Mimi Joy Schaffner is a retired kindergarten teacher from Northeast Elementary where she connected hundreds of children with the joy of books and reading. She now serves on the board of the Family Reading Partnership and is a volunteer Reader for Traveling Books Program.
At what age do we first become aware of books and their contents? Among my earliest memories are those of sitting with my grandfather on the sunporch of his home in Jamaica, N.Y. while he read to me from an old book (Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes?) much the worse for wear. Unlike many of today's beautifully illustrated children's books, this one had very few pictures, just some line drawings that I found disappointing. But I still remember how good it felt just sitting there listening to him read, and having his undivided attention. Sometimes, as an added treat, he would put together special, little books in which we told our own stories. I was probably about three years old.
It was around this time that my father also start to read to me from, of all things, The New York Times. On Sunday mornings when the weather was nice we would climb into his old Ford and drive out to what was then rural Hempstead, Long Island, where he would park next to a pasture full of cows. While I watched the cows, he read the newspaper. If I got restless, he would read the sports section to me. Since my father was an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan I heard all about Duke Snyder, Peewee Reese, and other Dodger greats of that era. Is it any wonder that I eventually became a Dodgers fan myself?
My love of being read to continued in nursery school where I enjoyed storytime second only to singing.
When I was in third grade my father enrolled me in the Junior Heritage Club. I can still recall the pleasure of receiving new books in the mail. In the evenings my father would sit on the edge of my bed and read each new book to me. I enjoyed Aesop's Fables, Tom Sawyer, Alice in Wonderland and his favorite, Treasure Island. My mother would often call up the stairs staying that it was getting late, and we would usually answer in unison "one more chapter." One of my favorite books from the book club was The Wind in the Willows. I have especially clear memories of sitting with my mother and father in our small living room on Sunday afternoons while my father read this book to us. The picture is so clear I tell you where each of us sat in the room.
I think that one of the reasons I became an elementary school teacher was because of my love of children's books. I have truly enjoying sharing this love with my students. Hopefully, some of my feelings have been passed on and that they will be shared with others.
As you might imagine, I started reading to our two boys when they were quite young. When our older son was about 18 months old we started visiting the local library in Glastonbury, Connecticut. He had difficulty climbing the stairs up to the children's Room on the second floor, but once there he knew right where to go to find his favorite books which he then took to his favorite table and chair for me to read to him. He especially enjoyed the Little Engine that Could, and Mike Mulligan and His Steamshovel. A few years later, both boys belonged to the Cat in the Hat Book Club, and I particularly remember reading these books to our younger son. He loved all of them, but his favorites were One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; and Go Dogs, Go! We would read and reread these books night after night.
One of the delights of being a grandparent is that you can repeat the whole process to your grandchildren. Over the years I have loved buying books, sending books, and reading books to our three grandchildren. I particularly enjoy reading with our granddaughter who lives nearby and likes many of the books I do. Her bookshelves are overflowing and I still keep buying more.
Now that I am retired I have more free time to discover new books and new authors, and to explore new areas with my reading. I also enjoying keeping a journal, my own personal book. I even continue to share my love of books with children through the Family Reading Partnership Traveling Books Program when I read to a daycare program and two Headstart classes. The joy of reading never ends.
Family Reading Partnership
Ithaca, New York
Phone: 607-277-8602
Email: office@familyreading.org
