I actually try to put some thought into what the kids and I are going to read together, though I let fancy strike randomly for my own readings. I want the kids to have exposure to my most beloved childhood stories. Classics are also important. Since I'm also a bookworm, we read or listen to children's stories that I'm simply interested in myself.
One idea that I've mentioned before is developing an awareness of the great mythologies of Europe. I actually don't mean to be ethnocentric, but most of the literature that I've ever been exposed to is mostly contained to European mythologies, so those seem most important. I have vaguer plans for later reading some Chinese myths and African tales and such, but those are not so grand and, actually, I don't know popular modern children's fiction to go along with those tales, so 'hooks' are missing there.
At the moment, European mythologies alone are a bit overwhelming.
Greek mythology is almost covered to my satisfaction at this point. We began with D'Aulaire's Greek Myths, which is a lovely simplistic and interesting retelling of the most basic stories of Greek gods and goddesses. We loved it, and we began the Percy Jackson series of books by Rick Riordan at the same time. This modern adventure brought the old mythological figures to life, and it was a fantastic adjunct for cementing those stories a bit more. I'd thought we were pretty well covered, but I happened to see the CD collection of Tales of the Odyssey, by Mary Pope Osbourne (the Magic Tree House author), at the library and we're nearly done with these wonderful tales of Odysseus. I hadn't realized how these tales were all part of the Percy Jackson stories as well, so I'm very grateful I happened on the retelling of the original myths. I suppose I should seek out a kid's retelling of the Iliad, too, to be complete... Anyhow, it's not like I want the kids to be scholars of Greek mythology, but I do want their bases covered!
Part of that desire, I think, has to do with my very gradual realization over time of how many films and books have roots in mythology. I believe I would have had far more appreciation if I'd had some awareness of the classic mythologies. Over and over I've heard and seen references to Athena, Diana, Apollo, etc. and I honestly couldn't do much more than identify them as Greek/Roman gods, despite all my reading. The standard Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and other mythological readings were far too dense and, um, boring for my taste, but these children's versions are wonderful.
Here I need to insert an apology to Mary Pope Osborne, whom I initially pronounced as terribly dull. I couldn't fathom why her Magic Tree House books were so popular. I was pretty emphatic with my opinion, but as we listen to more of her books, I'm increasingly impressed and now feel quite sheepish about my original opinion. I will say, though, that a most wonderful Shakespearean actor is reading these tales of Odysseus, and Michael mentioned a joke made on the radio that they were bringing in a Shakespearean actor to read the tax code to make it interesting...anyhow, kudos to the combination of the Shakespearean actor with Osborne's books!
Another part of the desire to educate the kids in mythology has to do with feeling lost when Greek mythological references are made by literate folks...again and again. I'm so glad my kids won't feel this way when they reach higher education. They're retaining the names and such better than I am, too, which I'm completely happy about.
I do want to get past Greek mythology, but I seem to be having some trouble! We have already completed the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. These books have a basis in Welsh mythology, but when I've tried to read our book of Read-Aloud Celtic Myths, the kids have been absolutely disinterested. They were pretty fascinated by the Celtic Fairytales, but that's a whole different thing and had nothing to do with the setting for the Prydain chronicles. I may need to seek out a different re-telling of the Celtic myths, as I doubt they'll let me get anywhere with the book I have.
Norse mythology is still on the agenda, and I have the perfect fictional books and accompanying D'Aulaire's retellings, but I'm loathe to go there for some time, as they are all so bloody and violent! Not that the Greeks weren't, but the Norse stories are far more intense...
Hmm...I suppose I don't honestly have any other plans for mythological studies, except that I am quite excited about a book we are already beginning. It's the Bible! Actually, it's a collection of 365 of the most important stories of the Bible, brief and told in a dynamic way. I felt a bit dismayed a few months ago when a common Biblical reference popped up and the kids were absolutely clueless. So, even though I'm not terribly religious, I'm reading the Bible stories to the kids over the next year. I'm quite excited about it, actually, even though they've groaned! Their groans have to do with hearing excerpts of the relatively dull scripture in church and my one previous attempt to read a very dull children's book on the creation story. I think I've found a winner, though, so it should be okay!
We are having fun with these stories, honestly! My kids are completely immersed in the tales and beg for their nighttime and car stories. We aren't restricted to just these tales, either. We are midway through the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We also just finished the first three books from the Sarah, Plain and Tall collection. Alex does seem to enjoy these 'girly' stories pretty well, though he balked a bit at Fiona Finkelstein, Big-Time Ballerina. I had to get that book, of course, because Fiona takes ballet! The pioneer stories are okay by him, though, and they all have prominent male characters. In fact, our first real Ingall's book was Farmer Boy, which was about Almonzo, and the third Sarah story was from stepson Caleb's perspective.
There is so much that I want to share with the kids! Old classics, new collections, the Bible and mythologies... I know I've written about it before, but it's actually pretty amazing how quickly we work through the books. It's easy to get 'filler' books that aren't really that beneficial or great, and I'm much happier when I put a bit of thought and planning to our upcoming books, though I definitely just grab things off the shelf quite a bit! There are a couple of staples that I want to keep in mind for 'down' time when I don't have something exciting planned. The Magic Tree House books are very numerous and generally educational, though a bit 'young' for my kids at this point, but I may make an attempt to keep those in mind for our CD listening. I think I have the bedtime books covered for quite a while, though!
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