calling to tell me that he had just read my very favorite Dr. Seuss type book all by himself! And he got to color in two kites on his achievement chart as a result.

Clearly, congratulations were in order. So I delivered them, and a serious book discussion ensued. We considered character development, plot exposition, and illustrations. We each recited a couple of our favorite lines.

It was satisfying. Very satisfying. Emily would most certainly agree.