Most nights, I read to Rowan at bedtime (recently finished the fifth Harry Potter book, currently reading the Sixth “Series of Unfortunate Events” book, The Ersatz Elevator. After I’ve read a chapter or so, I turn the light out and let Rowan go to sleep to the sound of a tape.
She has very few tapes - a few Jacqueline Wilsons, a couple of Roald Dahls, some Sophie books, the BBC dramatization of The Lord of the Rings (which scares her in parts). And she’s heard them all so many times that she can never choose which one to listen to again, and each night the choosing seems to get more drawn-out and painful.
Recently she’s taken a new approach - when I ask her what tape she wants to listen to, she says “a tape of you reading [insert name of book we're currently reading here]“. I have to say I was tempted… if it weren’t for the fact that reading some of those books once is quite enough, I really don’t think I could handle a second read for posterity, and also I quite enjoy the fact that I’m there with Rowan when I’m reading them, so can explain bits as we go along and gauge Rowan’s reactions.
Well, I’ve been thinking about it more and more, and decided that it would, after all, make a good Christmas presents - some CDs of me reading a story that Rowan can listen to again and again. But what to read - like I mentioned, I don’t fancy re-reading anything, and although I have a couple of books waiting to be read (chiefly The Owl Service by Alan Garner) I already have it set in my mind that I’m going to read those aloud at bedtimes. I was thinking about this again today when we went into Oxfam in Broomhill… I scanned the childrens’ book section in the hope that I might find something interesting. A book called Ronia the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren caught my eye - I’ve only ever read one other Lindgren book: The Brothers Lionheart (like the reviewer on Amazon, I think I first read part of it in Cricket and Company) - it was a book that blew me away, the central one of the three most memorable books of my childhood (the earliest one was, I think, called When Great Bear met Little Bear - something I’ve searched and searched for on the Internet but managed to find nothing about - and the later one was The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by the aforementioned Alan Garner). The Brothers Lionheart is about two brothers who die and go to a magical world.
So anyway, I bought the book. And tonight… I started making my own audiobook!
Wow, I’m impressed by your audiobook, Dan. The way you impersonate the different characters, the pitch and squelching of your voice, your almost immaculate Oxfordian english… Really, really nice. Brought me back a foursome of decades…
I suppose you’ve already read Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass to Rowan ? That would be my personal choice for a book to my kid, and then the year after take it to the next level and read an annotated Lewis Caroll, then his writings, then explaining all the layers in his texts, etc…
Still, and whatever, very impressive. Rowan must be proud of you. You’re a good dad.
Gee, thanks Guy
I’m impressed that you’re impressed. (Oh yeah, I read it out through one of Gill’s stockings too, you’ll be pleased to hear, though still battling with how to get the sound perfect on the crappy little free-with-an-Apple-Mac mic that I use [all the other mics I ever had have been trashed by kids playing popstars])
I do try and it’s a skill I’ve been sorta honing since… well, since Rowan was born pretty much. In fact, since before that - I used to read to Gill, sadly don’t get the chance to do that much any more - and my passion for reading aloud was kicked off at University where a group of us who shared a house used to get together every evening and read aloud - Lady Chatterly’s Lover, The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and I’m sure a couple of others - over spliffs and bourbon biscuits. It’s one of my happiest memories from that time.
I haven’t actually read the Alice books to Rowan - I meant to a couple of years ago, but actually my follow up to the two books was going to be Automated Alice, or whatever it’s called, the book by Jeff Noon that pretends to be a lost Lewis Caroll. But no, nothing in that direction yet - I should do it soon before she loses interest in such things. I didn’t actually read the Alice books myself until I was about 16.
Its nice Dan!
I was raised on Astrid Lindgren’s books, in Sweden she was something of a institution.
They also made a film off the book, which was a huge hit and still is hugely popular. The girl who played Ronia is now a MP representing the left wing party (VPK). Astrid is dead since a couple of years, but still the most internationally famous and translated swedish female author ever.
Hi Rania,
Try here: http://tinyurl.com/3zzqj