Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The More That You Read..The More Places You'll Go...

"Let us read and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world." ~ Voltaire

There are few things in life more satisfying to my soul than a good book.  My parents tell me I picked up my first book at the age of one,  and in a language only I understood, began reading it to them.  By 4th grade I was devouring books  at an amazing speed, often hiding them inside my school books, especially my math book, ;)

One of the best parts of motherhood has been  sharing books with my children. I began reading to them before they were even born, hoping my voice and the stories would enter their minds through my womb. I visualized their baby dreams, filled with fairies and fables, myths and magic, taken from the stories I would read.

This is also one of the main reasons why I chose to teach;  I love getting kids excited about literature; I love sharing  my childhood favorites with them, like The Chronicles of Narnia, Charlotte's Web, and Misty of Chincoteague to name a few. While I loved taking my own children to see the movie adaptations of these great classics,  to me, there is no comparison to reading the stories themselves.  You can make your own pictures, using your own imagination to be transported to wherever it is you want to go.  I admit to trying to walk through my closet into a different world after finishing The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,lol. 

Bookstores and libraries are sanctified, almost holy places to me. I love an old book store; the smells of the covers, the aged paper, the stacks and stacks of adventures piled high and deep..it's even better if there is a big comfy chair to curl up in, and the ever present bookstore mascot, usually a cat who winds himself in and out of your legs as you wander the literary labyrinth.

The most difficult part after choosing the latest transport, is deciding which to read first.  Today I came home laden with 10 books; I am savoring them all, trying to decide which will be the first to take me away...the decision is always tough; I want to save the best for last, and yet I am always disappointed when I finish a masterpiece...I want the words to go on and on. So here I sit, observing the pile, and wondering oh where, oh where to begin.  I guess I should just close my eyes and choose..
eenie, meenie, minie..............


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