Stone Fox

Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner is the very best early chapter book ever written.  I have read it more than ten times in my parenting/teaching career and I still am affected by the struggles of the characters each time I read it.

When Fi was younger we read it together.  This past week and a half Jo and I have been reading it together.

Tonight we read the last two chapters at bedtime.

At the beginning of the last chapter, just when you think the protagonist has triumphed over his struggles, something terrible happens.  When I read that sentence and looked over at Jo he had a look of shocked disbelief like I have never seen on his face.  I think my little man just had his heart broken by a book for the first time.

I asked if he was okay.  His face crumpled and he shook his head.  He dove in for a snuggle and said, "Let's keep reading."

I held him tight as we finished the chapter.

At the end we talked briefly about how Little Willy won even though it was at a cost.  And I was so thankful for my little man who has a heart that isn't callused towards the hurt of even a fictional character.

We are going to read somthing happier for our next bedtime book because hope is imporant too.