I don’t really have to wonder too much why I became an avid reader. I grew up in a home filled with books and watched my parents repeatedly choose to curl up with a book rather than sit in front of the television. I recently finished a class on the history of children’s literature and it made me think of my own reading history. Here are a list of the books that live on in my memory:

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss was a favorite. My parents tell me I loved Seuss and often memorized the stories cover to cover.

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Dubose Heyward and Marjorie Hack
I don’t know specifically what it was about this story that captured my imagination, but it’s the one picture book that I remember reading over and over.

Little Joe Otter by Thornton Burgess
I loved all of the books by Thornton Burgess, but this was my favorite. Burgess wrote in the early 20th century and was extremely popular. His series of over 100 books are about different forest animals and begins with Old Mother Westwind.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien
My 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Tideaback, read this to me and I was forever hooked on fantasy. How could you not love these little mice?

Anything Judy Blume. My first introduction to her was Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. I read everything she wrote as fast as I could.

Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin was a book I think of as a foreshadow of my future career. I liked this book and for some reason thought I should try searching by publisher. Really. I remember scanning the bookshelves at our tiny local bookstore for the large C that identified a Camelot book. How funny is that? I don’t know where I got that idea, but who other than a future librarian would think that up?

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. This is one of the first books I remember being sad to finish and longing to find something like it. I loved the fact that the survival story was about a girl. Why didn’t I just ask my librarian?

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkein. My Mom read these to my brother and me when we were in elementary/middle school and they are some of my fondest literary memories. We started with the illustrated version of The Hobbit because my brother was only in the 2nd grade and still learning to sit still for a long story. The pictures helped hold his attention before he became fully captivated by the story (a love affair he has still today).

It’s fun to think of the books that left their mark. I’m sure there are others if I sit and dwell on them, but really–how much of an impression is really left if it takes me an hour to remember?

Enjoy!