by Matt Sinclair
“Super cool!”
It was a phrase I’d never heard my four-year-old daughter say before. I have no idea where she heard it. She jumped in place for a couple seconds, then zipped around the kitchen while I tried to put groceries away. She was a distraction to say the least, but I think her joy was easily the most thrilling distraction I’d had in months, if not years.
What was the reason for her excitement? We weren’t going anywhere special for vacation. I hadn’t bought her favorite meal for dinner. I hadn’t even given her a kiss on the forehead yet – not that it would have caused her to jump for joy; the girl won’t even talk to me on the phone.
No, this was the joy of Daddy arriving with new books to read.
I’d called from the library to determine which Berenstain Bears stories she had her heart set on. We were limited to two, however, since the series is on her school’s summer reading list – a list she has no idea exists, mind you. The ones she really wanted weren’t available. But when I arrived home with books, she danced and screamed and jumped and ran. I dare you to keep up with a happy four-year-old.
I don't when I last felt such joy over a book. Elephant’s Bookshelf Press just released our latest anthologies, and I’m certainly happy about both Summer’s Edge and Summer’s Double Edge, but as I pressed "publish" on the computer screen, I told my wife that it was happening. I did not jump in place. Granted, the corners of my mouth probably rose.
But I can’t get the image out of my mind: the sheer honest joy. New books! Super cool!
Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, which are available through Smashwords (SE) (SDE) and Amazon (SE) (SDE), and include stories from several FTWA writers. In 2012, EBP published its initial anthologies: The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, (available via Amazon and Smashwords) and Spring Fevers (also available through Smashwords, and Amazon). Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68
6 comments:
My four-year-old gets excited over books too. He's lucky to have a giant bookshelf of books his older siblings read when they were little - complete with several Berenstain Bears books. Bears on the Moon rocks.
I was smiling ear to ear (and almost bouncing in place) at the bookstore when I bought a stack of Toni Morrison and William Faulkner books for myself. They are fabulous!
That is SO cute. Thanks for sharing that story!
My kids loved the Berenstein Bears too! In my classroom, we get almost the same level of excitement when book orders come in :)
There's nothing like the excitement of little kids. Exhausting, but exhilarating.
Congratulations on your book. You should have a huge smile!
Thanks everyone!
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