Leaning to Read

I originally found the joy of reading on my kitchen floor reading countless story books to my rabbit, Cannonball. My favorite was Duncan and Dolores, the story of a girl and her cat whom she tortured with dress up time, tea parties etc. and in reading the story I did the same to my own bunny. When I was learning to read I attended story time at the Gardiner library with my mom, her friends, and their infants and there I found my love for all of Eric Carl's picture books. The bright, clever illustration always kept me engaged and I clearly remember being simply astonished at how much that caterpillar could eat. Golden Books quickly became regular bed time stories of course, and as tradition, every Christmas Eve my sister, my brother and I would read The Night Before Christmas keeping the magic of the holiday alive. Besides in story time or to Cannon, my aunt's cabin in northern New York was my favorite place to read. The spring break I discovered Junie B. Jones was the most sleep-deprived week of my life. After my parents had fallen asleep I would sneak out to the living room or deck overlooking the most beautiful lake and stay up long enough to see the sun rise, wishing I could be like Junie B. and say whatever came to my head, wanting to be her friend so bad. I was a fast reader, always in the elite group in elementary school and I enjoyed it, just as I've always enjoyed learning. Memories of reading are not simply just that, but cherished flashbacks that helped shaped me as who I am today, and a large role in my childhood.