With hubby and I being fairly avid readers, we know how books can open up worlds of imagination, knowledge and creativity - just through plain old simple text. Pretty amazing, isn't it? So, it had been gratifying that both our girls are very much into reading.
There was a little time when we worried about Little Bee because she was (and still is!) more interested in toys and TV, compared to books. However, I had been surreptitiously creating opportunities where she would have no access to TV, computers or toys for protracted periods of time, and hence had to depend on reading as a form of escapism. And then she was hooked!
I thought of summarising very loosely the main types of books that our 2 girls are reading or had read, just to see if there are different reading preferences between the 2 of them.
Big Bee
Big Bee started reading chapter books from the second year of kindergarten (K2). She had a very healthy dose of Enid Blyton when young, discovering the whole spectrum of Blyton's stories, and then went through the usual popular children's classics and now, teenage fiction. She tends to be (very) obsessed by certain series at different stages of her life, and like me, would devour entire series before her fanaticism died down.
K2
Rainbow Fairies and other simple fantasy series
Primary 1
Enid Blyton's fantasy series - The Enchanted Wood, Wishing Chair, the fabulous "O'Clock Tales" which used to be my favourite when I was younger, eg 8 O'Clock Tales (she read my original copy from the days when I was 8!)
Also started on Amelia Jane's (Naughtiest Girl) series but she was fairly neutral to the series.
Primary 2
Re-reading Enid Blyton's The Enchanted Wood's series at least 7 to 8 times...she was that enchanted!
Started on (and was hooked in a major way) Enid Blyton's Malory Towers and St Clare's series, which I believe she re-read many times over as well!
Primary 3
Started reading classics like Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Little Women, etc. Her personal childhood classic is Black Beauty, even till now.
Hopping around Roald Dahl's books but was fairly neutral to them. Her favourite Roald Dahl book is Mathilda.
Discovered Enid Blyton's adventure and mystery series, and was addicted! Entire series like Famous Five, Secret Seven and all the Adventure Series were chomped down by her rapidly! At her peak addiction stage, she could complete 1 to 2 Famous Five books in a day. This was also the year that her eyesight went drastically bad because she spent most of her time buried in books.
Primary 4
Peer influence set in! Started thinking that Enid Blyton is too childish, and began reading fantasy fiction like Percy Jackson, lots of Greek mythology books, Shakespearean adaptations in the form of novels, Lord of The Rings, Narnia, and the David Eddings series which hubby and I used to love. Unfortunately, she was not a fan of David Eddings or Narnia, but really loved the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (which she re-read multiple times again!).
Primary 5
At the beginning of the year, she went a little overboard on Harry Potter, and completed the entire series in a couple of weeks. Once again, she indulged in her usual re-reading and also watched the entire Harry Potter movie series in a few weeks.
She was feeling a little lost in the middle of primary 5, so I introduced her to Mitch Albom and Anne Frank. I think she could not quite understand the scale of horror in Anne Frank's diary until we went to Dachau in Germany. Surprisingly, she liked Mitch Albom quite a bit!
Her friends started reading more teenage fiction, and she went absolutely bollocks over The Hunger Games trilogy last December (which was when I finally decided to let her read this series, after months of persuasion). Her first discovery of more mature romance in these books should be pretty memorable! I also started reading all these teenage fiction these days, just to make sure that the content is appropriate, and I must say I really like Hunger Games too!
Primary 6
More teenage fiction ensued. She has now wolfed down entire series of Divergent, Mortal Instruments and Clockwork Prince, and is heading for John Green next!
Little Bee
Little Bee is a relatively late reader, compared to her sister. Until now, she still prefers doodling, toys and TV more than books. However, if she chanced upon a book she was fascinated with, she would be totally focused. She has shown a lot of interest in Roald Dahl, which is a complete difference from her sister! She does not really like Enid Blyton's Enchanted Wood series, although she completed the first 2 books of that series. She is also more "practical" and less fanatic than Big Bee, in that she does not believe in re-reading books, at least for now.
K2
Reading was more "academic" for her, as in I used books to get her to recognise more words. Peter and Jane series was a big thing in her life then! She also read lots of Ladybird books. She started on Rainbow Fairies, but was not very fascinated by them.
Primary 1
Started on Enid Blyton's books, mainly The Enchanted Wood series. She was still reading a smattering of picture books then, but was beginning to be intrigued by Shakespeare. She loved the simplified Shakespeare stories in the Usborne's children series, and frankly, I was surprised that Shakespeare appealed to her. I guess dramatic Little Bee loved the plot twists and comic tragedies found in many Shakespearean stories!
Primary 2
She discovered Roald Dahl recently, and for the first time in her life, ravaged a few of his books in a short time! She read almost all his children's books, except for The Witches, which freaked her out. Her favourite Roald Dahl books are Mathilda, James & The Giant Peach and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.
I bought a copy of Usborne's adapted stories from Charles Dickens, and again, I was amazed that she was captivated by Dickens! She finished reading all the 6 to 7 stories in the Usborne book in less than a fortnight - which was considered a feat for playful and active her.
She also started reading Enid Blyton's Malory Towers, and although she was a little intrigued in the beginning, she still prefers Roald Dahl. I am in the midst of looking for more Roald Dahl's books for her, so any recommendations would be great!
Until now, I still find it really amazing that the Bees' preferences in reading could be so different! What are your children's reading adventures like?
And that is exactly the fundamental philosophy that Little Bee lives her life by. This girl with the petite frame and a booming voice never seems to be deflated by anything. She trundles through life with limitless energy and infectious zest, and only worries about not having sufficient time to play!
