This post is inspired by my 3rd/4th grade teacher, whom I've just found once again after all these years. It reminded me of the time she read this book in class that had me completely intrigued. The characters and story were both relatable, as a girl with an older brother who acted more like a younger brother, and funny, because the things the MC got himself into were hysterical. I remember being fascinated by this story and I couldn't wait for her to read more every day, if even just for a few minutes. I got so sucked in that I just had to have this book. I remember asking my mom over and over again, "Can I have this book? Can I have this book? CAN I HAVE THIS BOOK?" Until finally! *a light shines down from the heavens* There it was in my hands.
I read this book so many times, there was a point when I could have told it to you by heart. This story had me grabbing for every book in the entire series. I couldn't stop myself. I was a reading machine! It was the book that started it all. Reading had become the one thing I loved most because of that book, and since then I never looked back.
What book was it, you ask?
I still look at this cover and see the little boy who opened his eyes to all these strange faces staring down at him. The little boy who discovered these strange things called hands, and the excitement of this little boy named Sam walking for the first time. Just thinking about it makes me want to run out the door, head straight to B&N, and buy this book. I can't even believe I no longer have it.
So tell me, friends. What book got you reading?
Adore Lois Lowry, and that book! The book(s) that got me reading was The Babysitters Club, starting with "Kristy's Great Idea." I was hooked, and I had to read all of them!
ReplyDeleteWhat a question, Heather and I loved hearing your story!! :-) The first book I ever read by myself was Green Eggs and Ham. The first chapter book series I remember loving was Cam Jansen mysteries (about a tomboyish girl who solved mysteries around town with her photographic memory). I was probably 7 at that point (1st grade). But by the 4th grade I was reading adult stuff - DUNE, THE RED TENT, I tried to sneak a peek at WHITE OLEANDER too.
ReplyDeleteRichard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I first read it when my mother got it for me as a gift for getting good grades in first grade. I read it so many times over the summer that I had it memorized (but still carried it everywhere). My second grade homeroom teacher was so impressed when she saw me with the book that she asked to borrow it so she could read it too. We had quite a few fun discussions about it afterwards. Later on it was books like Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and A Wrinkle in Time.
ReplyDeleteI used to love Encyclopedia Brown mysteries. I read every one I could get my hands on. And then I read everything else. There was a point in my early 20's when I was taking a medication that made it very hard to focus long enough to read at all, but when I was able to stop taking it, I dove back into reading. The book that got me started again as an adult? Perfume, by Patrick Suskind, which I read in a single sitting. And then LOTR. And then Agatha Christie. :D
ReplyDeleteFirst, congratulations on your news! And second, the first big book I remember reading was Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nyhm. I don't even know what it was about it, but I loved it. I loved that it was a chapter book, and that I could read it on my own. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't remember not reading so that just shows how long books have been in my life. I remember primary school where we used to have "Library Class" a few hours a week and that used to be my favorite class. I would just sit there with a book or browse, ignoring everyone.
ReplyDeleteSince I've always gone to French schools, it was always encouraged that we read mostly in French. My mom would subscribe us to a french newsletter where you could choose to buy books every month. If you bought so many, you would get this free gift and blah blah blah... But my mom would always encourage me to choose something for myself and if I found anything I liked, she would buy it for me. I will always love my mom for that; encouraging my love of literacy.
Anyways, my point is, I don't really remember which book made me like books so much because they have always been a part of my life. On my Christmas list to Santa, books were always at the top of the list and whatever they were, they always found their place under the Christmas tree.