Reader's Sketch/ Rough Draft

Courtney Thorson

Children's Literature, Spring 2012

Reader's Sketch/ Rough Draft

1/20/12

Snippets of my Childhood

Early-Mid 1980's

I can still recall some of the first books I layed my eyes upon. I was probably around 3 or 4 when I was introduced to the Little Golden Books series which were leftover from my father's childhood. I mostly remember the older books because the pages were ripped and the binding on them were falling apart. Some of the books that I can still remember included, The Poky Little Puppy, Bambi, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, Cinderella, and The Monster at the End of the Book. I used to sit on my father's lap as he would read to me and I would take in all of the drawings set before my eyes. When I was little, I heard bible stories in Sunday School every week. One of the first bible's that I received was from my godmother, Lisa. She gave me a Precious Moments Bible. I knew early on that these stories were not just stories, they were His stories passed on down to all men, women and children. Early on, I also loved the Care Bears. Not only did I love the books, but I enjoyed collecting the plush little animals and figurines. I watched the cartoons faithfully. I owned countless coloring and sticker books. I even remember owning the Care Bears board game when I was about 5 years old.

As I started to read on my own, books like Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Rainbow Brite come to mind. Rainbow Brite was yet another obsession for me. Once again I loved collecting all of the characters such as, Rainbow Brite herself, a sprite, named Twink, and the whitehorse, known as Starlite. Cassette tape recorders were popular when I was a kid. I used to go to the library and listen to different narrators read all sorts of books to me. They would help me to sound out new words with ease. I think this helped me to become a good reader early on. Teddy Ruxpin was a popular toy talking bear that held an audio cassette tape in his back. He came with a book and would read to me as I watched his eyes and mechanical mouth move up and down. I was fascinated by this talking toy! He would read to me as I would try to sound out the words and flip through the pages. At the peak of his popularity, Teddy became one of the best selling toys of 1985 and 1986.



Early-Mid 1990's

In 4th grade, I read the classic, Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott for the first time. I think it was one of the thickest books I had ever read. It was something close to 500 pages or more! I remember to this day that it was a tough read and it really opened up my eyes to the life and times during the Civil War period.

It was in my 9th grade English class that I remember reading the most books. I read Jon Steinbeck's popular novels, Of Mice and Men, and The Pearl. The classic William Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet, was a required read. We also had to read William Golding's, Lord of the Flie's. I found this book to be one of the most adventurous books I had ever read. The story became so real to me that I almost felt as if I were there with those boys, alone on the island.

Late 90's

I must've been in 11th grade when I took a Humanities course for the first time. Homer's The Illiad and the Odyssey based on Greek Mythology, and Dante's The Divine Comedy were some of the most eerie poems and stories that I remember reading in high school. I actually enjoyed them too. Another good read that I took an interest in, was John Bunyan's, Pilgrim's Progress. There was something about these stories that made me think about philosophy and question if there was a God out there who cared about the affairs of mankind.

Early 2000-Today

As I made it to my 20's, I realized that I enjoyed reading non-fiction more than fiction. I wanted to be able to learn about something or someone that was real and that I could more or less relate to. I guess I was looking to find some truth in my life. I didn't want to hear about some made-up stories anymore. I was interested in the cold hard facts, or at least as close to them as possible. Within time, this lead me back to one particular book of my childhood. The Holy Bible. I was at a period in my life where I needed comfort and healing. Without going into too much detail, I took time to read the entire New Testament within a matter of days. Over the next year, I would read almost all of the other half of the Bible, which was the Old Testament. I can say with all honesty, that this book, has changed my life for the better.

To this day, I continue to read mostly non-fiction. I love to read biographies and autobiographies of men and women who have made a a huge impact on history. Corrie Ten Boom, was a Dutch Christian who helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust. Elizabeth Elliot, was a missionary, who helped spread the gospel to a remote Ecuadorian tribe that killed her husband. Fanny Crosby, was a public speaker, rescue mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer who was best known for her hymns and gospel songs. C.S. Lewis was a novelist, medievalist, literary critic, and Christian apologist well known for The Chronicles of Narnia. These are just some of people who have inspired me throughout the years.

These days, I continue to read mostly non-fiction works, but I'm learning to expand on my selections of other genres as well. Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to the reading the next chapters in my life.....