You are halfway through a story when the question comes.
Why did she do that? Why didn’t he go another way? Would you have trusted the stranger?
It is tempting to say, wait until the end. Sometimes the interruption is the best part.
Greek myths give young readers plenty to question. Characters make difficult decisions, use their intelligence well or badly, and discover that a good idea can have consequences. Reading them together creates room to talk about choices without beginning with a lecture about someone’s own behavior.
The Market’s Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and Courage and The Adventures of Odysseus were created for readers ages seven to ten. Each includes sixteen stories or adventures, Greek words, illustrations and coloring scenes, with activities that invite readers to spend more time in the world of the book.
You can use that variety at the child’s pace. Read a story today. Return to a picture tomorrow. Try a Greek word aloud without demanding a perfect first attempt. If one character becomes a favorite, let that enthusiasm lead the next visit.
There is no need to turn every page into a lesson to be completed. A child may remember a strange creature long before remembering a place name. Another may want to understand why a clever plan worked. Both are ways into the story.
The adult gets something from this too: the chance to encounter a familiar tale through a question that would never have occurred to them.
So when the interruption comes, consider stopping. Close the book around a finger to keep your place. There will be time for the next page after you have heard what the child thinks.