For the Love of Reading

The earliest book that I remember reading was Dr. Seuss’s, The Alphabet Book. I remember learning how to read it shortly after it taught me my ABC’s. After first learning how to read that book, partly from memory and the rest through the “sound it out” method, I moved on to another Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat. And soon enough Dr. Seuss’s shiny, plastic, hard covered books filled my bookshelf, and I could not read enough. Every story had a different set of fun, intriguing characters in some crazy setting. I became absorbed, I read to my parents every time an opportunity presented itself. And my love for reading only continued to grow as time went on.
When I was in the first grade, my class took its first trip to the public library, where I fell in love with reading all over again. There were shelves and shelves of plenty of books just waiting for me to read, which was so much more impressive than my single bookshelf at home. And that summer my parents got me my very first library card, and once a week we would take a bike ride up to the library to check out books and any other activities the library was holding. Frequently, they had different themed lists of book for kids to read before a specific date in order to win some form of prize. But the competitions were not the reason that I went, I went because every time I checked out books I learned some new exciting fact or became acquainted with a new imaginative world or travelled on a suspenseful adventure. Every week was something new for me.
And by the fifth grade, teachers were passing out novels for us to read! These class activities allowed me to see view the things I was reading in a whole new way, learning how to interpret symbols, read figurative language, and decipher what authors were really trying to say. Granted, these abilities were extremely basic at the time, but each year they were built upon until today, where I can now read “in between the lines” and appreciate a story on all levels. My early experiences with reading allowed me to view reading as an extreme positive in my life. Not only does it act as my escape from the real world sometimes, but I would not know how to live without it. I would not be able to read the recipes that I love to use to cook, or navigate myself in new areas of travel. I also appreciate everything that my parents and teachers did in order to make reading such a positive experience for me, I have never dreaded reading because of it. From my very first Dr. Seuss book to my latest book, A World Without Us, I could not be happier to have discovered the magic of expression through the written word and with every new experience my happiness grows! Thank you Dr. Seuss!