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Born into a Bookish Home
I arrived in home where every bookshelf was filled to the brim and both parents could be seen reading daily. For my father, hard science fiction reigned and Asimov, Clarke and Bradbury were kings. My mother preferred romance novels, and, much to her chagrin, my future teenage self teased her mercilessly about the names of the characters taken from the book jackets: Lance Thunder! -
Meeting Mother Goose
My earliest reading memories involve me pouring over books of nursery rhymes. The illustrations were fascinating to my 3-year old mind. I'd study the picture of the baby sleeping peacefully in her cradle hanging on the bough while worrying about her certain demise at the bough's breaking. I remember envying the home (prison?) of Peter Pumpkin Eater's wife and wished that I, too could live in a hollow pumpkin with a miniature door, tiny windows and chimney with a curlicue of smoke. -
Books and Technology, 70's Style
I played everything from fairy tales to Little Golden Books on my own little record player. Once I learned how to insert the yellow, plastic adapter into the record, adjust the speed and set the needle down carefully, I loved listening to the stories and following along. Even though I couldn't read the words yet, I knew to wait for the chime and the mystery man's voice telling me to, "Turn the page." -
The Front Porch
On summer evenings my mother would make me a glass of chocolate milk (a treat!) while I put on my pajamas, and we'd sit on the front steps where she'd read chapter books to me. My favorites were the ones about cowgirls, Laura Ingalls, Helen Keller and other brave girls. -
The Bottom Shelf
By 1st grade I had a favorite book in my school's library and I knew right where to find it. Every week when it was our turn to go there, I'd race to the back wall, drop to my knees and find it on the bottom shelf. I couldn't get enough of The Five Chinese Brothers. I'm still in awe of the first brother, who could hold the entire sea in his mouth. -
The Joys of the Interactive Read Aloud
I'll never forget the day our school librarian read aloud what has become one of my favorite picture books, Tikki Tikki Tembo. She had our whole 2nd grade class laughing as we all tried to say the main character's impossibly long name. By the end of the story, we had it down and gleefully chanted it along with her. -
A Turning Point
If you could zoom into the bookshelf of my very groovy, 1970s bedroom, you might be able to see the book that changed the way I thought about the act of reading. Until Charlotte's Web came into my life, I'd never connected with characters in such a deep and personal way. As I sobbed my way through the end of the story, the first time a book had ever made me cry, I learned that books were not only a fun way to pass the time; they could take you on an emotional journey. -
Mrs Fuller
Thank you, Mrs Fuller for reading aloud Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing to our class. Every day we sat eagerly at our desks, listening to Fudge's latest antics. Most of us could relate to having a pesky younger sibling, and we commiserated while rolling our eyes and snickering together. I can still hear the engaging voices Mrs. Fuller used for each character, "Dribble in tummy, Pee-tah!" -
Molly & Carol Jane, Girl Detectives
When we weren't listening to Mrs. Fuller read aloud to us, Carol Jane and I were planning our future careers as detectives. To help us prepare, we read every Nancy Drew book we could find and then reenacted scenes at her house. Each session usually began with an argument over who got to to be Nancy and who had to be Bess. -
Judy Blume
In 5th grade Melody Karson dragged me in a corner of the classroom and surreptitiously showed me select passages from, Are you There God, It's Me Margaret? Thus began an obsession with the books of Judy Blume. I learned about friendship, puberty and growing up through these books. My friends and I endlessly discussed them every recess while glancing nervously over our shoulders for boys or teachers. -
The Dynamite Club
My reading tastes extended beyond chapter books. I read everything from the Guiness Book of World Records, old Reader's Digests, the backs of cereal boxes and shampoo bottles and my favorite magazine, Dynamite. This magazine inspired me to start my own neighborhood Dynamite Club, and of course, I appointed myself president. In our homemade club t-shirts we met weekly in the crawl space in our basement where I led our very top-secret and very Dynamite business. Wasn't Shaun Cassidy dreamy? -
Oh the Horror!
In middle school I entered my horror phase. I'd stay up late reading Stephen King, VC Andrews, and any book centered around ghosts and the supernatural. These books induced insomnia and did not allow me to get through my first late-night, babysitting gigs easily. -
Utopia
Mrs. Thurber taught Utopia, my favorite high school English class. Reading and discussing Rand, Thoreau, Orwell, and Huxley led me to begin questioning our society and governing system and to wonder how (or if) it might be better. Is a Utopian society possible? -
Da!
In Russian and Soviet Literature, my next best English class, I happily devoured Solzhenitsyn, Dostoevsky and Chekhov. I recall that these authors provoked passionate class debates about politics, philosophical problems and the human soul. -
Magical Realism and Tales of Travel
As I explored New Mexico with my friend Rosie for a gap year before college, magical realism became my go to genre. I discovered Tom Robbins, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Toni Morrison. Best loved titles were Jitterbug Perfume, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. And what cross-country journey is complete without Grapes of Wrath, Travels with Charley? (Also on a Steinbeck kick) and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas? -
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The College Years
My non-academic, reading life was a blur as I sang my heart out at Ithaca College my freshman year and then focused on more teacherly pursuits at the University of Vermont. -
The Most Memorable Read Aloud Award Goes To...
This read aloud occurred during my 4th year at AEMS. I'd happened upon a short blurb in Newsweek about a new book that was becoming popular with children in the UK. I made note of the U.S. release date and was at Borders to pick up a copy the date it came out. I went home, finished it in a day and knew my 4th graders would love it. How amazing to share Harry Potter with a group of students who'd never even heard of it. Their attentive, rapt faces are still with me. -
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The evolution of my reading life...
My reading world was rocked by the arrival of children. My focus shifted to diapers, feedings and recently to professional chauffering. I began to read more for my children and less for myself.
For several years now, I'm drawn to historical fiction (all periods), nonfiction-memoirs and survival tales, and of course, boatloads of children's literature. -
SHIFT!
My reading life was transformed, for better or worse, with the purchase of my first laptop. As my time online began to increase, the hours spent reading books began to shrink. So much content! News, blogs, book reviews and education articles keep me busy today. After several years on this reading diet, my brain's adjusted to the short reading bursts and constatntly shifting topics. For the first time, focusing on lengthy chapters has become more challenging. Where will my reading take me next?
