This semester, I’ll be documenting my learning through the course Reading Instructional Principles and Strategies on this blog. This week, I’ll be responding to this reading interest survey, taken and adapted from the textbook Sometimes Reading is Hard by Robin Bright (2021) with an emphasis on the first question (I am so excited to talk about fairies!).
- Describe your ‘one book’ that changed everything for you as a reader.
My ‘one book’ was Return to Fairyopolis (Cicely Mary Barker), gifted to me by my parents when I was about six. I was a very reluctant reader (to put it gently); I remember howling in anguish and crying when I was asked to practice reading aloud at home, even shutting myself in my room and holding the door closed once or twice. I was bursting with energy and creativity, and I did not want to waste my precious time on reading when I could be making art, exploring, or playing pretend. For those reasons, this book was exactly what I needed. I loved it so much because it engaged my senses and emotions in a way that traditional books rarely did. The front cover had an insert that revealed a hidden image when turned from side to side, encouraging me to pick up the book to begin with. It featured beautifully detailed illustrations of fairies dancing across the pages, leaving textured glitter behind as they flew. Many pages included interactive elements, such as tiny doors, pressed flower petals to be lifted, envelopes to be opened, and strings to be untied, revealing letters inside which I would read before tucking away.
This epistolary book blurred the lines between text and illustration, placing the illustrations woven between, even interacting with, the elegant handwritten text. This sparked my curiosity, inviting me to make the jump from using images to guess at words to truly decoding. Even though some of the words used were far too challenging for me, or were written in scripts that were hard to read, I genuinely wanted to understand them because real fairies had left them behind as clues for me. The scrapbook-style pages spotted with ink, tea cup circles, and pressed leaves reinforced the effect that the text wasn’t just an explanation of the illustrations, it was part of them and they were both needed to understand the story. The final page revealed a pop-up world of fairies, complete with enchanting music that played from a small battery in the back cover. This made the work of decoding the text incredibly rewarding, and kept me re-reading it, understanding more layers of meaning as my patient parents helped me with the words. I still had a brief period of reading struggles after discovering this book, but it has always stayed in my heart, reminding me of how magical books can be when you invest your time in understanding them.
- How do you feel about reading? Tell me about it.
I have very positive feelings about reading. It is something that I have felt confident in doing since the end of my grade three reading tantrums, and I particularly enjoy reading out loud to others. I find reading fun and relaxing, and some of my favourite moments in life are when I get the time to read in the forest in my hammock. I even enjoy reading most of my textbooks! Aside from personal enjoyment, I feel positively about reading, because it can be a low-cost, high reward activity for people of all ages. The unfortunate part is that I am quite a busy person, and I do not often make time to read.
- What types of books do you like to read?
I usually read expository or creative non-fiction books, but I also enjoy fiction sometimes. I do enjoy browsable books as well, and graphic novels or art collections.
- List some hobbies and things you like to do outside of school.
I enjoy fashion and interior design; I am always at the thrift store looking for treasures to add to my closet or walls. I love to be outside, biking, swimming in lakes, or hunting for rocks and gems. I dance and make art, and I always hope to do both of those more. Most recently, I’ve been having lots of fun learning to do drag makeup.
- Who are your favourite authors?
For how little I read, I have a relatively long list: Edward Gorey, Ibram X. Kendi, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Billy Ray Belcourt, Layla Saad, and Shaun Tan.
- Tell me a bit about the last book you read that you really enjoyed.
I am currently working through The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk. Some parts I find difficult to read as they are quite emotionally intense, but it is very informative and helpful to my work as a teacher.
- Tell me a bit about what you have been doing since last semester during your winter break. How have you been spending your time?
During the winter break, I visited my family and friends which was wonderful. Since coming home, I have spent most of my time doing schoolwork and working at my job. I am really looking forward to when I have time to do other things too. I have also been outside quite a bit (perhaps the reason for my never ending cold).
- What subjects or topics do you like learning about?
I like learning about so many different things: fashion and fashion history, ethnobotany, Ktunaxa language and culture, visual arts, current events, Celtic fairytales, deep sea creatures, rocks and gems, astronomy, just about everything!
- If you could read a book about one thing, what would that be?
Chinatown Pretty: Fashion and Wisdom from Chinatown’s Most Stylish Seniors (Andria Lo and Valerie Luu) is one of my favourites. I would absolutely love to find a similar book if it is out there, but if not, I will just hope to find it again one day to re-read. Below is a video where Andria and Valerie explain this gem of a book:
Chinatown Pretty by Andria Lo and Valerie Luu, Chronicle Books