My Love of Reading

1. My Love of Reading The Early Years

2. Storytelling in Spanish The earliest memories I have regarding stories were stories told to me by my mom. She only had a 6th grade education and didn’t read English. However, she knew a lot of stories and songs that she’d been told by her great-grandmother, passed down generations to her. I’m sure I read at the usual age, but I don’t remember having any favorite books. I do have favorite stories/songs my mom told. One of them was of a little girl who was kidnapped and thrown into a sack. Her mom looked for her and missed her very much. One day, while walking on the beach her mom saw an old woman carrying around a ‘singing sack’. The woman would make the sack sing for money and solicited the little girl’s mom. The little girl began singing about the earrings her mother had given her. The mother recognized the story of the earrings and rescued her daughter. I still remember the song!

3. Spanish or English? I don’t have a memory of being an independent reader in English. However, when I was about ten or so I remember asking my mom how to read in Spanish. It is a very phonetic language. My mom would give me the Spanish newspaper she would get in the neighborhood, called El Vocero. I taught myself to read in Spanish using that newspaper.

4. My Love of Reading (in English) I have six sisters and one brother. The sister I was the closest to was an avid reader, and she would let me borrow her books. As a result, I don’t remember reading the usual books that kids my age read. I was reading books authored by Stephen King and the Flowers in the Attic series. By the time I entered middle school, I was hooked. Because I read so much, my school librarian at Robert Fulton Middle School would ask me which books I thought she should order for the school. At the end of the year, I had read so many books that I received a plaque/award. I kept that plaque for many years, and I truly believe that helped to shape my view of myself as a reader.

5. Books- where to get them We were not a family that had a library like I have for my own children now. So,during the school year the library was my friend. I checked books out constantly. I’m sure my librarian allowed me to exceed the amount of books we could check out! During the summer, a book truck would come to the projects and loan books out. This wasn’t as convenient for me, but I was grateful to still have books to read. I hate to admit that there were times that I would not return books because I so desperately wanted my own library. I wonder how much money the library (book truck) lost on my account- Yikes!

6. Why I Read Being the youngest of eight children, I think I struggled with finding an identity. I realized that I was the ‘smart’ one. Reading was a natural part of my persona. Reading was also my escape. My home life was somewhat chaotic and reading offered an escape. I learned that through reading, I could venture far beyond my little neighborhood and the issues we faced. I was also incredibly shy- believe it or not! Reading allowed me to not communicate with people I saw or encountered. I can remember walking down the neighborhood with a book in my hand so I could avoid any conversation at all costs. My, how times have changed!