Where It All Began

You wouldn't chose to work in a bookstore unless you love to read.  I always find it odd when I meet someone who doesn't like to read.  How could someone not enjoy curling up with a good book and escaping somewhere without leaving the comfort of your couch?  I've loved to read as long as I can remember but how did this love start?  Let's take a look at some of the first books we remember.  

Alan: "One of the first books I remember reading to myself was 'Are You My Mother' by P.D. Eastman. Although I had since then become an avid reader, when my dad gave me 'Tarzan of the Apes' by Edgar Rice Burroughs, when I was 10, I was forever changed. For the next several years, and through several more of the adventures of Lord Greystoke, if I wasn't in a tree with the rest of Kerchak's tribe of anthropoids, I was huddled up with a book." 

Claire:  "I remember being in love with Dr. Seuss books, I know I always had 'One Fish, Two Fish' around. I think the first books that really started my love of reading was the Little House on the Prairie series. I don't remember how how I was, I think first grade, and I remember reading a page and then my mom read a page, back and forth. I remember I got the entire set for Christmas. I loved those books!"

Eileen:  "When I was little my parents and grandparents read to me a lot. Mostly Dr Seuss and Berenstein Bears. In late kindergarten/ early first grade I got 'The Horse and His Boy' and 'Little House on the Prairie', which were my first 'big books' to read by myself. I read them over and over, and have been begging for more ever since!"

Jess P. "My parents always had my sister and I read before we went to bed. The first book I remember reading on my own was 'The Mouse and the Motorcycle' by Beverly Cleary. It was a great story for a younger reader. There were also two other books in the series so I got hooked wanting to know more about Ralph S Mouse!"

Naomi:  "Go Dog Go' by PD Eastman was the first book I remember reading on my own without any help. And then, after that, I just wanted to read everything. It didn't really take much, since I had already been exposed to the love of reading via my mother and sisters."

Rachel:  I had always enjoyed books from a young age and religiously read Dr. Seuss, Jan Brett, and Eric Carle. However, it wasn't until my dad brought home a hardcover copy of 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone' that someone had found in a garbage that I really embraced reading and discovered my passion for magic and fantasy."

 

Rebecca: "When I was really little, my favorite book to have read to me was 'Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss.' I started reading at a young age, so I know I read a lot of books, but the first book I really remember being affected by was 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott. I distinctly remember it being the first book that made me cry. It was the first time I realized how powerful the written word can be and the impact it can have on people."  

It seems like Dr. Suess had a big impact on most of us.  He had an impact on me too but the opposite of everyone else.  I was scared of The Cat in The Hat and wanted nothing to do with another Suess book after that!  

When I was little, my dad read to me every night.  It was normally a short story or poem from a book he had as a kid called, "The Bumper Book."  It was full of little short stories and poems like "The Owl and the Pussycat."  He also read a lot of "Golden Books" to me, my favorite was "The Poky Little Puppy."  As I got older and learned to read on my own the first chapter book I wanted was "The Baby Sitters Club: Little Sister #2, Karen's Roller Skates," by Ann M. Martin.  This series was a spin-off of "The Baby-Sitters Club."  I distinctly remember finding this book at the mall at the "Book and Record" store.  Yes, I am old enough to have shopped in a store that sold actual record albums!  I read some of it to myself and my dad read some to me.  I instantly fell in love with the little town of Stonybrook, Conneticut and went on to read all the books in the series and ultimately found my true book love with "The Baby-Sitters Club" series.  I've been constantly reading ever since.  I read a variety of books but I still re-read "The Baby-Sitters Club" books to this day.  Like a great friend, they are a great source of comfort on a bad day. 

What about you ?  Please share with us some of your early reading memories below.