First off, I would like to thank everyone who read, shared and liked our post last week. I feel so blessed that you would allow me to share my thoughts on reading with you. As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I was an avid reader growing up. During the summer, I would read a lot, and I have my mother to thank for that. It’s true when they say that parents set examples for their children as I always grew up seeing my mom reading. I mentioned this last week as one of my five ways to encourage kids at home to read.
In this week’s blog, still on the topic of reading, I thought that I would share with you my favourite books from my childhood and those that I discovered well into my adult years. The following book list are books that I read and readily remember as a child. Find your nearest library and take a read!
Published – 1974
Author – Shel Silverstein
Genre – Children’s Poetry
“Where the Sidewalk Ends turns forty! Celebrate with this anniversary edition that features an eye-catching commemorative red sticker. This classic poetry collection, which is both outrageously funny and profound, has been the most beloved of Shel Silverstein’s poetry books for generations.” – Credit Goodreads – Where the Sidewalk Ends
WHAT DO I REMEMBER THE MOST ABOUT THIS BOOK?
I remember my classroom teacher using this book to introduce to us poetry. The poems were silly and the illustrations so magically fit each one. Great read for bringing creativity out of a young child.
Published – 1990
Author – Dr. Seuss
Genre – Children’s Literature
“In this joyous ode to life, Dr. Seuss addresses graduates of all ages, from nursery school to medical school, and gives them the get-up-and-go to move mountains with the unrivaled exuberance and charm that have made Dr. Seuss’s books favorites for years.” – Credit – Goodreads – Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
WHAT DO I REMEMBER THE MOST ABOUT THIS BOOK?
My parents gifted me this book as I graduated from grade 8. I still have it and read it to the students I work with as they go through different stages in their academic career.
Published – 1993
Author – Lois Lowry
Genres – Young Adult Fiction, Utopian and Dystopian Fiction, Science Fiction
“This haunting story centers on Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he’s given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.” – Credit Goodreads – The Giver
WHAT DO I REMEMBER THE MOST ABOUT THIS BOOK?
I read this book with one of my students a few years ago. I really enjoyed the thought-provoking story line and the intense character development.
Published – 1970
Author – Toni Morrison
Genre – African-American Literature
“The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison’s first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author’s girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves’ garden do not bloom. Pecola’s life does change- in painful, devastating ways.
What its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child’s yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment. The Bluest Eye remains one of Toni Morisons’s most powerful, unforgettable novels- and a significant work of American fiction” – Credit Goodreads – The Bluest Eye
WHAT DO I REMEMBER THE MOST ABOUT THIS BOOK?
I read this book when I was attending Trent University and was really engulfed by the literary genius of Toni Morrison. Her words captivated me unlike any book had before.
Published: 1958
Author – Chinua Achebe
Genre – Historical Fiction
“Things Fall Apart tells two intertwining stories, both centering on Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first, a powerful fable of the immemorial conflict between the individual and society, traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace with the tribal world. The second, as modern as the first is ancient, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo’s world with the arrival of aggressive European missionaries. These perfectly harmonized twin dramas are informed by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul.” – Credit – Goodreads – Things Fall Apart
WHAT DO I REMEMBER THE MOST ABOUT THIS BOOK?
I really enjoyed reading this book and I think I teared up at different parts. I was really intrigued with the character development of Okonkwo in the different stages of life he faced.
Thanks so much for reading my blog this week!
Happy Reading,
Tara
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