My siblings and I used to chant the words to “How Not To Have To Dry The Dishes" while we were drying the dishes- ostensibly to taunt my mother, or perhaps encourage her to let us off the hook for some of our chores. This particular poem reminds me of the fun my family had with words- we are still a family who shares puns, or might send out a jumble on text message looking for a little help. The poetry of our younger years really helped to foster the love of language that we all still carry with us. This is something I would love to see my own children carry with them as they grow up, and I get excited when my youngest asks to hear poetry. 

In this book, Shel Silverstein made poetry accessible and playful, and I think it made the enjoyment of future poetry more likely for me. 

My college sweetheart wooed me by reading this book to me aloud in his dorm room. It was one of the most romantic things that I had experienced, and I felt like he was really sharing such a gem with me (I hadn’t read it before). It has such a special place in my heart as a result. It was a joy to be read to, and that has stuck with me- that reading out loud to someone is truly a gift.

My mother had this book on her shelf when I was a child, and in college I discovered it, and started to peruse…. I was taken by the variety of needlework described, and how it was made so much more accessible. Needlework of various types had been modeled in my family by my mother and grandmother, and my sister and I had learned some as well, but I think that having that book helped open the door to crocheting and then knitting, which I have since spent countless hours doing. 

Fiber arts have been a place in my life where I have gotten to experience a design thinking mindset, and have learned through doing, making mistakes, and figuring out how to fix them. 
In terms of my reading habits, this was the gateway book to countless knitting books read, purchased, and shared with other fiber enthusiasts. 

(orig published 1963)
goodreads review

This technical tome was a requirement for a botany class I had in college.  It helped open my eyes to the intricacies and complexities of the everyday plants all around us. Being able to use it with any level of competency made me feel like a part of an elite group of plant geeks.  

It was an important book for the  development of my (first) career goals, and in terms of reading habits, opened the door to the ongoing search for the best field guides. 

(1980)
goodreads review

Even though the public library of my youth has since changed locations, and this place in space no longer exists as such, I can still clearly picture and describe where I could find the Where’s Spot books in the library of my memory.  I remember loving these books as a very young child, and being so proud that I knew just where to find my favorite selections, checking for titles I hadn’t seen in a while and even reporting back to the librarian after reading them, as part of the summer reading program. Getting to put a sticker on that sheet of paper after chatting with the librarian about the books I read was such a big deal, and was an important part of my development as a reader. 

In considering my reading history, I think I have attempted many more “grown up” books that didn’t necessarily effect me in the long run or really capture my emotions. Because of that, I am really looking forward to discovering the new Y.A. category, which seems vastly different from the Y.A. canon of my own youth (think Sweet Valley High and Babysitters Club).

I think it could be really fun to have students start to create their own reader autobiographies, and use that process to connect them to new books which might speak to them, although I can’t say for sure that your past choices can predict your future ones, but it could help students identify the themes that attract them, or to consider areas which they haven’t discovered. 

I chose the timeline arrangement because I haven’t gotten to explore the padlet platform much before, I liked the slick way it looked, and I thought chronological order made sense in a timeline setup. The chalkboard background was because I noticed that several of my selections were related to assignments and my academic journey, but also that chalkboards are often used by kids (and a focus of my interest in books is in the children’s literature realm), and that we are all works in progress, and should feel free to erase and rewrite as needed. 

If I were to do this assignment again, I think I would experiment with other ways to present the chosen books, to see how it feels to be a little less linear with the design.