reading to my daughter...
My daughter and I spend a good deal of time in the evenings reading. Probably no less that 20 minutes, but sometimes as much as 45, which to me is an amazing amount of time for a 5 year old to remain attentive to a story without pictures.
Tonight we finished Black Beauty. A wonderful story that I don't think I have ever read, although I am fairly certain I started it at one time in my youth and did not finish it. It has been an enjoyable journey, with smiles and tears, worries and joys as Black Beauty is passed from owner to owner, some good, some bad. It seems that the more I read to my daughter, the more she sees me cry, and sometimes she asks me if I am going to. It is funny. I guess I would rather have her see her father like that than let her grow up thinking that I don't cry or that I don't have any sensitivity to struggles and sadness in life.
So the book ended happily, which still brought tears and choked me up in finishing it, as Black Beauty, through interesting turns of events at the end of his life ended up back in the care of a man who had looked after Black Beauty as a child and actually almost been responsible for his death as he did not yet know how to properly care for an overworked, overheated horse.
through this book, I don't know the accuracy of the physical needs and ailments of horses, but it seems that there is almost an art to taking care of and properly treating a horse. Is this true? Dad may be able to weigh in on this one. It seems that their food can help with cooling, with cramping and the rubbing down and covering and bedding and all sorts of details can significantly effect their performance, their lifespan and their overall health and ability.
My daughter very much would like to own a horse and care for it. I don't know how that would be possible in this day and age. Yet I would like to give her the opportunity to care for such an animal, or participate in it's care in a way that gave her a sense of responsibility and love for animals, for God's creatures.
The part of reading Black Beauty that I enjoyed most, other than my daughter's enamoring of the story, is that the book is filled with Godliness and Biblical views on the world, which is not something that I was expecting. Of course, it is expected more from a book written in 1877. It was interesting to see the biblical themes and ideas coming through the book. It is also interesting to note that the book was the only one written by the author, Anna Sewell. It was published 3 months before her death from what I understand and she was only paid 20 pounds for it. She did know of it's success before her death, because it was immediately enjoyed and successful. My daughter and I will probably pick one of the movies that has been made after the book to watch now that she has it in her head.
Brighton has picked Heidi as our next read and I believe the Wizard of Oz after that, or possibly Treasure Island. She fell in love with the idea of Heidi as soon as she realized that Heidi was an orphan. This is fun for me, for I have not read Heidi, nor the Wizard of Oz, nor the entire Treasure Island, though I have seen the latter movie many times and I have read abridged versions as well. I am pleased that my daughter loves classics, whether they be movies or books, it makes it easier to provide her with material to read and watch since much of the stuff of today is not of quality or content with which I approve to expose her just yet. Sure, there are hard things in these books, but it is presented in a much more matter of fact manner than the blatant shock factor and bubblegum format that much of today's books and media push forth as good.
Tomorrow is the first workout of the new season. I have had some preparation sessions, but tomorrow will be hard. I meet Johnny at 8:30PM. wish me well.
Tonight we finished Black Beauty. A wonderful story that I don't think I have ever read, although I am fairly certain I started it at one time in my youth and did not finish it. It has been an enjoyable journey, with smiles and tears, worries and joys as Black Beauty is passed from owner to owner, some good, some bad. It seems that the more I read to my daughter, the more she sees me cry, and sometimes she asks me if I am going to. It is funny. I guess I would rather have her see her father like that than let her grow up thinking that I don't cry or that I don't have any sensitivity to struggles and sadness in life.
So the book ended happily, which still brought tears and choked me up in finishing it, as Black Beauty, through interesting turns of events at the end of his life ended up back in the care of a man who had looked after Black Beauty as a child and actually almost been responsible for his death as he did not yet know how to properly care for an overworked, overheated horse.
through this book, I don't know the accuracy of the physical needs and ailments of horses, but it seems that there is almost an art to taking care of and properly treating a horse. Is this true? Dad may be able to weigh in on this one. It seems that their food can help with cooling, with cramping and the rubbing down and covering and bedding and all sorts of details can significantly effect their performance, their lifespan and their overall health and ability.
My daughter very much would like to own a horse and care for it. I don't know how that would be possible in this day and age. Yet I would like to give her the opportunity to care for such an animal, or participate in it's care in a way that gave her a sense of responsibility and love for animals, for God's creatures.
The part of reading Black Beauty that I enjoyed most, other than my daughter's enamoring of the story, is that the book is filled with Godliness and Biblical views on the world, which is not something that I was expecting. Of course, it is expected more from a book written in 1877. It was interesting to see the biblical themes and ideas coming through the book. It is also interesting to note that the book was the only one written by the author, Anna Sewell. It was published 3 months before her death from what I understand and she was only paid 20 pounds for it. She did know of it's success before her death, because it was immediately enjoyed and successful. My daughter and I will probably pick one of the movies that has been made after the book to watch now that she has it in her head.
Brighton has picked Heidi as our next read and I believe the Wizard of Oz after that, or possibly Treasure Island. She fell in love with the idea of Heidi as soon as she realized that Heidi was an orphan. This is fun for me, for I have not read Heidi, nor the Wizard of Oz, nor the entire Treasure Island, though I have seen the latter movie many times and I have read abridged versions as well. I am pleased that my daughter loves classics, whether they be movies or books, it makes it easier to provide her with material to read and watch since much of the stuff of today is not of quality or content with which I approve to expose her just yet. Sure, there are hard things in these books, but it is presented in a much more matter of fact manner than the blatant shock factor and bubblegum format that much of today's books and media push forth as good.
Tomorrow is the first workout of the new season. I have had some preparation sessions, but tomorrow will be hard. I meet Johnny at 8:30PM. wish me well.
posted by TomB at 8:00 PM
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