Hi, I just completed my internship at a public library. I loved discussing books with the patrons of the library, children and adults. I also saw many books that I had completely forgot about. I would love to know what your favorite book is from your childhood. Please join my discussion by posting the title, author, and a brief description of your favorite book from your childhood.
My favorite book in my secondary school days was titled "Things Fall Apart", authored by Chinua Achebe a renown Novelist. The main character in the book was a man called Okonkwo. He was a self - made man. very much disciplined, hard working and well respected in his community. A physically strong man. Amidst his good outward qualities lies an internal fear . This was buried deep inside of him because he did not want to be like his father who was known to be lazy and a coward.
ReplyDeleteThe fear inside of him pushed him to do a lot of things that typically he would not want to do. He took actions that were very destructive. He showed himself as a 'macho' man, but he of course suffered the consequences that come as a result of his actions. Okonkwo unfortunately committed suicide all in the name of the internal fear he carried around.
One of my favorite books from my childhood was "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It is about a boy named Jonas who lives in a society of sameness, controlled by extreme rules, and governed by the Elders. He is chosen to become the new memory receiver at a special job ceremony and is given knowledge of the past members of the community by the Giver. He learns about pain, sadness, and war but also about joy, color, and love. These memories ignite a desire to have these experiences for himself and he devises a plan with the Giver to escape to Elsewhere. The plan goes awry and he ends up running away with his baby brother. The ending is quite open ended as to how life turns out but Jonas and he brother do finally make it to the border where they hear music for the first time.
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I have never read The Giver but I did learn about it last summer in my young adult literature class. It seems that Lois Lowry has written some great books for children. Hopefully one day I can make more time to read for pleasure and add this to my list of books to read.
DeleteI'm not sure I could list just one book! I am what you call a book-a-holic! I have to say the book that made me become an avid reader was The Hobbit. I know it's a higher grade level book, but my 4th grade teacher Mrs. Cox read it to us everyday after recess and I fell in love with reading. She had a way of bringing every character to life. After we finished reading the book we put on a play and I remember being the tallest Hobbit!
ReplyDeleteI actually just finished the Hobbit about 2 months ago and I'm now on the 1st Lord of the Rings book. His style of writing is a little hard to get into but I love the movies so that helps.
DeleteAs a teacher I hope that reading aloud to my students will help instill a love of reading in them. I love your story of remembering your teacher reading a book to you. I have never read The Hobbit but have heard a lot about it.
DeleteI think my favorite book from childhood would be a collection of poems instead: I absolutely loved Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends. I would check it out so much that the librarian at my elementary school ended up giving me an old discarded copy that I still have to this day. It is absolutely falling apart, but I will never get rid of it. For whatever reason, that book truly inspired me to write poetry, which I do on a regular basis. In fact, I studied creative writing as my undergraduate major and would love to one day lead creative writing workshops. It’s funny how one book can influence you so much.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your story of checking out the same book over and over. I remember checking out the book The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams over and over in elementary school. I loved the book so much that as a young adult my sister gave me a copy of the book as a Christmas gift. I still have it and have shared it with my children.
DeleteI never read much as a kid but in 5th grade I read the first Harry Potter book. At the time I thought it was an okay book and never thought much until about 5 years ago. I started reading the series again and I'd have to say it is without a doubt my favorite book series. I have read all 7 of them at least 3 times and will still go back and read them randomly because they are that good to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent use of a weblog to encourage collaboration with colleagues and the sharing of information resources.
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