MY BOOK!
I did it!
I did it!
Come and look
At what I’ve done!
I read a book!
When someone wrote it
Long ago
For me to read,
How did he know
That this was the book
I’d take from the shelf
And lie on the floor
And read by myself?
I really read it!
Just like that!
Word by word,
From first to last!
I’m sleeping with
This book in bed,
This first FIRST book
I’ve ever read!
~ David L. Harrison ~
(from Somebody Catch My Homework)
My soon-to-be first grade daughter read an entire Junie B. Jones book by herself recently. It was eight whole chapters! When I saw this poem, I laughed, picturing Molly and her Junie B. book - and yes, she did sleep with it! She was so proud.
I began collecting Junie B. books and Amber Brown stories and Kathleen Duey's Unicorn's Secret series (which is amazing, btw) when she was just a baby, anticipating the day she would be able to read them. She has a bookshelf full of books she is only now getting close to reading. And I can't wait!
The early years, as children discover the joy of reading, are priceless. The transition from picture books to chapter books is a major milestone, and I look forward to watching my daughter discover new friends and go on fantastic adventures, all from the comfort of her own bedroom!
What is one of your favorite chapter books or early readers?
41 comments:
Congratulations to both you and your daughter! So neat. :)
That is simply the cutest thing Shannon! I remember going to sleep with all my books, and Junie B. Jones is a very cute one!!
I'm a huge fan of the Rohl Dahl books myself!
The Secret Garden! I still Love that one!
My daughter loved--still does--Junie B. That was her first thorough read, too!! Congrats.
My kids are loving the A to Z mysteries and Magic Treehouse series. Congrats to your big reader! :O)
How fun. It is sweet milestone. I love letting them think they're getting away with something by reading too late into the night. As if! I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder books, The Boxcar children, Nancy Drew (of course), and one called "The Rocking Horse Secret."
What a sweet story and perfect poem to illustrate :-) Another generation of readers begins. Gotta' love it!
I remember this moment with each of my kids. What a wonder and accomplishment it is!!
My seven year old just read her first real chapter book: A Magic Tree House. I was astonished how well she reads. When did that happen?? :)
I don't know if I have a favorite myself. My favorites are the one my kids fall in love with, because it's so fun to watch the magic happen with them.
Oh I remember when my daughter read her first chapter book. What a sweet memory. :)
Now in high school, in AP lit classes, she reads and writes with a hunger. I hope this will be the same for your daughter.
I'm still away on a long vacation (to Maine...with limited internet) so I apologize for not getting around the blogosphere lately. I miss you guys.
I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend.
Love,
Lola
Oh this is so precious! I love the excerpt and how you related it to your daughter. Congrats to your daughter that is so exciting! And really is priceless. I think my first book all the way through was either The Secret Garden or Charlottes Web...I'd have to ask my mom. Hope you had a great weekend!
When I was six, I was a comic book reader, honestly. When I started to read actual books, I read the Serendipity series. I also had a book I adored called 'The Little Wooden Doll' which I have a copy of, but has been out of print for years. I read a lot of shark and dinosaur books, then read 'Where the Red Fern Grows' again and again and again and again in third and fourth grade. I discovered Greek Mythology in fifth grade and devoured those stories then moved on to Norse Mythology. So, all in all, I was a strange little girl :-)
Great poem, which is perfect for your daughter and your post!
My soon-to-be eight-year-old daughter is a voracious reader. She usually has about three books going at once like she's worried about missing something. She likes Judy Moody, Puppy Place, Animal Ark, to name a few.
Her brother was a reluctant reader, but she always wanted to be able to do what he could, so she persisted and was so proud when she read her first chapter book in first grade.
When I was really young, I think the only series I read was Nancy Drew. Later, I read plenty of Sweet Valley High books.
Shannon, it's been so fun seeing my youngest learn to read those very first words this year. I can only imagine how it will be when he gets to chapter books (of course, I've had the privilege of watching four others climb to that point too - so fun!). Recently he was talking about if he were a baby again, and he didn't like the idea, unless he could be a baby who reads. I think he now associates babyhood with powerlessness for the mere fact that babies are word clueless. Thought that was an interesting marker and shows the power of words in his world. :)
Very first thing I read today, Shannon. And I'm so filled with joy, I'm shutting off the computer with this, only this, in my heart!
As a child, I gobbled up Roald Dahl books in mass quantities. THE WITCHES is my favorite.
Awwwwwwww! Ivy did the same thing. And the boys did it with the Captain. Captain Underpants, of course. =)
Isn't it a most extraordinary thing?
Black Beauty. And the Black Stallion. Those gave me my love for the written word.
Tell your daughter, CONGRADS! Tell her I'm smiling because of her today. =) Love you, Shannon. =)
I'm still waiting for this moment for all of my kids. How did I get three kids who hate to read. Ugh!
Congrats! That is such an accomplishment and so exciting:)
Yay for your daughter! I love that she is so excited.
Our favorites by FAR are the Magic Tree House books - we have them all, and the collection has rotated between my 3 boys, depending on who's working their way through them. Some are so worn we've had to replace them. :)
I don't remember my first chapter books, but my favorites by far were the Trixie Belden series and the Black Stallion series.
Once the kids started reading, I loved Junie B. Jones and would read them after the kids were finished.
My daughter loves reading Junie B. Jones out loud to me. She does all these different voices for each character and it's a riot. Even my 10yo son likes listening to her read (though he'd probably deny it if any of his friends were around!).
Oh that is precious! I love it! Both of my kids loved the Magic Treehouse books. Neither ever made it past number 14 though. They were ready to move on before that. Almost sad in a way.
Oh yes, Robin and GunDiva - the Black Stallion books were fantastic.
My daughter just discovered a series in Borders called "Magic Kitten," "Magic Puppy," and "Magic Pony." Looks like good stuff--I always prefer the animal-oriented ones because they usually don't feature kids with bad attitudes. :-)
What a cute poem! Thanks for sharing it.
A few of my favorite chapter books as a kid were the Nancy Drew books and the Hardy Boys books.
I had never read Junie B. books until my son was in 2nd grade. His teacher had them in her classroom and I started reading them.
Congrats to your daughter!
I loved Amelia Bedelia, Little House series, and the Ramona series (actually, anything by Beverly Cleary!).
I don't have children of my own yet, but I'm enjoying recommending books to my older nieces and nephews. It's magical seeing them embark on the same adventures I had when I was their age! Heck, I still love those books! :)
What a great poem - it showcases the joy to perfection!
The first books I remember reading are the Bobbsey Twins and Encyclopedia Brown - loved them :)
What a precious milestone! I bet my mom wouldn't remember my first chapter book, but I think about it often. Way to go Mom! Way to go "little Junie B. Fan"!
I love when they sleep with their books!
We went through a lot of frustration from our youngest (Tilly) before she could read by herself, she was so impatient to get there and thought she'd never be able to do it. But of course she did and now pours through every book she can grab and her first read-alones were also unicorn stories. :-)
Soooo fun!
I'd have to say Beautiful Joe.
LOVED that book so much, I found an old copy of it.
Glad you have a soulmate reader...who's also a child.
Patti
Junie B. was one of my daughter's first chapter books too. I even love that character. Book after book, she's memorable.
I was clearing off oldest's bookshelf a couple years ago and found the Junie B. books. I handed them off to Little Sister and she devoured it immediately. YAY!
I loved Judy Blume when I was younger. And the Wizard of Oz books. I'd love to get my hands on the whole set!
Very cute. I don't remember the first book I ever read. I was young. six of so. I read early and often, so I really don't remember. But I loved all the Enid Blyton books.
Okay, Anne of Green Gables, The Bobbsey Twins, the Boxcar Children, and Trixie Beldon. Ah, those early reading days! When books were the best things under the Christmas tree. (oh, wait, that hasn't changed...)
1. I LOVE that poem!
2. I wish the Duey books had been printed when I was a kid; that sounds right up my alley.
3. My first chapter books? I'd say probably the Ramona books...they're the first I remember, but I'm sure there was something unicorn related before them :)
Wonderful poem...and congratulations to you and your daughter! How proud you must be as well as she! A love of reading will last her a lifetime and bring with it joy without measure.
As for chapter books from my childhood? I'm not certain I can think of one that quite fit into that category.....but I know I LOVED reading so chapter book or not, it was in my hands. ^_^
That's so sweet. I can't remember any chapter books from when I was little.
That's so awesome! How wonderful. I loved most Roald Dahl books and so many others that my memory is fuzzy on now.
I remember a chapter book called, THE WONDERFUL FLIGHT TO THE MUSHROOM PLANET that I loved the cover off of.
I read a lot of the series books. I loved the Babysitters' Club, Sweet Valley High, and Nancy Drew. Another favorite was a book called Chocolate Fever.
Oh, as you know we are in the exact same place (my daughter is starting first grade) and it is such an exciting place to be!!!
Jordan and I laugh our heads off when we read Junie B. together.
Post a Comment