If you haven’t already heard, it is Summer Reading time at Jackson County Library Services (JCLS). I can point to many things in my childhood that led me to becoming a reader. But one of the things I remember most is participating in my library’s Summer Reading Program (SRP). My first SRP memory is from when I was in kindergarten. My mother, brother, and I would walk to the Lakeview Branch of the Oakland Public Library. (The exterior looks largely the same. I have a picture of my brother and I in front of it to prove it.) I still have a “Certificate of Completion” for taking part in their Summer Reading Program. It is complete with my name typed on it using a typewriter, not a computer. It was there that I learned to treasure libraries and reading.
This year, our Summer Reading theme is “Treasure Reading.” I imagine many of you have childhood memories of a treasured book or books that sparked your love of reading. That is certainly the case with many of our staff. I recently asked them to share their children’s book treasures and here are some of their responses:
Kari, Library Director: I cannot tell you how many times I read the complete Trixie Belden series. I thought it was much more likely that I would solve mysteries like Trixie and have a friend like Honey Wheeler than to be Nancy Drew. In fact, I still have the series on my bookshelves, minus 2 or 3 titles I haven’t been able to track down.
Ethan, Ashland Branch: The two that I have the most fondness for are Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester and The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum. Wodney Wat was one that my mum read to me a lot and she had such perfect voices for each of the characters that I would get mad (as kids do) when people would try and read it and not do it “correctly.” As for The Wizard of Oz, I had a copy that was bound in a green velvet cover, and I can still remember the feel of the book and the joy it brought me.
Kristin, Ashland Branch: The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley, is forever and always the book of my heart. I got it as a gift for Christmas from my Aunt Shirley. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first edition cover and the first chapter spends way too much time talking about forks and orange juice… but I remember the minute that book clicked for me and how much I loved it… and then years later how excited I was to get The Hero and the Crown for Christmas.
Masyn, Butte Falls & Prospect Branches: The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster. My parents got it for me, and I refused to read it because it looked boring, but out of necessity of having nothing else to read on a road trip, I cracked it open. I remember reading it sporadically by the streetlights going past on our drive home, and have gone through a couple copies since that first one.
Athena, Talent Branch: When I was in first grade, it was a big deal to graduate from easy readers to chapter books, and I remember leaping out of my chair to the big shelf when my teacher gave me the okay. The first chapter book I picked was Magic Tree House: Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne. By the end of the year, my teacher let me take home maybe 10-15 other books in the series to read over the summer.
Alexander, Ashland Branch: When I was young, I was attracted to any book that featured sequences in sewers, aqueducts, viaducts, subways, damp caves, lengthy tunnels, or tubes of any kind. When I found Roderick Gordon’s Tunnels series, I was excited to have found basically my ideal setting.
Amanda, Medford Branch: It would be easier to tell you the books I didn’t like. I loved Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans, growing up. I still have my first Madeline book with a very nice note from my mom saying how much she loves me. (I had the doll as well, if you pulled down her underpants a little you could see the “scar” from her appendix).
There were too many wonderful staff stories to include, but if you’re curious, ask one of us next time you’re in.
Like many of my coworkers, it was hard for me to pick just one. Books I love come with their own stories as to why they are special to me. Just today, I was unpacking some boxes. (Yes, I did move here almost a year ago, but unpacking for me is a LONG process.) I came across a copy of The Borrowers, by Mary Norton. To this day, I still imagine little people living under the floor boards and “borrowing” things for their home. My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Woodruff, read By the Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Fleischman. It’s crazy that I can still remember his name and recall the experience so clearly. By the Great Horn Spoon is an exciting and funny story about the California Gold Rush, in which a young boy and his butler, Praiseworthy, travel from Boston to California as stowaways to find gold in order to save Aunt Arabella from losing her house. When I wanted to read it to my children, I could remember story details, but not the title. I was not a librarian at the time, and could not figure it out on my own, so I asked at my local library. After giving a brief description, I had the title. Librarian to the rescue! Not only did I read it to my children, I volunteered to read it to both of their 4th grade classes when they studied the gold rush. And, not only is it a book that I treasure… it’s about treasure, too!
If you would like to check out some of our staff’s children’s book treasures, you can find the ones we have available here. Did any of your favorites make the list?
If you have not yet signed your children, or yourself, up for our “Treasure Reading” program, you can do so here. You can re-read books you treasure or discover new ones. Participants are eligible to earn treasures, too!
Reading is a treasure of knowledge and entertainment that will pay back dividends for many years to come. We hope you’ll revisit some of your old favorites this summer and discover some new treasures by participating in our “Treasure Reading” summer event.