Eka began his journey into books with comics and picture books filled with his favourite characters. This school and class teacher played a big part in feeding his interest into books by letting him select age appropriate books across genres. Every week he came home with a new library book that piqued his interest in a new thing. I could see him grow his vocabulary every day. Most evenings at bedtime we would read out of the library book, taking turns by reading pages in patterns.
During Term 3, Eka's school celebrated their annual Book Week. Children were encouraged to buy books at discounted prices to grow their library. Neerja and I were keen to get Eka a few books but didn't know which ones to buy. We presumed his growing interest in comic super heroes would determine his choice in books. Having resigned to this presumption we marched onward to the book fair.
At the book stall Eka surprised us with his choice of books. He selected two books on puppies, one on animal babies, and one encyclopedia on planet Earth. Good choice Eka.
These were big boy books for Eka. Few pictures, pages filled with words, sentences, and complex subjects. Eka began reading his first growing up book, "The Puppy who was Left Behind" by Holly Webb. It's been a pleasure seeing him keep to the book, reading at bedtime and continuing on waking up. A week and a bit more has passed and Eka's finished reading this book. His excitement in completing a book with over a hundred pages is fabulous. And this excitement along with his curiosity to learn new thing will continue to feed his interest in books. I have even opened a GoodReads account to track his library.
I'm happy. It's like passing on a passion and a legacy to my son. Thanks Eka for giving me another pleasure at being a dad... your Dad.
