I was really inspired by this week’s NCTE Inbox Blog by Lisa Fink.  She wrote about the books she has enjoyed at different stages of her life.  So, borrowing her idea, here is my list:

Age 5:  A Pocket for Corduroy:  This book about a teddy bear named Corduroy was part of my favorite series.  I loved going on adventures with the cute bear.  He wasn’t quite as mischevious as Curious George, but he was definitely interested in the world around him.  I liked the way he looked at even a laundry mat as a sort of wonderland.  I remember thinking back then that I could go anywhere and find some sort of adventure.

Age 10:  Anne of Green Gables definitely defined my world at age 10.  Like so many other young girls, I found the energetic, outspoken teenager to be inspiring. I read a lot of other books at that age that discussed women who were trailblazers in their own right.  My hero at that time was Susan B. Anthony, and I remember acting as Abigail Adams in a Girl Scout production of some play about famous American women.  “Remember the ladies” was my line, and I think that summarized the effort my mom put into teaching me at that pivotal age that I could do anything I wanted.

Age 15:  I very vividly remember having to read A Tale of Two Cities at this age and HATING every moment of the process.  In fact, for years I told people that the best way to fall asleep was to read Dickens’ work.  It’s not that the story was bad, but the prose was so, so long.  The books I read in high school reminded me that every story could be interesting, but the way a story is taught makes a huge difference on how much it can be appreciated.  That was a defining moment for me because vocabulary worksheets and true or false quizzes on what happened were certainly not how I wanted to teach.

Age 20:  In college, I continued to develop animosity toward British writers from the 19th century.  I felt like college was destined to be about reading the works of white men who made really bad choices.  However, after I finished with the required survey of British Literature, I happily moved on to works that I connected with more readily.  Some of those notable standouts include In the Time of the Butterflies, London, London, Interpreter of Maladies, and Adam Bede.  These books reminded me what I loved about literature and the art of making words dance in a reader’s soul.

Age 25: I feel like this was the stage where I bounced around several book clubs.  I read some of Paulo Coelho’s work, learned a little more about Edna St. Vincent Millay, and studied up on famous American authors I had missed.  A notable standout from this time is Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  Having never read that classic story before, I was amazed at how so much of what Stowe wrote is valuable and true today.  Her book was an intersting reminder of the horrible history in America AND how far we could still move to really put that chapter behind us.