Raising Readers: Up a Road, Slowly

Parents who encourage and successfully develop children who read see greater school success and satisfaction. 

This series reviews various examples of children’s literature and provides insights for parents to discuss with their children. Reading and sharing the wonderful stories available to children sends a message that reading is important, creates positive “shared experiences” for families, and helps parents exert a subtle influence on their children’s development.

When seven year old Julie Trelling’s mother dies, she and her older sister are separated and she is sent to live with her Aunt Cordelia. Aunt Cordelia is very “prim and proper” and Julie doesn’t like living with her. It’s even worse that Aunt Cordelia is the small town’s only teacher for all grades, so Julie can’t escape interacting with her. However, she does like Cordelia’s brother, Haskell, who seems a very charming and witty writer working on a novel.

This coming of age story follows Julie’s growth from a selfish child through her high school graduation as she becomes a mature young woman. She grows to appreciate Aunt Cordelia’s discipline and standards while learning life lessons as they discuss the everyday events that occur.

Aunt Cordelia teaches proper behavior and manners when dealing with a poor and dirty classmate who shunned by the other children. Julie experiences the marriage of her older sister and the re-marriage of her father, and works through the jealousy that both events evoke. She has her own first love and first heartbreak to go along with occasional schoolwork struggles.

By the end of the story, she has grown to understand and prefer the wisdom of Aunt Cordelia’s ways. In a further character twist, she also comes to realize and cope with the fact that Haskell, for all of his charm, is a chronic alcoholic who is never able to finish the manuscript for his novel. Haskell and Julie form an uneasy relationship as she realizes that despite his illness, he is a gifted writer. Haskell, in turn, allows himself to engage with Julie—something he has never really done with anyone. He encourages her budding writing skills and gives constructive feedback as he pushes her to improve.

This is not an exciting “page turner," but rather, a deep exploration of the maturing of an individual through everyday events. Depending on reading level, this story is for 12 year olds and up. 

Raising Readers is written by Steve Arnold of Club Z! In-Home Tutoring Services. He can be reached at 610.831.5101 or ChesMontClubZ@gmail.com. Find out more about Club Z! In-Home Tutoring at www.clubztutoring.com/ChesMont.