I am a 30- year old who can't stop reading kid's books. It's not the worst of addictions, I'll admit. It's just slightly embarrassing when I'm asked what my favorite book is, and I secretly want to say Anne of Green Gables, although I'm wont to reply Atlas Shrugged instead.
I've always been an avid reader. I remember reading Dr. Seuss books on my own before I even entered kindergarten. Not that I want you thinking I'm a genius or anything. In 4th grade since we were studying colonial times, we all had paper ships with our names on them that were positioned at one end of a bulletin board. When a student successfully mastered the multiplication tables, the ships were moved to the other end of the bulletin board. Needless to say, my ship was moved dead last. But - I was a reader. Despite my bi- weekly trips to the library, where the librarian would always have three or four new books waiting for me, and a well- stocked library at home, I was always running out of books. I devoured them. I was the kid who got in trouble for reading under the comforter at night with a flashlight. I was the one who couldn't hold a conversation at the dinner table because I was trying to eat with one hand and hold a book under the table with another. Books moved me, and changed my way of thinking, and once I finished a particularly meaningful book, I was never the same.
During high school, the stresses of time management kicked in, and I no longer regarded reading as a priority. I hit a reading rough patch during college and in my early 20's. I was reading for my English and Comparative Literary Studies Major, but I had no desire to read anything else. I sold myself as a reader but truth be told, I had no desire to read. Everything seemed too boring and depressing.
When I decided to become a teacher (in addition to wanting to help kids of course) I was remembering the height of my reading career - middle school. I think about 50 percent of my decision to be an 8th grade English teacher came from my desire to read books like The Giver and The Outsiders again. I will be teaching 3rd grade next year, and one aspect that really sold me on the switch was the chance to reread Charlotte's Web and Ramona Quimby, Age 8. When Harry Potter and the Hunger Games came out I was so excited because I now had a socially acceptable way to read kid's books and then to discuss them with my friends.
Of course, I have fallen in love with several adult books. I've discovered Jhumpra Lahiri and Barbara Kingsolver, Lisa See and Isabel Allende. I've been moved and entranced by Marisa de los Santos and Italo Calvino. Yet I still find myself wanting to curl up with my battered copy of Where The Red Fern Grows on occasion, despite the fact that it's written for ages 7-10.
So - my goals in writing this blog:
1) Give myself permission to read/re-read my way through the kid's section of the library.
2) Rediscover through writing why these books have made such an impression on me.
3) Connect with other like-minded kid's books connoisseurs.
4) Discover new kid's books!
5) Find one book in particular that I loved as a kid, but have never been able to find since. This is what I remember about it: a girl, living in Manhattan, convinces her parents to let her keep a horse on her apartment roof. No title or author comes to mind. Anyone??
Julie
I've always been an avid reader. I remember reading Dr. Seuss books on my own before I even entered kindergarten. Not that I want you thinking I'm a genius or anything. In 4th grade since we were studying colonial times, we all had paper ships with our names on them that were positioned at one end of a bulletin board. When a student successfully mastered the multiplication tables, the ships were moved to the other end of the bulletin board. Needless to say, my ship was moved dead last. But - I was a reader. Despite my bi- weekly trips to the library, where the librarian would always have three or four new books waiting for me, and a well- stocked library at home, I was always running out of books. I devoured them. I was the kid who got in trouble for reading under the comforter at night with a flashlight. I was the one who couldn't hold a conversation at the dinner table because I was trying to eat with one hand and hold a book under the table with another. Books moved me, and changed my way of thinking, and once I finished a particularly meaningful book, I was never the same.
During high school, the stresses of time management kicked in, and I no longer regarded reading as a priority. I hit a reading rough patch during college and in my early 20's. I was reading for my English and Comparative Literary Studies Major, but I had no desire to read anything else. I sold myself as a reader but truth be told, I had no desire to read. Everything seemed too boring and depressing.
When I decided to become a teacher (in addition to wanting to help kids of course) I was remembering the height of my reading career - middle school. I think about 50 percent of my decision to be an 8th grade English teacher came from my desire to read books like The Giver and The Outsiders again. I will be teaching 3rd grade next year, and one aspect that really sold me on the switch was the chance to reread Charlotte's Web and Ramona Quimby, Age 8. When Harry Potter and the Hunger Games came out I was so excited because I now had a socially acceptable way to read kid's books and then to discuss them with my friends.
Of course, I have fallen in love with several adult books. I've discovered Jhumpra Lahiri and Barbara Kingsolver, Lisa See and Isabel Allende. I've been moved and entranced by Marisa de los Santos and Italo Calvino. Yet I still find myself wanting to curl up with my battered copy of Where The Red Fern Grows on occasion, despite the fact that it's written for ages 7-10.
So - my goals in writing this blog:
1) Give myself permission to read/re-read my way through the kid's section of the library.
2) Rediscover through writing why these books have made such an impression on me.
3) Connect with other like-minded kid's books connoisseurs.
4) Discover new kid's books!
5) Find one book in particular that I loved as a kid, but have never been able to find since. This is what I remember about it: a girl, living in Manhattan, convinces her parents to let her keep a horse on her apartment roof. No title or author comes to mind. Anyone??
Julie
Brilliant! Can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteI now also hope to learn the title of the book about the girl who keeps a horse on her apartment roof. I would have LOVED that book as a kid! ~ Em
ReplyDeleteLove your new blog! Can't wait to read more. I think the book you're looking for is "The Horse on the Roof" by Robert Wells.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/horse-roof-Robert-W-Wells/dp/B0006D067I/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345930279&sr=1-1&keywords=the+horse+on+the+roof