grasstain, as I read your post I was wondering who the "we" were. Then you state "with the kids" near the end. Great isn't it?

Last night (too late for their mom's liking), I read Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" to my 8 & 10 yr. olds. We live about 4 hours from the Catskill Mts., where several of W.I.'s tales are set. They knew pretty well about the Revolutionary War, the Founding Fathers, and the regions of our NE. Now they know about King George and his taxes, Rip's 20 year snooze, and 9 pins.

(I'm not familiar with J.C.'s White Mts. but will do a search and preview. How old are your audience members?)
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PS: Just did. Very interesting. I will get to the library for this. Thanks.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/00204...TF8&n=283155&s=books

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I'm primarily reading it to my eleven year old son, but the fourteen year old occasionally sits in too.

They both have ADHD, the younger one quite severe. It's odd because the older son is a math whiz but is a slow reader, has bad comprehension, and hates reading. While the younger one is totally clueless when it comes to math but loves to read and completes a book in about every ten days. So far this school year (since late August/early September) he has read seven books, BLACK BEAUTY being one.

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If I may...
gs, you are doing the best thing possible for both children. (I am sure you already know this.) We eliminated all tv (other than selected family movie viewing) and have no hand held video devices in the house. There is very limited (yet supervised) computer use. Games allowed on screen are mainly language, math, geography, history, and sports topics. I know we will not be able to keep the lid on the box for much longer (school and friends), but it has made a definite difference over the past year.

When they get too energetic (daily!!), we follow the old philosophy, "Go outside and find something to do!" (Then, it is always a struggle to get them back inside.)

We read to them Every Night. During or after dinner we often have a reading, also. Our little guy, previously a reluctant reader, is now up at 6:30am reading and keeping the lights on too long at night, reading.

In the past, I have gone on-line to get old classic character comics, sports cards, early super hero pulps publications (new copies a bit too edgy), and also took home "discard" magazines from the school library (Kids SI, Ranger Rick, Boys Life, Highlights, etc). The key to getting "interested readers" is to get "interesting reading." We often need to give them what they want before we can give them what they need. (Try collections of Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, Baby Blues, and the like. They require different levels of comprehension and are fun to read together or alone!) Of course, Mr. Bradbury's works are always close at hand!

Once a youth starts to read independently, the fire will keep burning.

I always remember that Mr. B said it best:
"Books bombarded his shoulders, his arms, his upturned face. A book lit, almost obediently, like a white pigeon, in his hands, wings fluttering. In the dim, wavering light, a page hung open and it was like a snowy feather, the words delicately painted thereon. In all the rush and fervor, Montag had only an instant to read a line, but it blazed in his mind for the next few minutes as if stamped there with fiery steel."

Hey, Butch, your post reminded me of something. Do you recall "Classics Illustrated" comic books? They may be all in the hands of collectors now (I have a few), but they got many a kid interested in classic literature, or at least gave him a nodding acquaintance with it. (Helped me with a few book reports in junior high, I must admit!) Maybe they'll reprint some?

Hey, I just searched and found lots of info on these, including a Wikipedia history. AND, I found a site where you can actually READ the comics! It's a little slow, but I'm impressed!

http://www.tkinter.smig.net/ClassicsIllustrated/index.htm

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BrII, yes!! They made great reading when no one was around to bother you. The artwork was always captivating. (Yours are probably collectors now!) I also remember reading the Conan the Barbarian magazine series while in college, just before Arnold took the role to the big screen.

10 or 12 of these are also in our bookshelf arsenal:
http://www.amazon.com/Treasury-Illustrated-Classics-Boo.../104-9288808-6714336
We once bantered on an RB title being done in this format.

SD! The "online reading" for those Classics is outstanding. I've bookmarked for the kids! Thanks. (Also, click "Map" when you open your site address. Quite a collection of interesting photos.)

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THE WHITE MOUNTAINS might keep you on your toes trying to translate some of those funny British words (is that really English?) into a more familiar language.

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Butch, I like to envision a character called Conan The Librarian!
He'd be merciless when it came to overdue items!

SD, Picture him behind the checkout counter with the computers, scan machines, copiers...and a nice broad ax in his left hand, waiting!

So then, would Marian the Barbarian be a well-read, musically inclined, yet still sword swinging, female version of R. E. Howard's classic Cimmerian?

Just read O'Henry's "Holding Up a Train" tonight before shut-eye for the boys. I couldn't help but think of the Old Gang down South near the border. Give a search. You'd get a real kick out of it, Pard!

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Finally finished Dracula as I was kinda just reading at night before bed. This is a classic. If you have not read it, do so. It builds to one of the most terrific climactic endings in lit. Next I'm going to finish Dharma Bums by Kerouak which I picked up along the way. I just can't get into Count of Monte Cristo now, too big and slow moving for me right now. Next I am planning on reading Bradbury's Townbee Convector, have never read this one yet.

It may sound strange, but I actually stay AWAY from reading most sci-fi, excepting Ray and a few of the classic authors. Because I sometimes write sci-fi, it is better NOT to read the current stuff. Hard to explain...I ask you to trust me on this one.

Right now I am reading 'The Road Ahead' by Bill Gates. I found a first edition hardback from '95 at Goodwill with the added CD unopened, so I am reading the book. Bill really explains the beginning of Microsoft well in the book, and his 'history of the computer' chapters are excellent.

He really saw the future of the internet coming, and his advice is invaluable, even today. He only got two things wrong, and that's not bad.

He missed when he said HDTV wouldn't go far because they would be too expensive and TV stations would be unwilling to switch the format (analog) used for sixty years.
The other miss was when he said the internet access via TV would grow tremendously.

I guess people decided that their TV was entertainment, and their computers for everything else...

However, the book is amazing, and ninety-eight out of a hundred predictions ain't bad. I highly recommend the book. It will entertain and make you smile, wondering how the heck he KNEW...

I tried to open the CD on my computer and it would only run on Windows 95 or 3.1 Too bad, but the book is a must read.

I read the Gates' book this summer. Insightful even in 2006.
Sceneshifter - Stoker's Dracula just before "lights out"?? How well do you sleep, and how do you feel in the morning?

Butch, I think I may have read everything O. Henry wrote at one time. I'll dig that one out of my collection...

"Holding Up A Train" is not in my only O.Henry collection TALES OF O.HENRY. In which collection can it be found? Good story?

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grasstain, it is in an old early 1900's cloth cover collection I was given - (Works of O'Henry -?!, several book series). I am not home to offer exact details. Maybe later.


Here you go:
http://www.literaturecollection.com/a/o_henry/158/

I betcha I have the same multi-volume collection. Dark green with gold lettering? I too have to go home to check...