Skipping a grade

Having finished the baby comic book, I decide to challenge myself with some more reading in Portuguese.

But what shall I read?  World news?  Too depressing.  Celebrity gossip?  Too vacuous.

Hah!  Song lyrics!  I need to learn them in Portuguese anyway, and there are lots of songs that I just sing along with, not really knowing what they are about. 

These days it's very easy to "google up" some lyrics!  The language in songs can be quite sophisticated; poetic.  Lyrics also offer some very useful words and phrases, and because they are set to music they tend to stick in your brain.  I while away some pleasurable hours, translating and singing along with recordings on YouTube.

But it's books that create literacy.  Perhaps I should read some.  Suddenly I remember that last year in Portugal I bought a story book.  In fact, I had just purchased it and was walking back to the hotel, when I slipped and fell, breaking my wrist.  I was taken by ambulance for a surprise tour of the Oporto General Hospital and then had surgery when I returned home.  

I bring out my souvenir.  It's a translation of a story by the English children's author, Enid Blyton.   It is one of the "Secret Seven" series.  These were the books that got me hooked on reading when I was about eight years old.  Written in the 1950's and early 1960's, the stories feature a group of seven children who belong to a secret club.  They have a club-house, passwords and badges, and they always solve a crime or some other sort of mystery.  

How I wished I could belong to a club like that!

Last year I tried to read this book, but it was too advanced for me.  My progress was so slow, I gave up, defeated.

But now I try again.  Although European Portuguese is a bit different from the Brazilian I'm used to, the story now flows.  Instead of needing to look up every second word, I'm looking up three or four per page.  I can often infer the meaning from the context.  Some of the new words are repeated from time to time, providing reinforcement.  I'm struck by how well-written this book is, making liberal use of the subjunctive - reflecting the slightly formal, old-fashioned language of its era.

This story is familiar.  I'm back in my childhood bedroom with my adventurous friends, turning the pages to find out what happens next.

I can remember reading these exact words in English.  

It's as if I've given the correct password and gained entry to the book-readers' club.