 |
| Sara Grochowski |
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love books. In fact,
books have always been the one true constant in my life.
Not all readers are raised on picture books. We all know
that some readers do not develop a love of books until they find that perfect
chapter book or young adult novel; there is no one path to a love of books and
reading. For me, it was the picture book that forever changed my life… and
continues to do so.
Before I was born, my mother enrolled in a subscription
program for picture books. My research leads me to believe that this was a subscription program created by Parent’s Magazine Press - I find
references to it here and there on Goodreads - but the name of this program is
of little consequence. It’s the books that arrived by mail, that were read over
and over, and now, years later, appear in pictures, stories, and memories, that
matter.
There was Grandma Tildy in Jerry Smath’s But No Elephants, who came to regret
her changing stance on elephants; Sam Bear in Frank Asch’s Popcorn, whose hijinks (and nausea upon seeing one more bag of
popcorn) never failed to make me laugh; disaster-prone Henry the Duck from Henry’s Awful Mistake by Robert M.
Quackenbush; and the couple who teach a valuable lesson about improvisation and
poverty in Jack Kent’s Socks for Supper.
Whenever I pick up one of these old favorites, I’m
transported back to my childhood and the transformative power of the picture
book. Grandma Tildy, Sam Bear, Henry the Duck, the couple – they were more than
characters on a page. Their frustration, regret, obsession, and creativity
influenced how I viewed and interacted with the world… how I continue to view
and interact with the world.
Today, as a bookseller, blogger, aunt, and reader, the
powerful magic of the picture book is never far from my mind. I am grateful
that I am in a position to connect young readers with books that will have a
positive and lasting impact on their lives and to spread awareness about the
power of picture books and reading to your child, even before birth.
*****************
Sara Grochowski is the Children’s Specialist at Brilliant
Books in Traverse City, MI. You can visit the Brilliant Books website and learn
more about their subscription programs for kids here.
Sara also reviews books for Publisher’s Weekly and blogs at The Hiding Spot. You can follow
her on Twitter, where she tweets as @thehidingspot.
No comments:
Post a Comment