Summer Obsessions
Like most of the Smack Dab bloggers who posted this month, I looked forward to summer reading all during the school year. This was back before schools put out lists of worthy books to read on vacation. For me summer was a time to read whatever I wanted and especially to indulge in obsessions.
One summer it was the Bobbsey Twins. A bad sunburn kept me at a shady picnic table while the rest of my family was enjoying Sunny Bridge Lake. My consolation prize was a Bobbsey Twins’ title picked up at a nearby discount store (remember Two Guys?). Once I read one, I had to read them all. Luckily my library had them on the shelves. I don’t think my mother would have been willing to spring for 50+ books. When I ran out, I simply re-read my favorites.
By the next summer I was ready for what seemed like more grownup fare—Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, followed by series like the Borrowers by Mary Norton (a series I still happily re-read every couple of years) and the Little House books.
I didn’t confine myself to series – sometimes it was an author who inspired by obsessions (like Marilyn Sachs in sixth grade) and I didn’t stop until I had read every book of his or hers on the library shelf. Some 2-3 times.
Even in high school, I happily left The Grapes of Wrath and The Great Gatsby behind to dig into cheesy romances in the summer months.
Summer reading lists are a great, and it thrills me to no end to find my own titles on them, but summer should also be a time to let kids read whatever they want. Not because it’s good for them, but because it’s fun.
One summer it was the Bobbsey Twins. A bad sunburn kept me at a shady picnic table while the rest of my family was enjoying Sunny Bridge Lake. My consolation prize was a Bobbsey Twins’ title picked up at a nearby discount store (remember Two Guys?). Once I read one, I had to read them all. Luckily my library had them on the shelves. I don’t think my mother would have been willing to spring for 50+ books. When I ran out, I simply re-read my favorites.
By the next summer I was ready for what seemed like more grownup fare—Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, followed by series like the Borrowers by Mary Norton (a series I still happily re-read every couple of years) and the Little House books.
I didn’t confine myself to series – sometimes it was an author who inspired by obsessions (like Marilyn Sachs in sixth grade) and I didn’t stop until I had read every book of his or hers on the library shelf. Some 2-3 times.
Even in high school, I happily left The Grapes of Wrath and The Great Gatsby behind to dig into cheesy romances in the summer months.
Summer reading lists are a great, and it thrills me to no end to find my own titles on them, but summer should also be a time to let kids read whatever they want. Not because it’s good for them, but because it’s fun.
Don't even get me started on assigned reading. Anyway! Yes! Summer should be fun. Goodness knows there isn't much to be had during the school year. Glad to hear I'm not alone with my feelings on summer reading.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought I was the only Bobbsey Twins Fan! Thanks for a great rip down my childhood reading path, it brought back lots of memories. Any kind of reading is better than no reading.
ReplyDeleteNothing like a good romance in the summer...
ReplyDeleteYou're right! If summer lists are full of 'have-to's' then we run the risk of smothering reading joy and passion. As a teacher, I would much rather see kids generating their own summer reading lists.
ReplyDelete