Mother, May I?

Yet another great reader encounter at the Lucy's Laundromat (after some fun random encounters on the same day. One of which was a friend and member of Justin's book club. Small world, right?) This time a young child. I always find myself hesitating before approaching them. I felt like a vulture flying over a body. I would watch him from the corner of my eye as I folded my clothes. Finally after packing up I approach his mother and ask for permission to interview her son. I mean, a random gal with a camera? :)

After getting permission from the madre I proceed to have a little conversation with Rodrigo. He is sitting atop one of the counters reading Eldest by Christopher Paolini, part of the Inheritance trilogy. Simply put (and in a meek voice) the book is about a boy named Eragon and his dragon, Saphira. I prod him for a bit more and it was very cute to watch Rodrigo during this process. Looking down with his chin perched on his fingers, carefully crafting his response in his mind. "They go on many adventures." Rodrigo has not read all the books in the series. This is Book 2 and he's only read the 1st and 2nd books thus far. This read is purely for fun, not for school.

He is in the 7th grade and he just finished learning about the Greek gods. If he could write a book it would be about Greece. I had to ask which god he preferred. After much deliberation he answered with "Poseidon...because he seems better than the others. Even Zeus."


A favourite book of his is The Lightning Thief, Book 1 in the Olympian book series by Rick Riordan. He thought the book was funny. I wanted to know what else kids read these days, wondering if favorites from my childhood were still hits, books like Goosebumps. Rodrigo tells me he likes the Goosebumps books. He's drawn to books in a series because the story keeps going. He is, by far, not a fast reader at all but he is working toward improving his skills so that he can get to more books quicker.

What book series did you enjoy when you were younger?