Thanks Gregor and Percy!

Jacob is not known in our family for having a love of learning, or even enjoying anything that resembles learning. And that includes reading. He has always had to read twenty minutes every day for homework, and hasn't complained too much about it. But never, and I mean NEVER, have I seen Jacob reading just for the sake of reading. I've tried to encourage him to try new books, but was always shut down and rejected. Matt had him reading the Harry Potter books, and although he claimed to enjoy them, I could tell he had no enthusiasm for them whatsoever. He read his twenty minutes, four times a week, and that was absolutely it

Then one day my friend, Linda, told me about this kid's book series she read that was really cute. I borrowed the book, read it, and thought it would be perfect for Jacob. So with much coaxing, he opened the book and read it. He finished it fairly quickly (compared to his usual pace), enjoyed it, and was ready to read the next one. I checked book 2 out from the library, and that's when it happened: Jacob loved the book and actually read it for fun! Not because he had to, not because he was bored, but because he was enthralled and enjoyed it! I about had a heart attack one Saturday when I came downstairs to find him sitting on the couch reading. And he read for about two hours. He read and read over the next fews days and finished it faster than any book he'd ever read. And then he was begging for the next ones. I love it!

Knowing Percy Jackson was coming to the theatres, Matt and I challenged ourselves and Jacob and Tori to read The Lightning Thief so we could see the movie. Jacob took a short break from the Gregor books to read this. He read it with Tori and they were so into it, they would set aside time every day to read together. Sure enough, they finished it last week so we were able to see the movie.

I guess my thanks should really go out to Rick Riordan and Suzanne Collins, the authors of the these amazing kids books. We are waiting for the Gregor book 5 to come in from the library, and then I'm not sure what to have him read after that. These books are so perfect for his level. Any ideas anyone? Please don't suggest Harry Potter!