George, in First Grade

"Once upon a time," the story begins and the children lean forward occasionally to get a better glimpse of the pictures the teacher shares with them. Cross-legged on the floor, they close their eyes, or doodle with their pencils on the green carpet as the plot unfolds and the characters come to life through Ms. Teacher's voice. A few lucky students made it to the dilapidated sofa before the rest, and now they sit comfortably, happy to get away from addition and subraction lessons and into the make believe world of "George the Stegasaurus."

There were other titles of course, such as From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH, 101 Dalmations, The Secret of the Mummy Cave, and The Tower of Geburah--books that all came alive during the reading hour we had at school. Suddenly I was with the siblings who ran away from home, staying in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, collecting change from the wishing fountain for food and helping discover the identity of a sculptor. I can still remember the funny faces I used to draw in the fourth grade as I sat at my little metal desk in the tropical afternoons in our classroom, while I imagined two boys discovering a mummy somewhere in Arizona. This love of stories and books carried on even when the story hour was dropped. Instead, we read out loud in our literature class, more titles such as Johnny Tremain, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Across Five Aprils, and The Red Badge of Courage. We even got to write our own endings for Johnny Tremain! I am smiling as I write this, because while I'm remembering all these books, it's as if I'm remembering old friends!

I still love to read, and I'd like to write some more! I've been pondering ideas for stories and books and such, but so far none have materialized beyond the brainstorming phase. If you happen to have any stellar recommendations of titles or ideas for a story, send them this way! Or, if you have recommendations of books to read, by all means, write a comment!