There's the sound of voices drifting along the hall. Sophie and Gemma-Rose are sitting in the living room, reading a book together. Sophie reads the words to Gemma-Rose. It's a familiar book to me, 'Little House in the Big Woods'. They're reading about Pa shooting some deer for winter meat.
I remember every word she reads. The Little House books have been my friends for many years. Our shelves are lined with books from the series, their brightly coloured spines calling to little hands to pull them off the shelves.
Mum used to read us the books when we were younger. Charlotte learnt to read using them. Sophie and Gemma-Rose spent hours sitting on the sofa listening to Laura and Mary's story. I read them from cover to cover many times.
Yes, the Little House books are old friends to all of us. We've all shivered through the long winters with Laura, cried when her little brother died, and smiled when Christmas came. These are family favourites, and are made to share over and over again.
