W10. B3.

Influence Children's Literature has had on Me

I wanted to start with this quote from an anonymous writer, “Good children's literature appeals not only to the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.” This quote I feel exhibits how I feel about children’s literature in a nutshell. A good children’s book will do just that. I am quite often made fun of because I am the mother of my friends but the same time the baby. It’s odd, but reminds me a lot of that quote. I still like things that a twenty one year old apparently isn’t supposed to like anymore (Disney Channel, Miley Cyrus) and I get a lot of grief from my friends about it, but it’s the child in me coming out. Also, I get told to stop being the mom quite frequently. I am very cautious in what I do and I worry constantly about my friends and the choices they make. This is the adult coming out of the child. Children’s literature should be just like that, relatable to your life and appeal to both the adult and child in you.
I was read to as a young child from the time I could breathe. Growing up my mother instilled in me the love of reading. For fun we would go to Barnes and Noble and I got to pick out any book I wanted, most of the time it was more like four or five books I wanted. Most of the time, I couldn’t get through one before we would make another trip to Barnes and Noble or the public library where I would pick five more. Mom had, and still has a weakness for books, but can you blame her?As Henry Ward Beecher once said, “Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?” My mother loves books and always taught me that you don’t have to curl up on a rainy day and watch a movie, but instead curl up with a good book, normally in her case followed by a “short nap.”
I can not imagine my life without books. When I was young I would make secret places where it would be my “reading corner.” I would go to escape there when I was angry at my sister, mom or dad. I loved reading. While most kids were playing house and dress up I just wanted to read. My cousin lived down the street and would always come over to play but would get so frustrated with me because instead of wanting to play; I wanted to read my book to her.
My favorite genre of children’s literature was mysteries. I didn’t like Goosebumps or anything like that but I loved Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys (probably because of my name). I would start a mystery book and not be able to put it down until I was done. I never could sleep at night but they stirred a longing inside me for adventure. These books instilled in me the desire to become a FBI agent or a detective for the longest time. I would write mini stories of my backyard mysteries and just now that one day I would get to join The Hardy Boys in action. I think this says a lot in itself in the fact that by reading these books I wanted to become them. The authors did such a good job at portraying their characters lives and how they solved the mysteries that at nine and ten years old I was ready to join the FBI. Over the years, my interest has changed and I know what to give children the gift my mother gave me.
I wanted to end with another anonymous quote that says, “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” I think it is so important for teachers to love literature, writing and all the goes along with it. In order for the child to love something they must see it exhibited in you. Growing up reading and being read to is a huge influence in everyone’s lives and hopefully I will be able to impact future lives in the same positive way that I was. My mother has been a teacher/administrator for eighteen years and it is amazing to think of how many lives she has touched with her love of reading. I hope one day I can be that teacher and mother too.