The Book Whisperer

It was a very stressful time in my life. My father was in the Vietnam War and my mom and brother and I were sad. My first memory is the reading teacher coming around to listen to each kid read. Dr. Suess, I think, I was reading. She listened to me and said something like, "I don't need to help you with words; you are a very good reader already." I don't even know if I liked to read before that. No idea. But what happened was that I learned I was good at reading and so it immediately became "my thing." I became a forever reader from that one teacher comment. Durng the tough times, reading was my refuge. That is what I want to pass on; you are never lonely or bored with a book. And when times are hard, you have someplace safe to go...inside a book.

My brother is four years older than me and when we were growing up he was for ever bossing me around. He was a pretty avid reader and would get lost in his books. He could completely tune out the world around him. I enjoyed books, but didn't devour them like he did. One day, I think I was maybe 8 or 9, he told me that he thought I should read certain books because he thought I would like them. I don't remember what the books were, but I do remember that he wouldn't leave me alone about it. Finally, to get him off my back, I read the books. Turns out he was right, I really did like them. That's the point that I consider the beginning of my identity as an avid reader.

I come from a long line of readers. There is a wonderful picture of my great grandmother and one of her daughters at the local bookmobile about 1940. She would borrow lots of books and then loan them to neighbors who lived further away. She had 8 babies and read as she nursed them. One of her daughters, my Nana, became an avid reader, and no surprize my mother reads daily. My mother also read as she fed her babies.
As a child I was read to often and had a favorite book about a firehouse, with firehouse dogs you could take in and out of pockets. One day we were visited by an insurance salesman. I'm told I was about 3 years old and I sat down next to him with my favorite book and "read" to him and he was very impressed. I don't know if my parents ever enlightened him about the method of reading [memorization] I was demonstrating. One of the books I owned that I read and re-read was The Pink Motel by Carol Brink. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized this was the same author who wrote another favorite book, Caddie Woodlawn. I devoured all Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries, as well as the Happy Hollisters and the Bobbsey Twins. So I was blessed to be raised in a reading family. As I look back I realize there are even more stories to my reading life. Thank you, Donalyn, for sending me down this rabbit hole!!

I don't have the greatest memory, so while I know that my parents read to me when I was little, I don't have distinct memories of that. I do recall not liking Dick and Jane in first grade, though, already looking for better stories. And I remember that my third grade teacher had a classroom library. I lost myself in the Little House books - the first series I remember choosing to read. It's probably not a coincidence that I got glasses that year, and reading likely became more comfortable for me.

Other formative memories include helping out in my elementary school library before school in 6th grade (I can still tell you where certain authors were shelved in in the library in my mind), and helping my grandmother maintain her church library. And reading in unusual places, like on a raft in the lake (swimming back while holding the book out of the water with one arm), in a tree in the yard, and even on the roof (don't try this at home, kids!).

But my biggest influences were my Mom (with whom I still share books back and forth) and my paternal Grandmother, who never stopped reading children's books. And I appreciate that my Dad, who wasn't much of a reader at the time, read to me when I was little (I have great photos of this).

Thanks for this reading rabbit hole. I'll check back to see other shared memories.

This blog inspired me to write one of my own. I'd be honoured if you read it. It is called "The Great Escape."

My jump into reading didn't start until I was an adult. (So many wasted years, huh?)

My husband, who is a teacher as well, always had a children's literature book he was reading. I just didn't get that. Really, even on Christmas Eve at my parent's house we would all be eating and visiting and there he would sit in the corner with a book in hand.

Then one day I decided to go back to school and get my teaching degree. Early on I took a required children's literature class and I WAS HOOKED! That's all it took.

The teacher of the class was older ( I think she retired the following year) and she would bring a big cart of books to class and give a mini book talk about each one, which would lead her to get off subject about the book she was talking about and talk about other books and authors. I took notes like a mad woman.

I read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and the rest is history.

I was brought up by two readers, and they read to me every chance they got from before I can remember. Of course, I memorized lots of my favorites, including "Are You My Mother?" When I was 2 or 3, my parents went to a wedding one night, leaving me overnight with friends of the family. They, of course, sent me with loads of picture books to keep in the bed. After putting me to bed, my babysitters heard me shout "I WANT MY MOTHER! I WANT TO GO HOME!" as I read aloud to myself. They hurried in, thinking I was homesick, and found me happily reading.

That story has been told to me so many times, confirming my identity as a reader. From that point forward, I have countless happy memories of books, reading, and people who joined me along the way. Every day I try to share that same love with my students.

My reading addiction traces back to 3rd grade. My parents enrolled me in a bookclub and every month 2 of Jerry West's The Happy Hollisters would arrive in the mail. Inevitably, I read them in a day and then waited anxiously for the month to pass. The saddest day was when the bookclub had exhausted the series and sent Marco Polo instead.
My most shameful memory as a reader is how I befriended a girl in 5th grade for no other reason than that she had a complete collection of Nancy Drew. The library didn't carry them back then and my parents wouldn't buy them for me because I read them too fast. My "friend" however, was happy to loan hers. Fortunately, the friendship endured even after I'd read all the books.

As a teacher, my most cherished compliments are from parents who have told me their children love to read after being in my class.

My earliest memories of reading are being curled up on the living room couch and having my mother read me fairy tales and nursery rhymes before my afternoon nap. Mom read magazines and books as much as time allowed, but it was my older sisters (7 and 10 years older than me) who really got me into reading - both are total bibliophiles and helped turn me into one as well!

I have a brief memory of sitting on the picnic table outside the summer I turned 7. My sister is sitting beside me reading the opening paragraphs of "Little House in the Big Woods." After she got me "hooked", she handed the book to me and told me I could read the rest on my own. The Little House books were my favorite until high school, when I branched into many different genres.
I am 47 years old now and have gone back to college to get my degree in education. I plan to teach middle school English and social studies. Donalynn is an inspiration to me!

I remember (at about age 10) reading True Confession magazines that my mom had hidden under our coffee table. It was then that I realized that reading TRULY could take me to places I'd never before imagined!

The snapshots in time that stand out for me relate to specific books and summers. I'm sure I read all year long (I love stories too much), but I don't remember many books beyond elementary school except for summer reading. HOURS spent devouring Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew; reading and rereading the Scarlet Pimpernel; and, of course, Judy Blume books! Yesterday, because of a memory, I picked up one of my childhood favorites at the bookstore: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler!

Things shifted when we moved from Baltimore to Charleston, WV at 13, we didn't live anywhere close to the library - and I've never been in the Kanawha County Public Library. But we had a good high school library and I remember spending lots of afternoons in there waiting for my dad (the principal).

Then it shifted again. In college, I worked in the library. I remember the historical biography summer; the mystery summer; and the Victorian Lit summer like they were yesterday.

Now, I am thrilled that reading is part of my everyday life. My mom wasn't a reader; my dad came home to late in those early days to read at night. I'm hoping to change that with Catherine so that she CAN remember bedtime stories.

I loved this book! I have a question about grades/assessments, though. In a workshop setting, building in as many free reading apportunities as I can, how do I take assessment for report cards? My district requires at least 10 each marking period (quarters). Any advice?

Hi Lin,

I am pleased that you enjoyed my book. I grade a wide range of activities: reading response entries, notebook conferences, students' application of strategies and skills, inquiry projects, and so on.
You may send any questions that are not comments to the blog post to my contact e-mail listed at the top of the page, thebookwhisperer@gmail.com

My mom is from Germany and was still learning English when she met and married my dad. She would read books to me (Golden Books) to help her learn English and to pass the time away while my dad was gone. (He was a salesman.) When I started school, I started correcting my mom as she read the books to me, or I would read the books to her.

In upper elementary, I started reading Nancy Drew. (I recently donated my collection to my school's library - alas I have no daughter to pass them on to.) I moved from those books to Judy Blume and the Little House on the Prairie series.

By the time I got to high school, I was reading V.C. Andrews, Stephen King, and Dean Kootnz. As I've grown, my tastes have changed, although I still love a good mystery.

I am happy to say that my two boys share the love of reading that I do. What more could I want?

The wonderful scent of the bookmobile and luxuriating in its air conditioning while Mother chose books is one of my earliest memories. I don't remember a time that didn't include reading. Identifying letters, and eventually words, on billboards were an integral part of every road trip. My parents read daily, and our house was filled with books and magazines. Dad read the daily comics to me at the end of each work day, and I would try meet the mailman when he delivered THE SATURDAY EVENING POST so I could have first dibs.

I, too, remember the bookmobile visits, but what I remember most in my small hometown library is that I could check out as many books as I liked. Bobbsey Twins was always part of the stack that I trudged home with weekly.

I credit my love of reading to my mother and remember her reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's books to me as bedtime stories nightly (even though I'm the youngest of seven!) She got pretty far into the series and then I took over for myself. I read the series to both of my children when they were very young and the pictures brought back those memories of snuggling with Mom. Both of my children learned to read from hearing Dr. Seuss books over and over. To this day I associate "One Foot, Two Foot" with morning sickness as my son insisted on repeated readings when I was pregnant with his sister. My son has finally returned to reading at 16. My daughter (13) checks out 25 books at a time from the library. I truly hope I inspire my students to appreciate the joy of reading.

I also remember the bookmobile coming to my elementary school and how excited I would get. Another memory of my first reading experiences are my father taking me to the library every 2 weeks to check out books and to browse as long as we liked. I would plead with my Dad to leave my brother at home because he always rushed us. To this day my Dad and I share a love of reading. He is 84 and we have been going to library book sales forever. Both my daughters are in there 20's and also love to read. A wonderful day for me is going to a library or bookstore with my girls and talking about books and sharing the stories we love. I plan on reading for a very long time and I always have a book with me wherever I go. Happy reading!!

I had a wonderful fourth grade teacher who read to us each day. She told me I could be a reader, too. Me--the girl who barely made it out of third grade. Turned out she was right--I went into the accelerated reading program in 5th grade and TAG classes. The power of words! Still an avid reader, I consume 100-120 books a year.
(I loved your book!)

I had two books referred to me in middle school. One, by a aloof aunt who said I would like gothic novels (Rebecca), and the other was referred by a friend. The book was a new genre at the time, In Cold Blood, and I fell hard.
To this day many, many years later, I look back and remember the complete joy of getting lost in those stories.
I just found your blog, look forward to getting some tips on how to get my reluctant readers, grades 7-12, reading.

I'm not sure exactly when I started reading. It seems like I always have. Books were my salvation as a child. There weren't a lot of happy memories growing up, but I was fortunate that our house was a reading house. I too have my staying up really late reading books (I was lucky enough to have a night light) and spending all my limited allowance on Trixie Beldon books.

When I went into foster care at 13, I think one of the really sad parts was leaving all my books behind. I used to pretend the characters in the books were my friends and I was part of the club. As an adult I went to several used books stores and bought many of the books I treasured growing up and read them all again. What a treat!

I went back to school at age 31 to become a teacher and one of my goals is to spread my love of reading to another generation. Thank you Donalyn for your wonderful inspirational book.