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Listening to my mom and sister read
My sister knew how to read well and my mom and her would take turns reading, I always felt so left out, but still enjoyed listening. When I got the chance to read, I recognized a few sight words, but my sister would get annoyed when it would take me more than one minute to read a sentence. So, I just sat there and listened to the story unfold. Her favorite book to read was Charlotte's Web. -
I started reading the Dick and Jane leveled readers
As I got a little bit older, my mom chose for me to read the Dick and Jane books that were categorized by levels. I slowly moved from the red, to blue, to yellow, and then finally to green. These were my favorite, I could not wait to get into bed and begin to read these books. -
My Grandma gave me a big blue book full of Dick and Jane stories
For Christmas one year my grandma got me a large blue book full of Dick and Jane stories. It was the best present I could have ever received. Since I was the youngest grandchild, I was her favorite or so I like to think, and we spent a lot of time together. She would read to me anytime I wanted her to. I spent many of hours on her lap listening to her bring any book to life. She did not care if it took me one minute or an hour to finish a page. She was my favorite reading partner. -
I set my goal for Reading Counts
For Reading Counts I had to read books based on my reading level and get at least a seventy percent on a quiz over it. My elementary school was first through fourth grade and reading counts was a big deal. In first grade I would hear all the older kids talk about how many points they got and how there were going to get more than anyone else. I then set a goal of getting six-hundred points. This seemed very unrealistic, but I wanted to show these older kids that I could read too. -
My 1st grade teacher read Junie B. Jones to us at school
My first-grade teacher Mrs. Gelsheimer, Mrs. G for short loved to read. Every afternoon about twenty minutes before we got out of school she would read, Junie B. Jones. This is where my love for all things Junie B. Jones began. -
Getting the most Reading Counts points in the entire first grade
I went on to receive the award for the most reading counts points in my class and the first grade. I had 598 points. -
Falling in love with the Series of Unfortunate Events
Moving on to fifth and sixth grade, I fell in love with The Series of Unfortunate Events. I hated to put one of these books down. They intrigued me so much. It is where my love of mystery novels became what it is today. These books had everything I was looking for and always left me wanting more. The worst days of my life were when the public library would not have the next book in the series, and I had to wait for someone to return it. -
Reading To Kill a Mockingbird
The only book I can remember reading for pleasure in high school was my sophomore year, it was To Kill a Mockingbird. The story line and themes really pulled me in and created a passion I had not felt in a long time. -
Hope of rekindling my love for reading
After we returned home from her funeral I walked into my room and I saw the Dick and Jane book sitting on my bookshelf in my room. I had always kept it in my room, because it was the most meaningful thing, she had given me. This book brought back so many memories and created a sense of calm over me and rejuvenated my love for reading.
