Thursday, March 12, 2009

What was the First Book You Ever Read?


The first book I remember reading, and thinking to myself, "hey, I am reading!" was Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff. I even remember where I was -- in our sun-filled playroom, sitting in my rocking chair. I was 4 -- the first "generation" of kids to watch Sesame Street and I'm certain that was the main reason I was the only kid in my kindergarten class who could read! The other main reason was my mother, who had my sister and I enrolled in every book club -- the I Can Read Club, the Dr. Seuss Beginning Books Book Club, the Parents' Magazine Press Book Club -- and we could always choose books from the Scholastic catalog.
Danny and the Dinosaur, still in print, was part of the I Can Read Book Club. 40 years later, "I Can Read" is still going strong, still published in hard cover and paperback, and divided into "Levels" depending on a child's reading ability. Many publishers have similar "learning to read" series, modeled on I Can Read.
What is the first book you remember reading on your own?

2 comments:

Paul Schmid said...

Just wanted to say hello and congratulations on opening the store. I'll try to stop in soon.
Best of luck,
Paul Schmid
http://paulschmidstudio.blogspot.com/

Leah said...

The first book I remember reading was Inside Outside Upside Down. I remember the lightbulb going on and saying out loud "I'm reading this!!!" I even remember who I was talking to and the room I was in. I think I even have the book still somewhere......

Then later I remember trying to read Babar and being frustrated by the cursive font. :)