Children's Literature Autobiography

Early Experiences with Books
Reading should be fun. As a child, I often observed my older siblings reading comic books like, Archie, Love Stories, and Romance, and various super-hero books like Superman, Thor, and Spiderman. These comics always had many colorful pictures. Sometimes, I even looked at illustrations in their school books. I saw pictures of people, animals, mountains, deserts, oceans, etc. I always wondered what was happening, what was the storyline? I even looked at my mom’s National Enquirer and my dad’s newspaper. I always had plenty of pictures to look at, but I also wanted to know what was going on. Occasionally, my siblings or parents would read to me, or they tried to explain what was happening in the pictures. Yet, I still wanted to learn more about these images and the stories behind them. I wanted to know what was making my siblings laugh and cry. I truly believe that this early obsession with pictures and my natural curiosity inspired me to learn to read as quickly as possible. In fact, I was able to read on a 12th grade level by fifth grade!

Hooked on Reading
Once I learned to read, I used to read everything in sight, even the newspaper and my mom's National Enquirer. Later, I begin to check out story books about tales from far away lands. These stories were from all over the world. They were from places like China, Japan, Europe, and Mexico. In most cases, these books were pure fiction and fantasy. I loved these books! As a child, I always fantasized about doing great things and overcoming great odds to achieve goals. It is no wonder that nothing seems impossible or out of reach for me. In fact, Tunnel and Jacobs, actually point out that some of the values of fantasy books include "developing a capacity for belief," and they further assert that “the ability to hope is more important than the ability to believe". (Children's Literature Briefly, p. 105)Nevertheless, I was hooked on reading.

Reading Can Be Intriguing
I believe that education begins in the home. For instance, as a child I developed a strong interest in reading by observing my parents and older siblings reading books, comics, newspapers, and magazines. I recall looking at pictures and creating my own story lines to match the visuals. In addition, in the mornings and afternoons my mother allowed me to watch educational shows like Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and The Electric Company. I enjoyed these programs, and I found them very enlightening. Yet, I always wanted to know more. Once I was able to check out books from the school library, I would always check out the Dr. Seuss books. I especially loved the picture book, Green Eggs and Ham. It was a silly book, but it was fun to read. I mean, to hear the same phrase over and over again was never tiring to me. It has actually been over thirty years or more since I have even looked at any of these books, but I still vividly remember many of the details!

Favorite Books
I also loved to read about "Charlie Brown" by Charles Schultz. The character, Charlie Brown was a little boy with a big round head and a small tuft of hair. He could never seem to do anything right, but he always meant well. He had a big heart. He had an unusual cast of friends, and a devoted pet dog named Snoopy, who stood by him through thick and thin. In grade school, I remember that our school library had two books about Charlie Brown. They were both about 200 pages long, with nothing but Charlie Brown comic strips. I used to check these books out every week of the year, when they were available. Each week I had to return them, but if they were available the following day, I would check them out again for another week! In addition, I also loved to read about sports. I read anything and everything about sports. I read about all sporting events: boxing, football, baseball, hockey, the Olympics, etc. I read about great coaches, and players, and amazing athletic feats. I especially had great admiration for Jim Thorpe. He was a Native Indian, who was considered the greatest athlete of all time. Unfortunately, he will only be known to people who are well read on sports.

The Use of Literature in the Classroom
Naturally, as you get older, the books get more “grown-up”. For instance, in middle school and high school we read “The Diary of Anne Frank”, “Macbeth”, “The Old Man and The Sea,” “1984,” and “Animal Farm.” I recall that the teachers wanted us to understand different writing styles. What was the author trying to say to his readers? In some cases, we actually acted out some of the scenes from the books. The teachers wanted us to experience the emotions. Once, I actually played the part of Anne Frank’s dad. It was the scene where the family is captured by the Germans. It was a very intense moment. It was very emotional! Some of the students actually shed a few tears. Later, in middle school, I discovered Mark Twain. I enjoyed his "Tom Sawyer," and "Huckleberry Finn" books. I admired their craftiness, courage, and independent nature.

Final Thoughts on Books and Reading
Reading has changed my whole outlook on life. Growing up in a family of ten, we were poor, but we always had something to read. In addition, we also had each other. Together, there really was no subject, emotion, or perspective that was not shared by one or the other. The power and influence of reading has served me very well. In grade school, I was an accomplished reader, writer, and speller, and these three skills have served me well throughout my academic and professional careers. I have been a jack of all trades: retail business, engineering, technical, accounting, and now an educator. I know what reading literature has done for me, now I hope to pass the torch to my future students.