This is what Cami is reading right now (apologies for the minor blurriness -- I moved too quickly after snapping this shot), and I am so excited. See, Cami is my reluctant reader. She enjoys reading, but as I've said before, it's not her first (or second or even third) choice of activity. I have to make her sit down to read in the evenings, normally before bed, and then (ironically) I have to make her put down the book and turn off the light. Most nights she reads past her bedtime, just because "I'm at such a good part, Mama!" and well, honestly, who am I to tell my kids that they can't read just a little bit longer?
Cami has also been the one that we've read to the longest. She really enjoys it -- especially with longer books. Cass took off on her own as soon as she could read by herself, and I think I was that way as well. At least, I don't remember being read to frequently, although I know Mama did (we had a big hardcover version of the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris). Reading for me has always been a solitary activity, something I could do on my own. I still think of it that way.
This book is one that I've been trying to get Cami to read for a while, and to be honest, I think it was the Lauren Child illustrations that finally won her over. (I mean, hello? Who doesn't love Lauren Child? The woman is a genius. Seriously.) This is one of a handful of books that I must have check out from our local library a million times when I was younger. Aside from our school library, the public library (and the bookmobile) was the key place where I could satisfy my reading urges. I literally counted down the days until I was old enough to get my library card, and then I maxed it out each and every time. Other perennial favorites included the entire Oz series (I'm always amazed at the number of people who have no clue that Baum wrote an entire series of Oz books), the Bobbsey Twins series, and much of Louisa May Alcott's works. It was here that I also came across a book called The Three Candles of Little Veronica, which I read multiple times and which always held so many layers of new meaning for me each time.
At our school library, I quickly worked my way through all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, everything that Marguerite Henry wrote, and the entire wall full of historical biographies. Ms. Katy, our librarian, was also the mother of one of my classmates, so she knew me well; she introduced me to classics such as The Secret Garden and Susan Cooper's incredible series, The Dark is Rising.
But it was through that mecca of all things bookish -- the SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR (cue heavenly choirs of angels) -- that I really felt empowered as a reader. I saved up my money and purchased my own books, which meant they were mine, which meant I didn't have to take them back, which meant I could keep them forever -- and which started my own personal library, a collection I am still building. The first purchase I remember making was a copy of The Hero and the Crown by Robyn McKinley, and to this day, that remains one of my most-loved fantasy novels of all time. The story has had something new for me every time I've gone back to it, and I still reread it on a regular basis. I truly think that it's the novel that made me the reader I am today.
What books do you remember from your childhood making a big impact on you as a reader? Let's reminisce together! :)
OH, and don't forget to leave a comment on this post to win a seat in Elizabeth Dillow's upcoming Big Picture Class, Design Challenges!
Recent Comments