As everyone knows, books can take you places. Whether you want to visit a different time or location, or whether you want to read about real events or experience a world of fantasy, all you have to do is open the cover of a book. Recently, our family has been able to connect real-life experiences with our books, and that has been a wonderful treat!
Last year, my daughter went through an Alice phase (as in Alice from Wonderland). She was Alice for Halloween, she watched the Disney movie many times, and she even got to have tea with Alice when we visited Disney World in December. Although I should have used those experiences as a reason to read the actual story by Lewis Carroll, I didn’t…until recently. At the beginning of June, a Nintendo DSi XL
In another real life experience, we met Winter the dolphin! You may remember that Dawn reviewed Winter’s Tail last year and I reviewed Winter’s Tail for the DS. During our recent trip to Clearwater Beach, Florida, we visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and were able to see Winter up close. The trainers showed us Winter’s prosthetic tail as well. It was so much fun to see my kids make real-life connections by meeting the famous dolphin from a book and game that they enjoyed.
It’s not possible to make real-life connections with every book, and I wouldn’t want to (sometimes I need books to take me away from reality!). But these occasions are special indeed. For our next trip, we will be visiting Chicago, so I am on the hunt for some fun stories, fiction and non-fiction, to explore. If you have suggestions for me or if you have a story about experiencing books in real-life, please leave a comment. I would love to hear about it!
Lauren is a wife, mom of two, and an avid reader. She thanks Nintendo for the opportunity to review these products. Lauren blogs at Baseballs and Bows.
This is so well-put. Yes, it’s great to make connections, but yes, I do often want to get away from real life when I read a book.
Amanda read Alice in Wonderland on the DS. She really liked it, which surprised me, because I remember sort of struggling through parts of it when I tried to read it at her age.
I would love the list of what books those actually are. I have Alice and have been meaning to read it.
If you click through to the amazon link, one of the reviewers there listed all the titles included in the 100 Classic Books (I didn’t count them to be sure there were 100, but the list is a long one). It will at least give you an idea. There are some titles that are new to me and some that are old favorites (like Austen).
Thanks Lauren!! That is so cool 🙂 Off to see how many I have read and add some to my list of to read books.
Great post, Lauren! I love when those real life connections can be made, similar to meeting the authors who create the stories we love! 🙂