https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv Made with a wink and a smile en-us 2022-04-12 16:12:18 UTC 2022-05-23 15:40:26 UTC hello@padlet.com vramos58 https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195894859 While I grew up with the maternal side of my family, I would classify the paternal side of my family as readers.

My grandfather was a Vietnam veteran (awarded a Purple Heart among other honors), and he had his own small office with a wall of books. I'd often see him reading in his recliner in the living room as my grandmother watched soap operas and ironed. When I got older, my grandpa slipped me books of poetry with a 20 bill inside of them, and eventually, I would come to choose books from his library to read. My favorites were a collection of medieval tales and a volume of Shakespeare's play, but he didn't solely have high literature. I also remember reading V.C. Andrew's Flowers in the Attic - not age appropriate at all. 

The first books I owned as a child were a series about space - from asteroids to black holes. A gift from my father, also a reader. ]]> 2022-05-23 13:40:07 UTC https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195894859 vramos58 https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195897699 My early life in Anthony, Texas, was steeped in the oral tradition - what I recall are the stories told around me as a young child: ghost stories, confessions - love lost or won, cautionary tales. ]]> 2022-05-23 13:41:40 UTC https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195897699 vramos58 https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195912860 I don't remember anyone reading to my as a child, but I was always exposed to story through oral traditions. My mother tells me she used to do flashcards with me, but I have no recollection of it. Somehow, though, I developed an affinity for language and story (likely a combination of my mother's work with me and my grandmother's and my family's stories). It may also be because I grew up in a bilingual household. 

In 3rd grade, we moved to Minnesota from Texas. I had one of those life-changing teachers, Mrs. Wissman, who identified me as "high potential learner". As an "advanced" reader, I was sent to the fifth grade for my reading class. Mrs. Wissman also wanted to have me tested for an eidetic memory - this was the 80s. I know I do not have a photographic memory, but I do have amazing recall - especially of texts - to this day and a sensitivity to language. ]]> 2022-05-23 13:50:36 UTC https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195912860 vramos58 https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195917627 In the 4th grade, my teacher read Where the Red Fern Grown aloud. By the end of the book, the class was collectively sobbing. Definitely a sliding glass door moment as we were all so deeply engaged with this heartbreaking story. ]]> 2022-05-23 13:53:08 UTC https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195917627 vramos58 https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195989635 I'm pretty sure my first library card cemented my life's path as a reader. I remember having to walk more than a mile back home with my paper bags full of books. 

I haven't lost my love for "wandering the stacks" and stumbling upon an unexpected books. I read series like Sweet Dreams and Sweet Valley High as well as literature classics, which I'm sure I didn't understand. I browsed encyclopedias (the internet of the analog age); read a lot of nonfiction about fortune-telling and the occult as well as WWII; discovered fantasy favorites like Susan Cooper and Charles deLint who I still love today; checked out art books and ripped out pictures I liked (I didn't know that was wrong at the time); and developed an eclectic musical taste as a result of the CDs I could also check out. 

So many windows.]]> 2022-05-23 14:33:37 UTC https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2195989635 vramos58 https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2196015094 My sister changed my life when she brought home a VHS version of Anne of Green Gables. I then BECAME Anne with an "e." 

My love of the Anne-girl led me to Lord Alfred Tennyson's poetry and eventually to Little Women and Jane Austen.]]> 2022-05-23 14:48:42 UTC https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2196015094 vramos58 https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2196019676 I was 16 years old when I read this collection of short stories. This was the first time I encountered a protagonist that was Mexican like me, and it was a profound mirror moment where I saw myself reflected in the text. ]]> 2022-05-23 14:51:30 UTC https://padlet.com/vramos58/lv3vjms8eqc3v9rv/wish/2196019676