I guess it comes as no surprise that I love to read.
I started early.
Miss Woronoski's Grade One
class. Milk River Elementary School.
Milk River, Alberta.
I had the first seat, first row
on the left. Next to the windows.
And sitting on the cupboard
beside me, my very. First. Book. Ever.
The Cat in the Hat. By Dr.
Seuss.
I loved that book.
Though I highly disapproved of
Mr. Cat's antics.
If you haven't read this
classic, you just have to know: he was very disobedient.
And made a HUGE mess.
My little six-year-old heart
nearly failed me.
I could just see my Mom's
reaction.
Let's just say fur would be
flying and leave it at that.
It took me days to read it through the first time.
I’m sure my gasps of shock and awe were notable throughout the
entire room.
And my thirty-plus schoolmates.
Moving forward two years.
For my eighth birthday, I
received the amazing new invention, Lego.
But that has nothing to do with this story.
Ahem . . .
I also received a book.
Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase.
And the world of ‘chapter books’ suddenly exploded in my life.
In a totally non-violent, un-dynomitish way.
Like the Cat in the Hat had two years before, it took me days to
read it through the first time.
And it changed my life.
Suddenly I wanted to READ.
I saved my allowance and the next time we went to the city, made
my very first purchase of a book.
Nancy Drew: The Ghost of Blackwood Hall.
Chosen from among the vast selection because it had ‘ghost’ in the
title.
Yeah. It was pretty much a no-brainer.
From that day forward, I was perpetually nose-deep in a book.
Every waking minute.
And stolen from a lot of my ‘should-be-sleeping’ ones.
Because of me, Mom had to coin new phrases. “Diane! Get your nose
out of that book and come and set the table!” “Diane! Put the book down and
finish the vacuuming!”
Or the ever popular, “Diane, it’s four in the morning! Go! To!
SLEEP!”
Yeah. It was a problem.
Why am I telling you all this?
Because my eldest grandson has discovered my hoard of Nancy Drew
(and Hardy Boys, but that is a whole other story). He is at present working his
way through the lot.
Gramma is so proud.
They were the best books......I wish I still had mine. Did you also read The Bobbsy Twins?
ReplyDeleteMuch to be proud of. It's so exciting to see kids discover books.
ReplyDeleteI am a mystery fanatic: books, tv shows, movies. I'm convinced this has its genesis in The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.
Doesn't surprise me one bit! (you being a reader, that is) And it must be lovely to share that with a grandson. Those were great books, weren't they?
ReplyDeleteOh, so wonderful you still have these to share. I remember Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys - I even read some Trixie Belden - I never knew that the original author of the Trixie Belden books lived in Westchester County, New York, where my husband lived his first 10 years. What a surprise (not) that you were a bookworm - my Mom had to kick me out of the house to play because I would rather have read!
ReplyDeleteI always loved reading from a young age as well. I was hooked on Trixie Belden books!
ReplyDeleteSadly, I have never read any Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys stories. I remember a couple of friends had Trixie Belden books but I don't think I ever read any of those either. I had a few Secret Seven and Famous Five books, along with Pollyanna, Heidi, What Katy did also The Naughtiest Girl in the School and The Chalet School series, but not all of them. We never heard of Dr Seuss until my kids were in school.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Dr. Seuss. As a teenager, I could never get into the Nancy Drew books, but I loved the Trixie Beldon series.
ReplyDelete