There is a trend popping up in my Facebook newsfeed (besides the Ice Bucket Challenge). It says a lot about the company I keep-- there are a lot of readers in my life. Basically, you post 10 books that have "stuck with you" and why, then you tag some friends to do the same. I thought I'd share my list here too. I'm going to split it into two posts though (here's hoping I remember to do post #2), otherwise you'll be reading for quite some time.
1.
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.
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| (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24178.Charlotte_s_Web?ac=1) |
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It was one of the first chapter books I remember reading on my own. And it's one I'm excited to share with my own kids (my daughter is just about the perfect age for it). I loved Wilbur, Charlotte is about the only spider I've ever been able to get on board with (except for maybe Aragog from
Harry Potter), and Fern's passion for saving Wilbur from the beginning was one of the first emotional experiences I remember having with a book.
2.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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| (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3008.A_Little_Princess?from_search=true) |
Sara just didn't give up and had such a positive spirit. I remember rooting for her to triumph over Miss Minchin. I think this book stuck with me not only because it showed me the power of positive thinking and a grand imagination, but also because it was one of the first chapter books I read in which I felt a sense of good doing battle with evil.
3. The entire
Harry Potter series (I know, I know, it's really 7 books, but it's ONE story overall) by J.K. Rowling
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| (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1668766.Harry_Potter_Boxed_Set?from_search=true) |
I did not come of age with Harry Potter. In fact, I wasn't introduced with him until college, the summer that book 4 came out. But I fell instantly in love with the books. And as a student studying to become an English Language Arts teacher, I loved even more that Harry Potter made kids want to read again. When book 5 came out, my smallish town in Northeast Ohio had a huge release party on main street, and every kid at the camp I worked at that summer was reading that book. I was moonlighting at a bookstore when book 6 came out, and I remember just being in awe at the hundreds of thousands of people that went out to bookstores everywhere AT MIDNIGHT, TO GET A BOOK! And book 7. Oh, the ending. I was pregnant with my oldest child that summer. We were driving back from vacation, picked up our dog, and headed straight to the bookstore to get in line. I finished it the next day. I'm excited to share the books with my own children, when the time is right. As the later books are darker, I'm hoping I can hold out until my kids are closer to 3rd or 4th grade before I share my love of this series with them. If my kids are like me, they'll want to devour the whole thing, one right after another.
4.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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| (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2657.To_Kill_a_Mockingbird) |
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I realize it is probably a little cliche for this book to make an English teacher's list, but hear me out. This was the first book I was required to read in high school. I loved the innocence the story had with it's child's perspective, but what I loved was how overall it made me think a lot more about how to be a decent human being and how to think about and treat others. Certain lines have stuck with me throughout my life. And when I think of justice and what is right, I always think of Atticus Finch first.
5.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
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| (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12543.Bird_by_Bird?from_search=true) |
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I read this book for a college course on teaching writing during my sophomore year. I absolutely fell in love with Anne Lamott (caution, she is known to swear upon occasion if that offends you). The title of this book comes from a childhood memory of Anne's: her brother had to write a report on birds. It was taking him forever and frustrating him. Her dad calmed him down by simply saying they'd just take the report "bird by bird." She manages to apply that idea and extend that analogy not only into being a writer (lots of advice for writers in here) but to life as well. She mixes in humor to break up the more serious moments, and I found myself reading way ahead of what the syllabus required of me nightly.
Okay, that's the first five. Look for the next five coming soon.
**Sidenote, if you manage to find me on Facebook, and you are a current or former student under the age of 18, I'm not saying I don't like you by denying your friend request. I do like you. And when you are 18 and have graduated high school, if you still care what your 8th grade Language Arts teacher is up to, I'd love to accept your friend request at that time. But for now, I have to keep respectable and unquestionable boundaries. Thanks for understanding.
