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Every year on my birthday and my sister's birthday, my dad reads Happy Birthday to You by Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss has played a huge role in my childhood, giving me silly books to read, and learn how to read, when I'm feeling down or just bored. After talking about Banned Books Week, I actually went home and found all of our Dr. Seuss books, including three of his six banned books.

For this week's Friday Inspiration, what is your favorite childhood book (or books!) and what role did it play in your childhood?

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My favorite children's book is The Legend of Rock, Paper, and Scissors. My family orignally got it from the library, but we fell in love with all of the funny voices and descriptive, flowery language that we ended up buying our own copy. I distinctly remember making my dad give the characters their own voices and yelling out the parts where they shout. Even now, I can't read my brother the story without remembering all the times it was read to me, whether my parents liked it or not.

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My favorite books when I was little were the Berenstain Bear books, as they played a big role in my childhood. I read them a lot when I would sleep over at my grandparent's house, and we would always laugh over the funny situations. I will always remember the first time I tried to pronounce 'Berenstain' and we all just laughed as I made up random words instead. In my house, we have a bookshelf that used to have more Berenstain Bear books than anything else, and I would always choose one of them to read when I was bored. Looking back on them now, I love how they were educational but also fun and cute, and they will forever hold a place in my heart.

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The Night Before Kindergarten played a major role in my childhood. Although it was a long time ago I still remember being nervous for my first day and my mom reading to me in bed the night before. I remember how after reading, I felt a little less scared. A few years later when my sister was going into kindergarten, my mom had me read it to her. The book is very nostalgic, especially now, as next year I will be a senior. I think that it's weird how a moment that happened so long ago still brings back so many emotions.

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My favorite children's books are Elephant and Piggy. They were always super humorous to read. I really enjoyed all the pictures that would be included too. These were books that got me into reading. They were one of the first books my parents read to me and my siblings. They were easy to understand an enjoy. I loved the art style and all the characters.

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As a little girl, I loved Pete the Cat. I loved cats as a little kid and still and just loved how they were written. I was a slow reader when I was little, still am, but those books made it easier for me to digest the words and to be able to become more confident in my own reading ability. Pete the Cat is still something that occurs in my life, as I love to beg my mom to embroider him on his skateboard ona hoodie for me, but that hasn't happened yet.

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I love this prompt! When I was little, my room was decorated in a Raggedy Ann and Andy theme, but honestly, these characters were not my favorite. Book characters I most associate with my childhood are the iconic Barbie and Strawberry Shortcake. I LOVED any books (or games or shows!) involving these characters. I also loved reading books to my own children when they were little. One of their favorites was Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton. I think they could recite it from memory! I distinctly remember the day when both my kids no longer needed me to read to them anymore :(

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One book that I vividly remember having read to me and my sister every night was The Kissing Hand. It became a huge part of how I saw and expressed love with my family and friends. The story taught me how small acts of service and reminders of how much you love a person can make a huge impact. I still utilize some of the simple yet impactful life lessons from The Kissing Hand.

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I loved Green eggs and Ham! I used to beg for the food too! I also loved the book called Tessa's Tip-Tapping Toe's which was about a mouse who loved to tap dance but her parents wouldn't allow her because the cat would get her. One day she starts tap dancing and the cat finds her and starts singing, because he loves to sing but his owner makes him hunt mice instead. In the end, they have a dance party. My parents got it for me because of my name! Other books I read were Ladybug girl and catalina magdalena. . . Childhood books provided me with confidence and creativity all while teaching me how to read and write.

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When I was little, My dad used to "read" me The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang. This was a book with no words (except for the cover), so he would tell it a different way each time we picked it out. I eventually also made up different versions of the story and it was a great way to express my imagination. Looking back, the pictures in the book were very creepy, but I loved it none the less.

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the grey lady and the strawberry snatcher

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Once I overcame some early struggles with reading, books became a way for me to explore the world through experiences of characters. I loved The Boxcar Children books when I was in elementary school. Even though the siblings were orphans and lived in an abandoned boxcar in the woods, their sense of adventure kept me engaged. No matter what difficulties they ran into, the siblings supported each other and I always rooted for them. As a parent, I enjoyed watching my own children read these books and enjoy the adventure as well. Thank you for your thoughtful insights! :)