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Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree
This was one of the first books I remember reading. I owned many "Little Golden Books", but this one was my favorite. I read it obsessively for years. -
Charlie and Lola
Growing up, I was used to having multiple books that were also television shows. Charlie and Lola was one of the shows. I loved the illustrations in the book. Also, since it was a television show, I was able to image what the characters sounded like. -
Junie B. Jones
Junie B. Jones was a huge part of my reading journey. There were always Junie B. Jones books at my school library and there were always different ones in stock. I soon read through almost all of them in the third grade. -
Holes
Although the Disney movie was out by this time, I had begun reading the book to see what the differences were between the film and the book. This was one of the first chapter books I did this with. -
Witches
Ronald Dahl played a large part of my childhood reading journey. His books made me use my imagination and kept me up at night. Not because I was scared, but because I never wanted to stop reading them. -
Hunger Games
In middle school, I was a student aide for the librarian. During that time, I spent hours each week organizing every single book there. It was a job that not many students wanted. But because I did, the librarian gave me the entire series of The Hunger Games as a thank you gift. I read all three books in about a week and a half. -
Crank
This book introduced me the what addiction looked like for teenagers. I remember being surprised that my schools library had this, but I decided to read it during my student aide period when I was not placing books back on the shelves. It quickly became one of my favorite books. -
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men was one of the first school mandated books that I actually enjoyed reading. Usually, I hated reading books that were part of the syllabus because they typically were not interesting. Or I could not understand some of the themes of the text. But this book was different. It brought joy back to assigned reading for me. -
Moonlight
This book was recommended to me by a crush I had in high school. This book was extremely relatable considering that the main character is black and the author is a black woman. There are many books in the series and I read all of them in about 4 months. Honestly, it is probably one of my favorite books of all time. Sista Soulja drew me in with her imagery and vivid details. -
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
I have read this book numerous times throughout high school and college. It is one of those books that teaches you something every time you read it. It was during this time that I realized that I have to take much of my education into my own hands and encourage others to do so as well.
