To Read Or Not To Read; That Is Not The Question

Hello Blogawayamily. (That word combo doesn't quiet work, does it?) Today is your lucky day! Do you know why it's your lucky day? Because you don't have to listen to me yak! Yay! We are honored to have a guest post by our own faithful follower Nicole Jessop.  She's the gal who leaves the very first comment about 80% of the time. She gets a star for promptness, and one for loyalty, and one for wittiness, and one for .... K, you get the idea: I like this gal A LOT. She also happened to marry a super cool dude. So give her your undivided attention as she tells you about a topic that is near to all our hearts--books! Make sure you leave a comment since she has an awesome prize in store! Take it away Nicole!

Ever since I can remember, I have loved to read. I remember only being 5 or so and being so frustrated with my 3 year old brother that he had no desire to learn how to write his name, even though I had traced it out perfectly for him to copy, or to look at my very basic dictionary. My grandma use to always tease me as an elementary student for having to have something to read while I was eating breakfast (or any meal but my books were forbidden at dinner) because I was just like my grandpa and my dad. Even today, it doesn’t matter what is in front of me – a magazine I got in my mailbox at school, the news on my phone, just random bits of newspaper, or cereal boxes – I need something to read while I eat.

I think that’s what led to my decision to be a teacher along with loving to work with kids. I want to be able to help kids realize their passion for reading, to discover whole new worlds and to fall so in love with a character or a book that they can relate to the character and empathize with them. Steve always makes fun of me when we watch Harry Potter (or even as we read it) for crying every time loved characters die. Just the other day as we were reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I began crying when a character died *no spoilers here*. He looked at me and said, “How many times have you read this book and seen this movie?” I responded that it didn’t make it any less sad no matter how many times we read it.

As we have made our way through the series, it’s been so fun to see how he has grown to like reading more. He’s never been one to sit down and read and when I was kid, if given the choice, that’s all I ever would have done. The other night he told me he was one of those kids that would read but then decided he would rather be outside in the real world. Being the ever-faithful Potterhead I responded, “Just because it’s happening in my head, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.” Now, let’s all say it together: “touché.”

One of my all-time favorite books as a kid was Purple, Green and Yellow by Robert Munsch. Here’s the book summary from Amazon: “Brigid is on the trail of the ultimate felt marker. At first, she's satisfied to be drawing wonderful pictures. But soon she must have the markers that wash off with water. Then she needs the markers that smell. But she's happiest when she gets the super-indelible-never-comes-off-till-you're-dead markers. She draws brighter-than-real lemons and roses and then goes too far: Brigid draws on herself. Nothing will remove the color, so Brigid reaches deep into the box of markers, finds the people-colored marker, and covers up all the other colors. She looks better than before, too good to be true.”

Hilarious. I don’t know why I haven’t bought it yet. Some other loved favorites were Encyclopedia Brown, Babysitter’s Club, Bailey School Kids, and Boys against Girls. Unfortunately, my Mom ended up giving away or selling most of my books, so I’m in the process of finding my most loved ones and collecting them all again. I’ve also discovered many new children’s books through my college years that have become favorites. You’re never too old for a children’s book.

Have you ever had a book that just touched you or that you read a hundred times and it never got old or stopped being funny? What was your favorite book as a child?