gigamatic

Friday's belated five:

1. What were your favorite childhood stories?

Blueberries for Sal, Andre, Amos and Boris, Kipling's children's stories, Stone Soup.

2. What books from your childhood would you like to share with [your] children?

All of the above. The Kipling book was my grandmother's.

3. Have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything?

Nope. Haven't read them in years.

4. How old were you when you first learned to read?

Three. By 6, I was reading and writing in cursive and doing 3-digit multiplication by age 7.

5. Do you remember the first 'grown-up' book you read? How old were you?

I remember being interested in UFOs, and in first or second grade (they were the same year) trying to check a book out from our school library. It was a big book with small type, more of an enncyclopedia of UFOs. But our librarian had this strict rule: if you wanted to check out a "grown up" book, you had to prove to her that you could read it.

I went to the counter and my friends stood there in disbelief (she was a mean librarian!). She glared at me and said "You know you can't check that book out. Go get something from the kids' section."

'No. You said if we can read it, we can check it out.'

"Well, then," she smirked. "Read it for me," she demanded, flipping to a random page. "Start at the third paragraph."

And I did. And her jaw dropped, briefly, followed by another scowl. She angrily stamped the card and handed me the book.

My friends cheered me for pissing off Mrs. Gray. But, after that, she always resented me. As did they.

And now, if there was a Monday Mission...