::Reading with Riggs::

One of my favorite things to share with Riggs is my love of books and stories and poems.  So far he seems to love reading with both mama and daddy, and I thought it would be a good project to share some of our favorite works here on my blog.  I hope that you enjoy and maybe are inspired to share your favorite words as well!

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One of my favorite things about reading to Riggs is feeling him settle into my lap, relaxing completely against me as he listens to my voice.  There is just something so calming about it, for both of us it seems.  He gets so very still when I read aloud to him, especially if what I'm reading has any sort of rhythm.

Today we were reading a paperback book with beautiful illustrations and traditional stories from 13 different Native American cultures.  The book is called Thirteen Moon's on a Turtles Back: A Native American Year of Moons, compiled by Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London and illustrated by Thomas Locker.  Here is an descriptive excerpt from a note at the end of this book, "Many Native American people look at Turtle's back as a sort of calendar, with its pattern of thirteen large scales standing for the thirteen moons in each year...it reminds us that all things are connected and we must try to live in balance."

I love the thirteen stories that were chosen, and how each documents the changes that are happening at that time of year with a historical reference specific to each tribal nation.  We read through a few of them today before Riggs was ready to move on, and I thought I'd share one here.

Moon of Falling Leaves

Long ago, the trees were told
they must stay awake
seven days and nights
but only the cedar,
the pine and the spruce
stayed awake until
that seventh night.
The reward they were given
was to always be green,
while all the other trees
must shed their leaves.

So, each autumn, the leaves
of the sleeping trees fall.
They cover the floor
of our woodlands with colors
as bright as the flowers
that come with spring.
The leaves return the strength
of one more year's growth 
to the earth.

This journey 
the leaves are taking
is part of that great circle
which holds us all close to the earth.

TENTH MOON :: Cherokee