I remember in kindergarten, while the other kids napped, a few of us were excused to go to another classroom for reading and writing. It was good, because I was never a good napper, nor were my kids.
When my S was about 3 and D was 1, we went out a lot so I wouldn’t go stir crazy in our little apartment. S would spell out letters and other visitors would help him to read while I pushed d in the stroller— he was reading before starting preschool. He wanted to have every word in every sign read to him!
Sesame Street and electric company were helps to him as well. He learned to spell exit in one episode and was noticing the sign everywhere. D was not in a rush and didn’t learn to read until she was in 1st grade. Then she started on chapter books, wasn’t interested in picture books (had seen too much of them already).
I used to climb the tree in front of our house to read. My favorites were The Secret Garden, Black Beauty, and Misty of Chincoteague. I was a voracious reader, though. Read at night under the covers. Mom had 3 of us in 4 years so I don’t remember a lot of quiet time together.
In elementary school, I just LOVED our weekly classroom visits to the library. My friends and I were huge fans of Little House on the Prarie books (this was prior to the TV series). There was a lot of competition for checking out those books. I also became a fan of biographies… gleefully read many of them.
The first book I remember owning was Green Eggs and Ham. The first book I remember reading on my own was “Now we are six”. I read it from the back seat of our Rambler station wagon and I did indeed think I was “as clever as clever”, but I didn’t stay six “forever and ever”.
My first encounter with science fiction was visiting the classroom of one of my cousins and the teacher was reading the chapter in A Wrinkle in Time where Meg is trying to get Charles out of It’s clutches. I was mesmerized, but it wasn’t until months later it appeared in a box of books from those cousins. I was in heaven. I’d never read anything so mesmerizing before. Not even the Narnia books which I loved.
Later when we were overseas, my mother came back from a trip to her Grandmother’s funeral with a copy of a book called The Hobbit. A young woman next to her on the plane had been reading it and it looked intriguing. She got it and came back with it saying she had been told (and this was a brand new word that none of us knew yet), that it it was “groovy”. It was indeed groovy and since she kindly also got The Lord of the Rings I was set for a good long read in 6th grade. My younger son discovered TLOTR in 3rd grade and I was very much amused by what a different book he read. His book was all about Legolas and Gimli. While mine was more about Aragorn.
I was a voracious reader. I read every biography in the school library so I happen to know a lot about sports even though I have very little real interest in the subject and am allergic to any sport involving balls. I even liked reading those SAR cards.
I also read tons of English boarding school stories and horse stories.
My aunt was a children’s librarian and she would send us many of the Caldecott and Newbery winners with the gold and silver seals on the covers. I loved reading those. I had enough books that one summer I set up a lending library on my back porch. I still have one book with a date stamp slip stapled inside. I also regularly walked with my friends or sister to the local library–1.5 miles each way, along major roads!–from age 8 or 9. That would not happen these days.
My first diary at age 10 is filled with mention of all the books I was reading, though I don’t recall any particular favorites. As a teen I devoured any biographies of women I could find, but there were so few in those days. To this period I owe my knowledge of queens, Presidential wives, Clara Barton, Florence Nightingale, and Isadora Duncan. Girls today have so much more to choose from!
There’s a picture of me as a toddler sitting in my crib seriously studying a Little Golden Book, and that’s pretty much the story of my childhood. I achieved my goal of reading every single book in the children’s section of our small town library (I gave myself the option of reading just one book of a series like Cherry Ames and letting that count for the entire series if I didn’t enjoy it) and even tried reading while riding the bicycle back home with my weekly haul. (It wasn’t a good idea.)
Having a fine for an overdue library book still gives me nightmares! That’s probably because fines came out of my allowance…
As a kid I remember reading all of the Dr. Seuss books and then whatever books I took out of the library. I also read my older brother’s Hardy Boy books. My parents mostly read the newspaper and magazines. They would read a novel every now and then, but they weren’t rabid readers. I don’t feel like I became a big reader until I read To Kill a Mockingbird in junior high. Something about reading it when I did opened the reading door for me. It was pivotal and made me more aware of the world I could explore through the pages of a book.
I’m loving all these childhood memories. And they are calling up a lot of my own memories (SRA cards! Flaaaashback!).
For me, it wasn’t Cherry Ames, but Sue Barton. I was sure I was destined to be a nurse during that phase of reading. Ha, not in the cards (although on some days being a mom came close ).
It’s funny what stays with you from your childhood days and what doesn’t! I have hazy memories of being read to, but clear memories of listening to my mother tell us stories.
I also clearly remember going to the children’s section of the library for the first time and picking out Alice and then struggling to comprehend what I could more easily read! I do remember the beautiful illustrations but not much else! I must’ve read other books before this that I just don’t remember.
We lived in an outlying area of a big metro — libraries were scarce and there was just this small one within walking distance that was open 2 weeknights and on Saturday mornings. A lot of classics, mainly children’s abridged versions of those, all of which I devoured before moving on to whatever else was available. Reading was my biggest entertainment and window to the world.
It was a few years later that I was introduced to the brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Russian folk tales, Enid Blyton’s school series, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Hitchcock’s The three Investigators and many other such books. This was after our small library received more funds to expand and add new stock.
My father would travel into the city once a month to the Council library to supplement what was available in our library. That was a rare treat — he could check out 5 books, of which one was reserved for us kids.
The only other library that I had access to was at school — I used to rush through lunch to get 10 minutes there. It took me weeks to finish a book there. We couldn’t check books out.
I had no access to Newbery Award winners or any of the books my kids read when they were that age. Many of the children’s books that are so popular here I read for the first time while reading to my kids.
I hate that we have to leave this book. I have loved it all the more after reading all of the posted comments. @Mary13, this book was a winner.
My only 2 suggestions are “Dispatches from Pluto” by Richard Grant. It is nonfiction. My other suggestion is “Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine” by Gail Honeyman.
The Yellow Bird Sings is what I refer to as a holocaust novel, and I’ve read many of them. I hadn’t heard of it. IMO, the best holocaust novel I’ve read is We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter. It’s based on a true story about one family and the – ummmm – adventures they had during WWII.
We considered Dispatches from Pluto paired with This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger (@Mary13’s suggestion) once before. I still like the two together.
My suggestions:
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin. We read Pride and Prejudice last year and we veer toward a touch of romance for the Feb. selection. It got starred reviews from:
“A delicious and entertaining novel.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“There’s an overabundance of Pride and Prejudice retellings, but few are as thoughtful and creative as this stellar debut from an author to watch.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Jalaluddin cleverly illustrates the social pressures facing young Indian-Muslim adults…a highly entertaining tale of family, community, and romance.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
I’m happy to read whatever the group comes up with. I recently finished The Warmth of Other Suns and certainly recommend it to anyone, but maybe it’s a bit too reminiscent of The Street for the group to discuss right now.
I’m 3/4 of the way through The Most Fun We Ever Had and am engrossed. A big family saga, easy read, intense emotions, sister rivalries, surprises.
Ordinarily, I wouldn’t suggest a Holocaust book either but this one was interesting to me because it is set in Poland.
I usually balk at tough reads but this year the specters of all the rejected books from my past are haunting me.
So… I’m currently reading The Great Believers and plan to move on to the other books that I skipped earlier this year. Wish me luck!!
Regarding the February choice, it would be nice to pick a book set in an interesting location. Armchair travel is my only way to see a new place right now.
I don’t recall us reading a historical book so here’s a suggestion that may be interesting. The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
It is the first in a trilogy but readable by itself. I have read it but a few years ago so I don’t mind rereading.
Girls today have so much more to choose from!
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