A Year of Blogging: April 2, 2011

April 2 was Children's Book Day. It's a day that encourages reading, and encouraging children to love reading. A day after my own heart! I have always been a book worm. I was an early bloomer, reading at age 3. My parents read to us, and perhaps my grandparents read to us too. My Grandpa Wager was a bookworm, and I remember seeing all of his lovely books. It seemed he was always reading. My parents encouraged this with us. We lived in a town with a small library. As a child, it didn't seem so small. There were rooms full of books, shelves from floor to ceiling in each room. Mom took us to the library weekly. We walked to the library. Mom would put us in our red wagon, and pull us downtown. (Downtown sounds so urban, I grew up in a quiet country village). On the way home, I had to walk because I would have filled my side of the wagon full of books. The children's room of the library was on the back side of the library. It had big windows that the sun always seemed to stream in. There was a table, and child sized chairs. Sometimes I would pull a book off the shelf, and sit down at the table to browse through it. I wanted to make sure I was selecting a good one! I progressed from the picture books, to the first readers, to the big tomes like 'Gulliver's Travels'. I wondered what I would do when I reached the end of the room. The answer, of course, was to move on to the next room! I would like to say I read every book in the children's room at the Berlin Library. But I know I didn't. Books geared towards boys, such as Hardy Boys, I didn't even touch. Nor did I read books about science, bugs, or similar undesirable (to me) topics. I also loved when it was time for the annual Book Fair at school! We would get the list of books a couple of days in advance, and I spent a great deal of time pondering this list. There were always so many books I wanted to buy. Mom and Dad always gave us a dollar limit, and for me, it was difficult to stay in that limit. While some kids ran in and out of the book fair in a matter of minutes, I took every second I was allowed, and often had to be gently prodded by the teacher or librarian to 'hurry up'. Books have always brought me such joy. They've opened new worlds to me. I think it is my duty to share this gift with the next generation. I have bought Sydney books since she was born. I'm a little behind with Drew, but I'm going to catch up. I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday (on Children's Book Day, no less!) and spent $123 on books- all for Sydney or Drew. I exhibited an amazing amount of self control by not even venturing into the sections I enjoy. I went straight to the children's section, filled my basket, and straight to the cash register. They will both get a stack of books for Easter. Sydney is getting 'learn to read' books, and Drew is getting picture books and touch and feel books. Sydney already loves books, and is very eager to learn to read. I hope Drew will love them as well. Of course, that then means if they both come to visit, I'll surely max out a credit card at the book store!