先发个通知啊，想在小店购买圣诞礼物的朋友最好在12月12号之前下单，保证圣诞节之前送到。另外小店也有大量的东西是在北京发货。请点击图片进入小店。

我是一个对孩子要求不高的人， 所以对自己的孩子总觉得很满意。特别是我家老二IVY从小到大还真没给我添过什么麻烦，她天资聪慧，成绩优秀，性格温和，求知欲强。人前人后我总是夸她。昨天她得知科学课的小考只考了88分而痛哭，因为从小到大她的主科不管是大考小考从来都没下过90，绝大部分都是95以上。我得安慰她说88分已经很好了，好多人都考不到这个分数呢。所以对这样一个严以律己的小朋友，当妈的都不忍心说她什么了。

可是我今天得揭她的短，她有也个改不了的坏毛病就是爱遨夜！！让我头痛了很久。12岁的她本学期已经2次为了做作业熬到3点才睡觉了！严重影响了她第二天的学习和生活。

她开始熬夜大概是从小学4年级就开始的， 她突然开始喜欢读小说， 每天晚上都躲在被子里读到深更半夜，甚至怕我发现，把灯拉到被子里看。 我保守地估计她每天都是1点左右才睡觉。好在小学上课时间晚，我家就在学校门口，她可以8点才起床。但是我也仍然非常担心，每天企图监视她，但是她睡到床上以后我就真没法了。我问她很多次第二天困不困，她都说不困，她说睡早了她根本就睡不着。我仔细观察她好像的确也没很困的样子，我想也许有的孩子就是天生睡眠少？当然这3年爆炸性的阅读也使她受益非浅，她的词汇量剧增，所以在全美词汇大赛上拿11名就不奇怪，估计她现在的词汇量已经超过普通美国成人。但是我不希望她的成绩是以健康为代价，目前除了视力好像有点下降之外，我倒没有发现她有什么问题。

但是进了中学以来这个问题变得更严重了， LUCY本来就喜欢熬夜， IVY觉得有姐姐陪着也熬，两姊妹不到12点根本就不会睡觉。特别是到英文课写读后感的时候她就会忙到夜半三更。我观察她的确是在做作业，并没有在玩其他的东西。数学一类的作业她做得挺快的，但是一到写读后感这样需要思考的作业她就会花很长的时间。她说每次读完一本书以后她要想很久，想怎么来写。我发现她经常处在冥思苦想的状态。我说你就不能马虎点对付吗（天下真的有我这样的妈），她说她非得想清楚了才能下笔。就这样光是这个读后感她就得耗3，4个小时，甚至更长。我想可能是她不会安排时间吧？所以现在培养她的时间观念，早点开始这类耗时长的作业，学会怎么控制时间。我说以后你工作了不管你的工作做得多么好， 如果你耗时太长，错过上交的时间前面的功夫就白费了。 你是完美主义者我懂，但是一定要学会控制时间才有意义。我想也可能是我以前对这个时间控制要求不严格，没有引起她的注意， 以后我得多强调这个问题。

以前她不爱读书的时候我着急， 现在她花太多时间读书我也着急， 什么时候才有不操心的时候啊。

下面就是她熬更守夜写出来的读后感之一， 有时间以后我再贴另外一篇。实话说， 我也觉得写得很好，是她真正思考以后写出来的东西。

Dear Cynthia Kadohata,

I used to find books about death annoying. I still do sometimes. I thought such books were overrated and overdone, that people automatically assumed a book well written, deeply thought out, and award-worthy if it explored the topic of death. I thought that if reading was for making people happy, then books that focused solely on tragic events like death were depressing and didn’t live up to their purpose. Life has always been pretty easy for me, so I avoided books about certain modern problems: divorce, bullying, being left out, racial division, social drama, illness… My parents are divorced, but I actually don’t mind at all. I have both father and stepfather now, and it just means I get to be spoiled twice as much. Also, about a third of my classmates are Asian like me. The other two-thirds are a diverse group of students. I found it difficult to put myself in the shoes of a character struggling with personal problems and considered those books just to be “therapy reading” that I didn’t need. But I never really tried to find any kind of moral, lesson, or hidden meaning in half the stories I read. I thought doing that was like philosophical revelations and trying to figure out the meaning of life, and I hated it. Your book Kira Kira changed the way I thought about these books.

When I first started your book, the easiest connections I thought I could make were the similarities between Katie and me. We were from Asian-American families. We also had sisters that were older than we were by four years. As I progressed through the story, it became harder to relate to and compare myself to her. Then Katie began to do things that I would never think about, like skipping school and stealing. At this point, I thought I had completely lost the main character. But as I pondered her actions, I realized that Katie had sacrificed so much for her beloved Lynnie. And I wondered if I would have done that for my sister. Deep down, I’m not sure if I’m a good enough person. But I really hope that I’m not that selfish, that I care about my sister that much, because I know she would do just about anything for me. It’s probably why she recommended this book to me.

Often, people regret their actions right before a loved one died. I got to the part of the book where Lynn died. I thought about how the way we treat each other is affected by a knowledge of death. Usually, we are kind to very old or ill people because we know they don’t have much time left, and Katie changed her attitude to her sister because she found out that her sister could die from lymphoma. However, I think that Katie hopes and believes that Lynn will pull through, and is so convinced of this that she forgets to act positive around her. I wondered, If we are extra kind to those we think will die soon, why not act like that to everyone? A famous quote is “Live like you’ll die tomorrow.” Reading Kira Kira, I realized that not only should we apply this to ourselves, but everyone around us. It sounds like the unrealistic dreaming of someone searching for world peace, and it’s easier said than done. It also seems like a pretty negative outlook on life to act like everyone will die the next day, every day. But it doesn’t hurt to try.

Thank you for writing Kira Kira. It helped me learn that books about death and other personal issues aren’t that different from other books. They are unique, but just because you can’t relate to the story doesn’t mean you won’t be able to learn something from them too. I’ll stop sticking to my usual reading list of fantasy and animal books. The next time I see a book like yours, I’ll think, “I’ll try it out.” instead of, “I don’t care about the problems of some kid I don’t understand.”  Kira Kira will help me bring out the best in every book I read, so that I can understand and enjoy it as much as I did yours.