My mother-in-law is a great reader. She's also a published author.
When she reads stories, she reads with a soft cadence that brings the listener into the words of the book.
For whatever reason, she was my inspiration tonight as I read two books (this one and this one)to the kids.
They have each heard the book dozens of times, but I could sense their focus tonight.
With each word, I imagined-and I know this sounds corny-the word getting implanted on their brains, expanding their vocabularies, and enabling them to picture ideas and images in their minds.
A moment of truly being present...and a gift.