Reading with Young Adults

As a literary mama to three children over age 16, the groundwork was laid long, long ago. I was much like a museum curator, guiding my charges to what I thought was important but giving them freedom to discover jump off spots where they could explore their own interests. 

During those early years, board books littered the floor and reading came before every scheduled dip into unconsciousness. Rocking and reading, rocking and reading. Sandra Boynton was my constant companion, but only so many barnyard dances are entertaining for a mom in her fourth decade. Still, we mooed and baaed and oinked our way to preschool. 

Kindergarten meant more reading, more library trips, more curation to build their knowledge base. And of course, they chose their own. Sometimes I would visit the library alone to scour the shelves for Disney princess or Cars books because those were as precious as gold. My own reading material? That wasn’t as exciting as finding a book that made my kids’ eyes light up. 

My English teacher heart was much happier when the kids moved into middle school independent reading assignments where I could suggest my favorites. Even now, the youngest keeps a copy of Laurence Yep’s historical fiction Dragonwings on his shelf. I kept the paperbag project he made for the novel with his drawings of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. 

I didn’t buy the children candy or video games or fancy tennis shoes, but I would always, always buy them a book they wanted, even if I had to find it gently used. My 18-year-old son now takes advantage of that habit for his graphic novel collection that lines his room. 

When I go through my copies of The Things They Carried and Of Mice and Men, I find the boys’ sticky notes they left when they read them for Advanced Placement (AP) classes. My daughter didn’t need my suggestions; she gravitated to reading and spent most of her college years somehow reading her books for classes and fantasy books to keep herself emotionally afloat. She made time for fun reading in a way I still struggle with. 

My work isn’t quite done, but I’m mostly out of the curation business in my house. This is my rest before grandchildren come along and I start all over again.