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| Illustration from The Very Hungry Caterpillar |
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| Illustration from Chrysanthemum |
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| Ilustration from Love you Forever |
Just seeing these illustrations made me feel like I was running into old friends.
When I was a little girl my mother read to us almost every day. I think the first chapter book we read together was Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl, quickly followed by The BFG.
Once we could read on our own she would take us to the library to get our very own library card and participate in the summer reader's program. We could tally up how many hours we read and then exchange our tallies for little trinkets, like a bouncy ball or bracelet, in the library treasure box.
I will always be grateful to my mother for teaching us that reading is FUN! Her efforts to give us the world by helping us master reading remind me of this wonderful mother who knew what each child needed and was willing to confront dangerous obstacles to protect them:
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| Illustration from Heckedy Peg |
Reading can be thrilling, soothing, exciting, scary, new, and familiar. It is whatever you are in the mood for when you walk into the library. It can take you to different worlds.
The entire universe of knowledge and imagination is only as far away as your own willingness to pick up a book.
I hope that in all of our pursuit of new, flashy, fast media devices, we won't forget the familiar rustle of book pages, or the feeling of dusty air wafting past when all nestled in and ready for a good story.
And let's not forget about this little guy.
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| Illustration from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie |
I love this! It is so fun to be reminded of favorite picture books and chapter books :) I'm reading Harry Potter right now, and can't put it down! Reading really is so fun.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a great mom! That is so awesome that you developed a love of reading at such a young age. I loved these familiar illustrations as well. They make me happy:)
ReplyDeleteI never understand people that say they don't read or that hate reading. My love of reading was fostered by my mom, just like yours. Trips to the library were so exciting and we always participated in those summer reading programs at the library. I'm so grateful that I learned to love reading. Great post!
ReplyDeleteVisual Arts are such great transporters. In the instant after seeing an image the mind can bring you back to all the amazing memories you've had or get you as near as possible to traveling into the future as an image can capture the hopes and dreams you have for life. Still images can be such a powerful tool on the mind.
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