#wecantputbooksdown My Reading Story

Hi Bibliophiles! I'm Stacey from Literacy for Big Kids. I'm going into my 4th year teaching (3rd, 4th, 5th, now back to 4th grade!) Today I'm sharing my •READING STORY• 

Mine begins with lots of trips to our public branch of CINCINNATI LIBRARY as a kid. It was just a few blocks away so we often walked there for story time. Next is my EPICENTER READER: My Dad. My dad is an avid Non-Fiction reader. He loves all things Motorcycles and set a fantastic example for me by always having a magazine in his hands and always taking the whole family to Barnes & Noble very often in my childhood! 

CLASSICS played a huge part in my childhood reading! I was obsessed with Eric Carle, Mercer Mayer, Maurice Sendak and many others as a little lady. There's an Alligator Under my Bed & Miss Nelson is Missing are still two of my all-time favorites! 

In elementary, SCARY STORIES shaped me as a reader of the horror genre. I loved to be scared and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was THE book in the 90's. I devoured Goosebumps books and learned about Ohio's Spooky History!

In 5th-6th grade I became an avid fan of REALISTIC FICTION (still my favorite genre today) and ate up series like The Babysitter's Club, The Boxcar Children (This influenced me to camp out and eat wild onions or weeds rather outside with friends) and Sweet Valley High.

 In Junior High to High School, books like The Outsiders and Lord of the Flies had lasting impressions on me, however, I spent little to no time reading in high school because I was offered no choice in my classes. Sad. 

Enter college, where my focus within education was reading! I had finally found my people! I took African-American Lit, English Lit, Children's Lit, Women's Lit, anything to expose me to more books. Poetry classes! It was in college that I honed in on my love for animal rights pieces like The Jungle, became OBSESSED with my current two favorite authors Roald Dahl and Flannery O'Conner. They both have these volumes of short stories that are so raw, haunting and unforgiving. Two of my favorite books of ALL TIME! 

Which leads me here, being able to teach what I love! I love to read and love to share books. I wouldn't rather be doing anything else in the world. I read a lot of upper elementary and middle grades novels. I am a huge fan on YA, maybe because I always missed out on that piece in high school (take note HS teachers).. Now as a mother, I read to my little ones often and always take time to help them appreciate reading. My reading story continues, what is yours?? Check out the other girls to see theirs! (POSTS ON IG)