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Family Reading
My first recollection of reading was being read to as a small child. My mother would read to myself and my siblings. My favorite story was The Little Engine that Could. -
Pre-School
The letters of the alphabet were posted at the top of the wall and wrapped around the main room of the pre-school I attended. I didn't really like the pre-school, so I would just stare all day at the alphabet on the wall. -
Kindergarten
In Kindergarten we were taught the alphabet. My teacher had fun blow-up characters for each letter. It was always fun when a new character/letter was introduced. My favorite was Mr. H because he had long green hair. -
Book Closet
All throughout my childhood until I turned 6, my older brother and older sister and I would get into the hallway closet and read all of the children's books. I remember that there were so many fun books to choose from. My favorite books were Serendipity books and Carebear books. -
1st grade
In the 1st grade, my class was given a fun activity. Our teacher made a paper chain on the wall for every book each student read. She would tally the number of books and then we would watch the chain grow as she would link on one more link for each book. The chain grew so long that she lined the school hallway with our reading chain. I think I read 3 or 4 books for that project. -
2nd grade
When I was in the 2nd grade, our school had a book fair where students could get 1 free book if they had good grades. Other books were also for sale.
I remember that one of my older brothers bought a book for me along with a poster of a Basset hound. -
Bookmobile
throughout my elementary school years, the bookmobile would come and visit our school about once a month. It was always such a fun experience to go outside and step into the mobile library. I still remember the distinct smell of all the books in such a small space. Inevitably, there was always a treasure of a book to find in the bookmobile. -
4th grade
In my 4th grade year of elementary our class had an entire day dedicated to reading. Our teacher called it a readathon and it was lit. All of the students brought blankets and pillows from home. We made tents with the desks and we could eat snacks and treats while we read. It was like a holiday dedicated to reading and all of the students loved it. -
Zoobooks
Growing up with 13 children, our family didn't have very many frivolous things. I have always had a passion for animals, and my mother bought me my own subscription to Zoobooks magazine. A magazine featuring a new animal would appear every month in our mailbox addressed specifically to me. I used to read them over and over and had quite a collection. Reading these Zoobooks helped quench my thirst for knowledge about different animals. -
Fantasy
One day in my early adolescent years, I picked up a book belonging to one of my older brothers. The cover art was intriguing and so I started reading. Next thing I knew I was hooked. It was the original Dragonlance Chronicles that I read. I also read the Shannara series and ended up having a collection of around 70-80 books of the fantasy genre. Things like dragons, elves, and dwarves. I probably stopped reading those books around 1997 when I was going to high school and working full time.
