left behind vs. death

Spoiler alert - Island of the Blue Dolphins

So M and I are reading Island of the Blue Dolphins. We get to the end of the chapter where the girl and her brother get left behind on the island and M cries. She says, "This is so sad. What will they do. Will the boat come back for them?" She bargains with me to read one more chapter even though it is already past her bedtime. I try to encourage her to imagine all the directions the story could go next. I have read this book a few times in my life already but am finding it hard to remember all the details so I don't even know what will happen next. Finally she goes to sleep.

Two nights later when we get to read the next chapter. We find out that the wild dogs on the island kill the brother. M has no reaction, except to say, "Why do all books make the ending of the chapter so exciting that you want to keep reading?" "So you will keep reading," I say back, but not tonight. I also wanted to say, "Do you understand what has happened? The little boy just got attacked by the dogs and now the girl is alone on the island," but I didn't want to upset her and make her cry all over again. I just couldn't believe that being left alone was sadder than the brother dying. For me, at least when she was left behind on the island she had someone with her. Now she is really alone and her brother is dead! Now I am sad for the character. But maybe M is unaffected because she doesn't have a brother or she thinks being left alone is the worst thing she can imagine? Maybe she is thinking about what she would do if she were left alone on an island. Maybe it just hasn't set in yet. Or maybe she was just over-tired the other night and needed something to cry about so I'd stay in her room longer. I will ask her about it the next time we pick up the book.

I am enjoying this book club experience so far. I am getting good quality time with my M. I am reading awesome literature and showing M how much fun reading can be. I get to sit in her bed and snuggle with her as we read. Who knows how much longer she'll allow that?