Wednesday, November 15, 2006

childhood reading meme

Big A little A has some awesome memes today. I'll get to the others as soon as I have time. And if she hasn't done it already, I tag MotherReader

1. How old were you when you learned to read and who taught you?

About five. My sister taught me, using a teacher's edition of the first grade readers. When I hit first grade I was BORED OUT OF MY SKULL. But I still remember them fondly: they were In the City and People Read.

2. Did you own any books as a child? If so, what’s the first one that you remember owning? If not, do you recall any of the first titles that you borrowed from the library?

City Cat, Country Cat. My first memorable library book was a forgotten title about a boy whose favorite book was Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Strangely, although I loved it, it did not inspire in me any interest to read MMaHSS.

3. What’s the first book that you bought with your own money?

Surely not the first, but the first I can really remember was The First Four Years. (And without reading it again, how many times did I write "first" in that sentence?)

4. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often?

To the max. I reread the Prydain books a lot, also Rumer Godden, Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Edward Eager, Louise Fitzhugh, Noel Streatfeild, Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Pretty much anything I liked, I reread.

5. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest and how old were you when you read it?

Like Big A, little a, I think Agatha Christie was my gateway. Also, weirdly enough, Kurt Vonnegut. (Maybe not that weird--he writes so simply.) I used to take a lot of long trips on Grey Rabbit (1970's hippie bus) and there were always Vonnegut books floating around. I would have been 11 or 12.

6. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones?

The Animal Family by Randall Jarell is the only one that comes to mind, though I'm sure there are others.