Little Boy on the Prairie . . . Uh, by the Swimming Pool.

Chillin' at the Pool . . . with Laura Ingalls?

After over eight years of rarely reading anything by choice, and always declaring to anyone who will listen, "I can't read!," Denver decided to pick up Little House on the Prairie last week.

Suddenly, he plopped down beside me on the couch and said, "Guess what?  I can really read."  He was smiling from ear to ear.  He told me a little bit about the story and how he can figure out (nearly) all the words.

He went around the house sharing his miraculous news with everyone.  We all congratulated him and then left him alone to get to know the Ingalls family.

He's been taking his book with him everywhere-- laughing and talking excitedly about the adventures of Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura, and Carrie.

He only reads a page or two at each sitting.  Figuring out all those words can make his head hurt, he says, but the story is good. Occasionally, he spells a word and looks at me expectantly for an explanation.  

Once, I offered to read to him for a little while just to let him enjoy the story.  "Oh, NO!  If you read more than one or two words to me, I'll have to start the whole book over!" he declared dramatically.

Writing with a homemade hawk feather pen,
"Just like Abraham Lincoln," according
to Denver.

Denver uses his clown nose
to block the smell of his
chemical concoctions.

I do what I'm told and try to act like it's no big deal.  After all, I knew he could do it whenever he wanted to-- it's just taken him quite a while to make that choice!

There is a big difference between what we call reading when a child is five or six (knowing basic alphabet sounds and reading three letter words phonetically), and what every child knows real reading is: being able to pick up a book or magazine or menu and know what it says without help. 

Congratulations, Buddy.  You took your sweet time, but you've crossed over.