![]() ![]() ![]() I read them all and then read them again. Looking back, I recognize that the books in our house were discards of others’ home libraries, perhaps garage sale offerings. ![]() I was a second-grader who moved up to chapter books, on to the Bobbsey Twins, whose life was nothing like my own. I recall laying on my stomach turning the pages of square paperback fairytale retellings - images of Red Riding Hood walking on a path through the forest, a wolf lurking nearby, the candy-covered witch’s house in Hansel and Gretel. There were a few battered easy-to-reads around the house like Go Dog Go. ![]() I entered kindergarten fluent from my older brother’s Dick and Jane books. Dear Mr Henshaw’s Leigh Botts is a gift for kids not to feel so alone.Ĭleary’s series books were the gateway to reading, books with no hidden lessons to be learned on how to be better children, or themes to be teased out (as Cleary herself said in many interviews).Īsk this reader, what was The Book that turned on the light?Īs a child, I was an early reader. The Mouse on the Motorcycle, a gift to “reluctant readers,” boys AND girls. Cleary to “write stories about kids like us.” Ramona the Pest is a gift she gave to non-conforming girls. She gave Henry and Ribsy to the neighborhood child who asked Mrs. She gave many gifts to her readers, the greatest among them: the gift of seeing themselves on the page. Beverly Cleary died this past week at age 104. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |