When I am reading a good book, I will actually carry it around with me everywhere I go. I will
squeeze in ridiculously tiny moments for reading during my busy days. My family teases me
about this as they often catch me toting my book under my arm from room to room in our little
house! I just want my book nearby! I love to dive into the world of my book and swim around in
that world for as long as I can, and I mourn the loss of it when the last page is turned. I have to
tell everyone who will listen about the lessons I learned or the emotions I felt while reading a
particular story. And I have the habit of setting up my recent reads in artful stacks on the kitchen
table; I hope they will entice another reader in my house to pick them up and give them a try.
This desire to share books is why my greatest joy in all the world is teaching children to read. I
like to imagine that as we learn move through the small steps of learning letter sounds, blending
sounds, differentiating sounds, identifying patterns, and noting the unexpected letters, we are
actually working together to push open a heavy gate covered in vines and thorny brambles, and
that if we can push that gate open wide enough--whoosh! I can send my students through to
explore hundreds upon hundreds of paths leading to worlds that will excite and delight them.
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