Reading Towards Success

What is your favorite book? Do you have one? How about a favorite bedtime story?

From the time I was a small thing, probably under two, to the time I was about eight, my favorite bedtime story was resolutely Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak as read by my grandmother. Every night, when we stayed at our grandparents’ house, my brother, who was only fourteen months younger than I, washed our faces and hands, brushed our teeth, and then clambered into the big bed. Before we went to our separate rooms, she would ask which book we wanted and the response was usually the same. You see, my grandma did not just have the book but also had stuffed animals of all the characters. Max, the young boy in the story with his wolf costume, a hood that pulled down, and a small stain on the front, sat in my lap. My brother chose two of the wild things, one with blue fur, human feet, and horns and one with a black mane and clawed feet. We clutched them tightly as my grandma, a natural story teller, used the words to draw us into the story. It was not a very long story; a little boy gets in trouble and imagines himself going to stay with beasts and becoming their king, but he changes his mind and comes back home again. Still, when my grandma read the book to us, we could pretend we were far away too. Such is the power of a good story...and a good storyteller.

Written by Elizabeth Krochka

#KidsCountryDaySchool #Reading