Reading Memories

As Little C is becoming a more voracious reader, I find myself reflecting more about my children as readers.  This naturally led me back to my reading biography.  I am trying to reflect on my earliest memories of reading (and figure out what my parents did right).

I can remember books that we read like Jillian Jiggs. A Porcupine Named Fluffy, and The Berenstain Bears No Girls Allowed.  The Ordinary Princess stands out in my mind.  It is the tale of Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne (Princess Amy for short).  It starts much like Sleeping Beauty with fairies bestowing gifts upon the royal baby.   The most powerful fairy godmother declared, “Wit, Charm, Courage, Health, Wisdom, Grace…Good gracious, poor child! Well, thank goodness my magic is stronger than anyone else’s. She raised her twisty coral stick and waved it three times over the cradle of the seventh princess. “My child,” said the Fairy Crustacea, “I am going to give you something that will probably bring you more happiness than all these fal-lals and fripperies put together. You shall be Ordinary!” My mom read it to the three of us in her mini-van while waiting for the bus before school.  Second grade-ish, I remember her reading aloud from the magazine Cricket.  Cricket would sometime feature serial stories split up over a few parts.  My second grade self remembers The Ordinary Princess being divided into at least 30 pieces.  My sister and I would eagerly wait for the next issue of Cricket to arrive. We would laugh together as Mommy read it to us.  It was quite exciting the Princess Amy had brown hair and freckles, just like us, and would rather go play in the woods then do princess-y things, just like us.  The Ordinary Princess is a delightful story, but it is the shared experience that makes it memorable.

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