From: Clark, Mary <mary.clark>
Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 20:44:58 -0700

I was one of those nerdy, near-sighted kids who librarians loved. I remember reading and re-reading all the Green Knowe books by Lucy Boston. When the librarians finally let me loose on the "older" fiction, I decided to read alphabetically. I'm not sure I got much further than Mabel Esther Allen. I loved the independent young women she wrote about. I'm sure my love of London began with the repeated readings of The Ballet Family and The Ballet Family Again. For a small town girl in a working class family, those books provided a window to a fascinating world. I remember checking out the record album of Swan Lake, after reading about it in these books, and falling in love with the music.
  But it wasn't one book that changed my life, it was the library itself. I'm sure I'm not alone in that visceral sense of being at home in whatever library I walk into. I drag my family along on vacations ("But Mommy, you can't even READ French!") and explore every nook and cranny. I finally gave in to the compulsion last year and began working my dream job, in the elementary school library around the corner from my house. Every day I get a chance to find that one book for a child that she'll reminisce about twenty or thirty years from now. Oh, and I can't forget the joy of catching up on books I missed as a child. A few people have mentioned The Pushcart War, which I only discovered and loved last year. Don't tell my principal, but I'd do this without pay!
  Mary
  Mary Clark Library Media Tech I La Costa Meadows Elementary School Carlsbad, CA USA 760-290-2128 Mary.clark at smusd.org
Received on Tue 23 May 2006 10:44:58 PM CDT