My eleven year old is at that precious stage of life when she gallops through books. She reads more swiftly by the year, and her disposable time is as yet uncurbed by the demands of secondary school or the responsibilities of adulthood. It may be decades before she is again able to spend so much of her week reading purely for pleasure and curiosity.
I wish I had a more detailed record of the reams of books I trawled through during that happy period of childhood, so I wanted to help her create one.
A tracking system for Isla has to be colorful and fun. (She does not share my love of spreadsheets.) I was inspired by various bookshelf templates on Pinterest, featuring blank book spines to be coloured in and labeled with the titles you complete. To reflect how much she values books, I decided to make a deluxe version as a Christmas gift, with her favourite quote from Anne Frank’s diary, thick cardstock, and a frame for display and durability.
I sketched out the concept.
Our artistic nanny waved her magic felt tip and transformed my doodle into . . .
(In truth, as with most fairy magic, Rachel beavered away for several hours, with furrowed brow. If you’re short on time, patience, or drawing facility, a faster option is to download a bookshelf template from the internet and glue it to a cardstock backing.)
How does Isla feel about her gift?
The proof is in the implementation.
During the rainy post-Christmas lull, she finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and immediately added it to her shelf.
The care she took with her colouring is a sign that this is a win.
If she maintains momentum through the year, we may kickstart a tradition, with a fresh shelf to fill in each year. Next time, I’d like to add some personal touches, such as her pet hamster perched on top of a volume, or a beloved cuddly toy.
I love the idea of marking the end of a book journey by memorialising the title, and of being able to review, at a glance, the flow of stories and ideas that have shaped your mental and emotional landscape. I hope the visual prompt will keep fresh her memory of the books she’s befriended. The bookshelf can also promote thought and discussion. We may discover patterns in her reading choices, note the blooming and morphing of her interests, and explore the commonalities and contrasts in the books to which she gravitates. The shelf may become a lens through which to observe her growth, development and evolving world view.
Since growing-through-books is a lifetime endeavour, I sketched a shelf of my own, on a back page of next year’s planner. Following Isla’s lead, I will do my best to colour inside the lines – and more importantly, to devote more of my hours to reading for its own sake. These days, I may not have the leisure to gallop through the literary landscape, but a cantor, or even a trot would do me good.
More Ideas for a Book Lover’s Christmas
Here are some other ways that our family brings reading into Christmas:
- I have read A Christmas Carol by Dickens out loud to both my kids, and we revisit the Muppets’ version every Yuletide.
- On December 23rd, we read The Gift of the Magi. Cue tears when Della takes up her curling iron to repair “the ravages made by generosity added to love.” We follow up with the Sesame Street parody – and more tears when Burt exchanges his paperclip collection for a pink soap dish;
- We have adopted the delightful Finnish Christmas Eve custom of Jolabokaflod, with an annual exchange books to read by the fire after dinner. Thanks to Mom Blogger, Susie Johnson for introducing me to this tradition.
- We wrap up Christmas Eve by reading The Night Before Christmas, in a version lovingly crafted by my skilful mother in law, RIP.
How do books feature in your holiday celebrations?
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