My love for reading began as a child when my mother read to me at bedtime or any other time I could persuade her to read to me. I enjoyed books as a youngster, but my mother tells me that Babar the Elephant books were my all time favorite books.
So, it was a wonderful surprise when my mother gave me a copy of the hardback edition of Bonjour, Babar!: The Six Unabridged Classics by the Creator of Babar by Jean De Brunhoff for Christmas some years back. An extra special touch was the inscription my mom wrote to me inside the cover of this book. I'll cherish the message of love forever.
I truly enjoyed rereading the Babar books that had given me such joy as a toddler and had fostered my love of reading books today.
I also recall enjoying many other books as a youngster. The Ghost of Windy by Clyde Robert Bulla was one of the first books I remember reading entirely on my own and that I read multiple times as a child because I liked the story so much. I don't know what happened to my original copy of this book. Perhaps my mom still has it packed away with some of my other childhood books and mementos. All I do know is that I was able to find a used copy of The Ghost of Windy earlier this year and purchased it to reread once again. The joys of becoming reacquainted with books again is so much fun. It's kind of like meeting and catching up with an old friend.
Ultra-Violet Catastrophe!: Or, The Unexpected Walk with Great-Uncle Magnus Pringle by Margaret Mahy was another book that filled me with joy to read as a child and yes, I read this one too several times over the years. I love the story and the illustrations in this book as well.
So, which books have inspired you to become the reader that you are today?
So, it was a wonderful surprise when my mother gave me a copy of the hardback edition of Bonjour, Babar!: The Six Unabridged Classics by the Creator of Babar by Jean De Brunhoff for Christmas some years back. An extra special touch was the inscription my mom wrote to me inside the cover of this book. I'll cherish the message of love forever. I truly enjoyed rereading the Babar books that had given me such joy as a toddler and had fostered my love of reading books today.
I also recall enjoying many other books as a youngster. The Ghost of Windy by Clyde Robert Bulla was one of the first books I remember reading entirely on my own and that I read multiple times as a child because I liked the story so much. I don't know what happened to my original copy of this book. Perhaps my mom still has it packed away with some of my other childhood books and mementos. All I do know is that I was able to find a used copy of The Ghost of Windy earlier this year and purchased it to reread once again. The joys of becoming reacquainted with books again is so much fun. It's kind of like meeting and catching up with an old friend.
So, which books have inspired you to become the reader that you are today?
My love of reading started very early. It was when my brother began school and brought home the 'I Can Read' Series of books and he hated reading them. So, I wondered why he didn't like them and had a look at them. Being 4 years old and living in a very 'out-in-the-sticks' kinda place, there wasn't really anything to do but entertain yourself. So, when I picked up the books and opened them, I found they were set out phonetically, this made them easier to read. Well, to me.
ReplyDeleteBy the time I got through the whole series, I was a better reader then my brother and I hadn't left preschool... and had begun reading the whole chilren's section of the Springwood Library - which was only a 5 minute walk up the road from us. By the time I was in school, I could read (I was 5 by that time) and by the time I was 10, I had read the entire children's section of our local library and my school library...
By this time the passion had turned into a full-blown obsession. My parents couldn't get me past a bookstore or a garage sale... it wasn't good. And by the time I hit high school, I was reading books that other girls hadn't even thought of reading - such as 'Flowers in the Attic' - the whole series of 5 books. I was wanting to read Judie Bloom, but didn't. Sweet Valley High was boring me to death and I needed something I could sink my teeth into... something great! So, I picked up my first SK book... 'Christine'... I was 16 by that time. :)
And the rest - as they say - is history. :D
Funny, I thought the Sweet Valley High series wasn't all that special either!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the 'Flowers in the Attic' series too in high school. I think the only other V. C. Andrews novel, I've read was My Sweet Audrina.