A long time ago a very special grade three teacher planted the seeds of a love for reading in her classroom. She would take time each week (if I recall correctly) to read books to us in the classroom. I am sure there were many more but the ones I recall vividly after all these years are James and the Giant Peach, A Wrinkle in Time and Where the Sidewalk Ends.
That last one by Shel Silverstein especially stuck in my mind. I can recall listening to my teacher recite the poems with my head on the desk and eyes closed visualizing the story. I had the luck to come across the 30th anniversary edition (linked above) three years ago and quickly grabbed that (and other books) to bring home with me to Mexico. I wrote inside the front cover a message to my daughter about my memories of that book in my third grade class with the hope some of that excitement would rub off on her as she entered grade three (not needed, she has always been a good reader).
My second child enters grade three now and so we pulled the same book out to pass on to his bedside library. I am pretty sure it worked, I found the book in the car the other day as he wanted to bring it with him to an after school session.
So as the school year starts for many of us, take it upon yourself to pick up that book you always wanted to read. Sign up for a book club and share your experiences with others.
*Edit, there is a “Café Literario” next week if anyone is interested, see poster at the bottom of the post.
If you are here in Guadalajara, we have many fine programs and events dedicated to “Pasión por la Lectura“. For those in the degree programs here at the Tec de Monterrey Campus Guadalajara there is “Café Literario” outside the library, next event is September 25 from 4:30pm to 5:30pm. For more info on that and other programs, please contact Dr. Raúl de Aguinaga <[email protected]> (3669-3000 ext. 2080).
Another interesting event is a book club where everyone reads a book and shares their book with others. This runs every 3rd Tuesday of the month (so there was one yesterday) from 6pm-7pm here at the same location on campus. I don’t have the contact info for that but if you ask I can track down the details for you.
Perhaps some of my grade three classmates will happen across this and remember this as much (or more) than I.
