The best thing I've seen in ages...

As I have reported several times over the course of the summer, I have BOXES of books stacked just inside my front door.  In fact, you cannot actually come to my house right now because the boxes are blocking the door.  (We normally go in and out of the house through the garage, so I don't really notice the precarious pile/safety hazard that these books have become).

Clearly, I cannot read all of these books before school starts when "I" (read: "my husband") must cart the boxes to my library office.  So, I've been putting books in bags for the neighbor kids to read this summer based on what they typically like to read.  This has been going well, and while I haven't been getting a lot of feedback (it is summer after all, and they are teenagers.  The feedback tends to be, "LOVED IT!" or "Not so much."  I am hoping for some more in-depth reviews from them at a later date, at least 3 sentences). 

I have also invited some of the kids over to browse through the boxes themselves.  Two kids have taken me up on that, and it is wonderful watching them look through the boxes.  Very much like watching kids at Christmastime.  The best thing that I've seen in ages happened last Friday.  My soon-to-be 9th grade neighbor returned the 2 bags of books that I had loaned her at the beginning of July.  She was pretty excited to browse the boxes for more titles...in fact, she spent about an hour looking at everything, trying to discern what would be the best choices.  I WISH I had pictures of her surrounded by the piles she was making (clearly "yes," "no," and "maybe").  I'm pretty sure that her parents thought I had kidnapped her.  I think she was in heaven...and it was such a beautiful thing for a reading fanatic like me.  

And I'm suddenly wondering if I can pay her in books from now on when she watches my dog?  Hmmmm...