Blog Number One: An Introduction to the Addictiveness of Meaningful Books

My first dives into the endless oceans of literature occurred at such an early age I can barely remember where my shelves of books began. My grandmother once said “You went from reading license plates to reading The New York Times in one week” when I ask her about the origins of my love for reading. However my mother, shaking her head, reminded me of my earliest favorites: Pat the Bunny and Root Children that both remained glorified among the many books I owned with a reserved spot on my bedside table for years. I think my love of literature began at first sight when my mother would take me to the children’s section of our local library and allowed me to pick out the book I wanted her to read. Some of the most difficult choices I had ever had to make as a child were which book to check out from the hundreds I wanted to haul home. If someone had suggested I live in the library and sleep on one of the bean bag chairs I probably would not have objected as long as I had Root Children at my side. Root Children is a story about Mother Earth who tells her children to sleep underground in the winter, help paint the beetles and ladybugs in the spring, dance in the meadow during the summer, and go back underground during the fall. The story of Root Children comforted me with nothing else could and is the cause of my passion to save the environment that continues to this day. Because my relationship with nature as a young child was so valued (my old private school often had us outdoors frolicking in nature) both in my eyes and in the eyes of my parents I formed a deep connection, or roots, to the Root Children who adored and needed the beauty of nature just as much as I did. In terms of my literacy it started from a high point and continued to become an obsession as I devoured mountains of books after the Root Children. However, no other book will compare to the solace and serenity I felt from that one book.