So I keep forgetting that Bridget still enjoys being read to. Since she learned to read on her own ( far more than I can keep up with) I stopped remembering to offer to read out loud to her. She still enjoys it though so I'm going to try and remember more often.

A year or two ago someone gave her The Tale of Despereaux for her birthday. It looked sort of dark and she wasn't interested at the moment so I put it on a shelf. Ok, yes, our house is a mess because I found it just two days ago. I asked Bridget if she wanted me to read it to her and she was thrilled. Yeah, my baby still loves being read to :)

The book though . . . . ugh. Ok, I keep reading on the internet how much it's loved and how great everyone thinks it is. Really? I found it incredibly dark and depressing. The worst for me was the poor girl who, by the age of 7, had been beaten so often her ears were permanantly disfigured and she had lost her sense of smell (and this after her mother died and her father sold her to the man who beats her).

Ok, yes, I know there's this idea out there that great literature (whatever that means) has to be dark, dreary and depressing. I guess it's a knee jerk reaction to the sanitized stories and happy endings that used to be pushed on kids.

But . . . . . but . . . . . I like happy stories. So sue me, but I do. I like stories where good conquers evil, I like happy endings where all the loose threads are tied up, I like books that make me smile and giggle and even laugh out loud.

I really don't feel that I came away with anything positive from this book. It didn't make me grow or learn or anything, it just depressed me. Ok, yeah, it has a happy ending but frankly the ending was bizarre. The entire book was dark and miserable and then suddenly, in the space of a few pages we have a (mostly) happy ending. Weird.

Gee, am I a downer today or what? Monday I'll ask the librarian if she has any comedies to recommend. I want to enjoy reading to my kids, not come away from it feeling like I need to eat some sugar and take a nap.