Then and now -- Reading cycles

As a child, I loved to read and even create my own books. I wanted to be a writer when I grew up, and I stapled together pages of childish illustrations of friendly giants, humble homes, and pretty princesses. I took my mother very seriously when we drove by a book publisher and she said maybe we would take my books there some day to be published. Somehow that dream faded when it came time to go to college. Now that I am a mother, the spirit of literature has come alive in me again! Again, I have been stapling together silly stories with childish illustrations – this time for her. My six-year-old daughter has loved books since she was a baby. In fact, that became our breast-feeding replacement when she was two. It affords the same snuggle-up closeness, and reading is perfect right before bed!

In our reading, I have even miraculously found some of the books I enjoyed as a child, such as But No Elephants, by Jerry Smath (1977), Goose Goofs Off, by Jacquelyn Rienach (1977), and one of the old rhyme Fiddle I Fee by Diane Stanley (1979) that I just loved! The neat thing is that more than 30 years later, my daughter likes these stories, too. My mother also reminded me that I was quite fond of Richard Scarry, the Berenstein Bears, and an old, simple book from Munro Leaf (1941) called, Manners Can Be Fun. Most of the appeal of these books for me, I believe, was visual. I remember that the “Sweet Pickles” series (of which Goose Goofs Off was part) had an entire map of the town of Sweet Pickles and a list of characters on every book that really brought this little society to life for me. My mother says my favorite character was “Imitating Iguana”.

In my pre-teens, I read the Sweet Valley Twins series (blush), later turning to vampire books (double blush) and mysteries, and finally on to satires, comedies, and poetry in my teens. I could be found reading most of the time up until about my junior year of high school. Feeling pressured to complete my reading assignments, I no longer had the time or desire to read for pleasure and spent several years without picking up a book for more than reference purposes. It's still rare that I read a fictional novel, but I love reading and creating stories with my daughter.