Book Smart

It may seem strange but some of my fondest memories as a young girl were times I spent waiting to be seen by a doctor. I wasn’t a sick child; it was just that the medical facility that our family went to had very long wait times. My mom, to her credit, brought things for my siblings and me to do while we waited. That activity almost always involved reading a book. I remember climbing up to my mother’s lap and listening to the cadence of her voice as she quietly read us a story amid all the other families with kids running around and jumping off the rows of plastic chairs. The rhythm of her words was soothing and, for a while, I would get lost in the images that came into my head as I imagined naughty Peter Rabbit getting into trouble.

My parents regularly took us to the Sunland-Tujunga Library where the oak tree outside loomed large. I remember sitting with that mighty oak and feeling a sense of comfort like it was a good friend. The best part of going to the library, though, was walking inside and seeing all of those books! I would mosey to the children’s section and scan the shelves for titles I had not yet read.

My folks would tell me I could choose as many books as the library allowed but I had to gauge the number I could read by the return date. I was able to decide for myself which ones and how many.

It was during that time that I was introduced to chapter books like “Charlotte’s Web,” “The Phantom Tollbooth” and “Charlie and Chocolate Factory.” They were timeless stories and I loved going on adventures with the characters. Books with maps in them were even better. I was also drawn to non-fiction books about animals or science, if they weren’t too “school-ish.” One had experiments that I could do on my own and that summer I made my own rock candy. It was delicious.

In seventh grade at Mt. Gleason Junior High, I was introduced to the concept of a “book fair.” What was this wondrous festival I had not heard of? I don’t know where I got the money, perhaps the $10 birthday check from my grandparents, but I came home with a large stack of paperback books to read. By that time I had graduated to teen series books and “The Outsiders” and “That Was Then, This Is Now” were popular. I think I read them both in a week.

As an older teenager, I migrated to books that were also made into movies like “The Exorcist,” “Jaws” and “The Shining.” I learned a valuable lesson then: Always read the book first!

When I started my own family, I always knew that reading would play an important role in my parenting. My husband Jeff liked books, too, so it came naturally. After our first child was born, we received “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” as a gift for the baby. On a whim, we started reading it right away and, to our surprise, baby Zach was delighted with each word. He reached out to touch the smooth cardboard and smiled at the bright drawings. He was very young but that moment began his love of reading and books. As a curious adult, he has now moved on to the electronic versions, using his phone to scour the internet for information and his “e-reader” to choose any book he wants.

Nowadays when I go to the doctor, I am usually the only person in the waiting room who either just sits quietly or brings something to read. It’s okay. I don’t feel like I am missing out by not having a phone in my hand. Sometimes, I even dare to strike up a conversation.