Andy's reading habit

Andy & Dan, taking a break from both reading and playing, enjoying each other's company. We marvel every day at how close they really are. Sure, they bicker some days (like an old married couple) but overall they are great friends, and wonderful brothers.

Okay, so Andy has become a voracious reader. Yes, he didn't really read until he was 8 (and a few months), and only recently began to read alone silently -- most of his reading is aloud, choral style, with Gary at bedtime -- but he's really taken off recently. Over the summer, he discovered manga books. They're basically graphic novels, based on anime cartoons he sees on TV. There's a huge genre of them. We're at the library at least once a week, and it seems there's a steady stream of manga books for Andy to choose from. So far, he's read some yuyu hakusho, and some yugioh. Today at the library, he found a DragonballZ one. Last week, it was six yugioh books.

He sat down and started reading immediately, while Dan and I looked for more books. As we walked out to the car Andy asked if it was okay if he read while he walked. I smiled and said sure, reminding him to look out for cars. We're ready to cross the parking lane to our car, and I see a van coming. Dan & I stop, Andy keeps walking, head down, reading his book. I call out to him to stop, by which time the driver sees what's going on and waves us across. I'm so excited -- my boy who was never taught to read by anyone, who learned on his own, has fallen so in love with books that he reads while he walks!

Reading sitting down here, at the park before others kids showed up for playgroup -- halfway thru a book he'd checked out that morning.