Igniting the Joy of Reading Challenge

Day 3 of 5

Reading activates neural circuits controlling vision, language, and learning and can lead to improved memory, thinking and mood. —Dr. Gary Small, geriatric psychiatrist and one of America’s leading memory experts. Newsweek.

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Today is another day to ignite and unlock the joy of reading in the lives of your kids/students/grandkids and in your own life as well. Make a plan: What will you read for joy today? What might you read with your kids today to open them up to the joy of reading?

Dr. Michael Gurian and I focused our podcast (The Wonder of Parenting Podcast: A Brain-Science Approach to Parenting) on the joy of reading. Here’s a clip:

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For those of you reading through The Adventures of Toby Baxter—Book 1 Prequel: I.C.E. Call Toby Baxter, here’s your day two reading.

Just as the debate over law suit and lawsuit was heating up the blast of a horn cut through the air.

            “Trolls!” Clovor shouted.

            Phoenix grabbed Clovor by the arm. “Trolls? How is that possible? We haven’t had a troll encounter since the Troll War. It can’t be trolls. Can it?”

            Instantly, families gathered up their children and ran to their homes cut into the cliff walls along the stream, then bolted their doors.

            Clovor and Mathilda threw on their quivers and bows. Deckor and Phoenix grabbed their swords, and Judah snagged his daggers. And they ran. Fast and hard. They crossed the small bridge over the stream and turned left, racing down the bank toward the River Glaedaan. They were joined by Donold, the Captain of the Guard, and his officers, Victor, Ethol, and Johanna, along with several troops of soldiers. Occasionally an arrow flew by, thankfully missing its target.

            Once they reached the river they spread out, taking positions behind the large trees just above the river banks. Up in the trees, strategically placed in small tree houses, stood River Elf sentinels, arrows at the ready.

            “Where are they?” Donold yelled.

            A volley of arrows came at the elves from the left and the right.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Clovor shouted. “How did the trolls get here without being seen? And why can’t we see them now?”

            Suddenly a loud, bowel-twisting screech pierced the air. It went on for a least a minute. It was so shrill, so loud, so frightening, that all of the elves had to cover their ears, making them vulnerable to another volley of arrows.

            Just as suddenly, all fell still. The screeching stopped. The arrows stopped. The River Elf sentinels up in the trees slowly lifted their heads from behind the protective walls of their little huts to look around. Donold tentatively moved from behind a tree to get a better look.

            “Is anyone hurt?” Donold yelled.

            “We have two elves down over here,” Mathilda answered. “But they’ll be okay.”

            Deckor, Phoenix, Judah, and Clovor walked down to the river bank, trying to figure out where the trolls had come from. And where they had gone. The trolls lived a hundred miles or so on the other side of the River Glaedaan. They had to have crossed the river. Where were they?

            A troll arrow hissed through the air and landed at the feet of Clovor, missing her by inches. It had come from their left. Just as they turned… the scream! Again. Yet this time they could understand it.

            WE’RE BAAAACK! WE’RE COMING FOR YOU!

            “Clygon!” Judah yelled over the scream. “But how? Where?”

            They all quickly ran back into the trees for protection. The River Elf sentinels high in the trees continued to search for the source of the arrows. Nothing.

            Donold was busy shouting orders, sending soldiers up and down the river, looking for how the trolls had been able to sneak into RiverHome undetected. He issued an order to send up a couple of drones to see if they could spot the trolls.

            Clovor called her siblings and cousins over to her. “I think Donold has this covered. We should get back and check on the village. I don’t think this was a full-blown attack. I think Clygon is toying with us. I get the feeling he’s trying to goad us into something, but what, I don’t know.”

            “What does goad mean?” Mathilda whispered to Judah.

            “It means he’s trying to provoke us or trick us into doing something. I think Clovor is right. He’s trying to get us to fight him for some reason.”

            They headed back up stream, cautiously watching above and around them, their weapons at the ready. They reached the center of RiverHome and found it quiet, the River Elves still locked up in their homes.

            They made their way to Grandpa’s and Grandma’s house. They used the coded knock and Grandma let them in.

            The short, low hallway carved into the cliff wall led into a huge main hall. The walls glowed with amber light. A fire in the fireplace, surrounded by bean bag chairs, provided some warmth. A large table, with eleven chairs around it, sat at one side of the hall. A door leading to the kitchen was on the right side of the table. Phoenix plopped down onto one of the bean bag chairs and promptly fell asleep. The rest of them landed at the table.

            Grandpa walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray of mugs filled with an energizing elven drink. He let his grandkids drink and settle in before asking them about the troll attack.

            “I don’t get it,” Mathilda said, breaking the silence. “There is simply no way in or out without us knowing. And the trolls haven’t been within eighty miles of RiverHome since the War.” She shook her head. “This isn’t good and to be honest, it scares me.”