The windows of the house are boarded up, water is stored, flashlights and candles are ready and waiting. The kids hope they don’t lose the signal for their hand-held technologies. You hope the roof doesn’t blow off.
It’s been a long while since this many members of your family have been in the same place all at once. Maybe the group is not at home–maybe you’re all in the car, stuck in traffic on an evacuation route.
If only you had a family-friendly book for everyone to share. To kill the boredom. To calm the nerves. To reconnect you to one another.
You recall a period in your lives when you read together. Your spouse shared an article in a favorite magazine. A daughter or son, niece or nephew, tucked a sweet head under your chin to hear a fairy tale. You and your sibling raced each other to devour the same romance novel or legal thriller at the top of the bestseller list.
You can reclaim that closeness that reading together brings. You don’t even have to purchase a copy for every member of the family. One will do. One printed copy of a book to pass around the room or the car. Everyone able to turn the pages will have the opportunity to touch them, whether they are able to read them or not. Someone else can do the actual reading for the three-year-old or the great aunt who is partially blind. They’ll still hear the words and enjoy the sounds of your voices bringing a story to life.
Revisit a classic like Anne of Green Gables or The Swiss Family Robinson, or select a new title from your library or bookstore. Search online for middle-grade novels that family members of all ages can relate to. Check out the reviews.
It doesn’t matter if you are only a “family of two” like Wendy and her mother. If you want to know your family better, get your heads together inside a book and discuss what you find.
I hope you won’t wait for the next hurricane to do it.
Bird Face Wendy 