Sunday, April 19, 2009

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Wrap Up

The Read-a-Thon is over, and The Girl and I had a great time. Serena came over and joined us for several hours, and we had a blast reading, rushing to the computer to see about the next mini-challenge when we needed a break, watching Twilight, and listening to The Girl jabber on about her books and the Wii game she was playing "hardcore." (I still get a kick out of her use of that word.)

I'm very proud of The Girl and all that she accomplished during the Read-a-Thon. She was my own personal cheerleader, she participated in the Comic mini-challenge, and she read 11 books (10 on her own, and 1 with me)! She had grand plans of staying up past midnight, and I was okay with that as long as she was reading. She fell asleep on the couch with a book in her hand around 10:30 p.m. She woke when I covered her up, and she cuddled with me, finished her book, and started snoozing.

At that point, I had The Girl sleeping on top of me and hubby in the reclining chair snoring, and it was hard to stay awake. Thankfully, Serena called me a couple of times, and I extricated myself from The Girl to get a snack. Unfortunately, I was only able to hold out til midnight. I woke up on the couch with The Girl's feet on my lap at 5:30 a.m., and I read until 8 when the Read-a-Thon ended. I only finished 2 books during the Read-a-Thon; I'd hoped to read more, but I'm happy with my accomplishments because my only goal was to have fun and I definitely achieved that.

Here's what we read:

Together we finished Coraline by Neil Gaiman. We'd started this one around the time the movie came out, and we had a little over 80 pages to finish. (Stay tuned for our joint review)

I started and finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I loved it, and I'll be posting my review soon.

The Girl didn't read any of the chapter books she pulled out and put in a special pile. (She started an Ivy & Bean book, but she was too tired to get very far.) She chose books at random from her "easy" pile and enjoyed them. Here's her list:

Drive Thru by Erica David (This is a SpongeBob book...just wait, you'll see her reading theme!)
The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie: Bubble Blowers Beware! by David Lewman
SpongeBob Squarepants: Hands Off! by David Lewman
SpongeBob Squarepants: Behold, No Cavities! by Sarah Willson
SpongeBob and the Princess by David Lewman
Scooby-Doo!: The Scary Safari by Gail Herman
Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
Poor Puppy by Nick Bruel

The Girl already wants to participate in the next Read-a-Thon, and that's fine by me. I love that she loves to read. Next time, I just hope I can concentrate on reading and maybe finish more books. I think my excitement was the biggest distraction because she wasn't all that bad, just a typical 8-year-old.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to wish us luck and cheer us on. That really meant a lot to us.

And a special thanks to the Read-a-Thon hosts, cheerleaders, and mini-challenge hosts!

24 comments:

Molly said...

You both did such a wonderful job!! How special to be able to enjoy reading together.

Sandy Nawrot said...

You are both "hardcore" readers! Haha. I told Emma about this, and she started screaming at me "why didn't WE do it???". So I guess that means that next time (when is the next one?) we will try to make it work with our schedules. I think the idea of snacks at all hours of the day or night was just as appealing as the reading!

The Bookworm said...

sounds like you two did a great job reading :)
very cool about finishing Coraline!

http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

Book Lover Lisa said...

Great job, Anna. I think I needed some encouragement. I fell asleep!

Blodeuedd said...

You sure did a great job the 2 of you :D

Anonymous said...

You both did a great job, Anna, and you were able to enjoy the event together.

Darlene said...

You did great and to The Girl-you are my hero. Wow, you did good! It's great how much she loves to read. Ultimately I agree, it was about having fun!

Serena said...

I knew The Girl could beat you out in terms of books...she did a fantastic job. It was good to read together...October, I'll host and you can both come over. It will be fun.

She did a great job and that Ivy and Bean book, she should have started that one earlier with all its big dino words. I tried to help her with those...it was good.

Great wrap up post.

tanabata said...

I'm glad you had such a fun time. It was a definitely a successful read-a-thon then, regardless of how much you did or didn't read. :)
And I'm looking forward to you thoughts on the Guernsey Potato book, it's one I really want to read.

Nise' said...

Job sell done Anna and The Girl! Rest up today!

bermudaonion said...

What a wonderful event for you three to participate in together. I know you had a great time.

Jeannie said...

Wow- I'm very impressed with you and the Girl, and I'm glad you both had so much fun together.

And Serena too! Wow- the three of you are just so "hardcore"!!

Erika Powell said...

sounds like you had a great day!

Bonnie said...

Congrats Anna and The Girl!! You did an awesome job. How fun to do this with your daughter. I'll have to consider doing this with my son, he'd love to try to stay up and read!

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Sounds like you guys had an amazing night, Anna. I think it is so neat that you and The Girl (and Serena) all did this together.

Unknown said...

My kids were just watching Spongebob on the TV a few minutes ago. The Girl did a wonderful job making it through all of those books. I had to go an a quest to find a paperback copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid today, unfortunately we didn't find it. My son will just have to wait until his next book order from school!

Alaine said...

Congratulations to you both! I participatd with my 23 year old. I remember when she was little and I was so proud and happy that she was a reader. It sets you up for a life time and gives you a common bond!

Teddy Rose said...

Congrats to both of you! I think it's wonderful that you participated together!

Dawn - She is Too Fond of Books said...

Congrats to Anna and The Girl and Serena!!

How fun to be able to have a mother-daughter event; even more fun when a special 'aunt' joins you.

Unknown said...

Woohoo! Congrats you two on being successful with the read-a-thon :-)
I think you both did a great job.

Wanda said...

What a great mother/daughter/friend reading team you girls made.

Isn't Bad Kitty a cute book?! My daughter still pulls this one out now and then.

Anna said...

Molly: Thanks! I really enjoy doing mother-daughter things with her, and I figure since she's growing up fast, I better enjoy it while I can.

Sandy: I hope you and Emma can participate in the Oct. read-a-thon! I'll cheer you both on!

Naida: Thanks! I'll be posting our Coraline review tomorrow.

Lisa: Thanks! I fell asleep, too, but at that point I was too tired to care. lol

Blodeuedd: Thanks!

jacketsandcovers: Thanks!

Dar: Thanks! Your hero comment made The Girl's day. I'm not surprised she's a bookworm...I read to her before she was born and never stopped. And my husband read to her in the hospital when she was born. He'd had the book picked out for months. :)

Serena: October at your place sounds good! I knew she'd beat me, but that made it fun for her.

Tanabata: Thanks! I'll be reviewing Guernsey next week.

Nise': Thanks!

Bermudaonion: Thanks! We had the best time for sure.

Jeannie: Hardcore! LOL That just cracks me up for some reason. Maybe I need more sleep. ((HUGS))

Erika Lynn: We did! Thanks!

Red lady-Bonnie: It would be great to participate with your son. I think it's a great event to share with kids...they're reading and they're excited about staying up late.

Trish: Thanks! Serena and I seem to do everything else together, why not the read-a-thon, too? LOL

Janel: The Girl loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. We got the new one the day it came out at Sam's Club for $6. Hard cover, too. I made sure she knew how lucky she was. lol

Alaine: That's great that you shared it with your daughter, too. I hope when The Girl is 23, she'll still love reading and hanging out with her mom. :)

Teddy Rose: Thanks!

Dawn: Thanks! We love having Serena around. The Girl especially because Serena spoils her. LOL

Kathrin: Thanks!

Wanda: Thanks! The Girl can't get enough of the Bad Kitty books. I think they're cute.

Darlene said...

Awww, how sweet Anna. What book did he pick out to read to her if you don't mind me asking.

Anna said...

Hi Dar! It was a book about a baby Oscar the Grouch. The title escapes me at the moment. He happened upon it while we were grocery shopping one day when I was pregnant. He'd slipped it in the suitcase I brought with me and read it to her after her first feeding. The funny thing is he left all the subsequent reading to me. LOL