I have always loved books, even before I could read I would have a book in my hand. My parents love retelling the story of the time they found me chewing on the pages of a book. They say I was so frustrated that since couldn't read the words I took it out on the paper. When I grew a little, instead of destroying the books I began to pretend i could read by looking at the pictures and making up stories. My mom and dad would read to me until I could read for myself. After that, it was really my dad whose love of literature really instilled a passion for reading inside of me. Watching my dad devour novel after novel may have sparked my love for reading but it was my mom who read book that first caused to me to connect with the story and the characters.
My mom read Love You Forever by Robert Munsch out loud to me and my sisters one night. Through Munsch's words, and maybe my mom’s narration, I was really able to understand the love that was shown in the story. The mother watched her son grow older, saw him make a mess and make his own decisions. Yet despite the messes he made she always loved him, this was plainly obvious throughout the story. Throughout all of the stages of his life she would sneak in to his room after he was asleep and repeat the same words to him as she gently rocked him. “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.” Even at a young age I knew how important it was to love someone so completely and how this important love had to be passed on. The son did pass this love on, to his daughter. He repeated the same wonderful words to his baby, showing he felt the same unconditional love.
I haven’t read this story in at least ten years, and yet it has stuck with me. My dad inspired me reading words on a page, and reading into their meaning. My mother inspired me to do something even more precious. She helped me feel the stories and the feelings behind them. That, to me, is more important than being able to define any word. Now whenever I read a novel I become involved in the story. Maybe that is why my favorite novels to read are those filled with romance and happy endings!
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Mary, I hope you'll share this post with your parents. I'll bet they would be gratified to discover how profoundly and permanently they influenced you with respect to reading.
ReplyDeleteYou have mentioned a much-loved book by Robert Munsch. I'm sure you'll strike a chord with many of your classmates as they remember this sweet book. There is a really bittersweet story behind this book. I'll share it before the semester ends, if someone else doesn't. Help me remember, okay?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I definitely remember reading I'll Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. That is such a great book and I can see how it impacted your life so much!
ReplyDeleteMy mother read "I'll Love You Forever" to me when I was a little girl. I remember the comfort I felt when she read the touching and meaningful story to me.
ReplyDeleteThat's what is so amazing to me about children's stories: they can be so simple and yet convey such a powerful message. I feel sometimes that adult fiction gets too caught up in itself to really mean anything at all. A story like Love You Forever, or The Giving Tree, while simplistic in form, are so incredible in their meaning.
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