A New Passion

Actually this is not a new passion for me, but I just want to talk about it. I am so in love with children's books. I truly have a passion for them. I have been a fan for as long as I can remember, but I started collecting books when Nolan was born almost seven years ago. My ultimate dream is to someday publish a children's book. No, I don't write right now, but I sure would like to. If I find I can't write, then my next goal would be to open a book store. It seems now-a-days everyone is writing kids' books! I will never forget reading the most ridiculous book in college called Yo! Yes! and saying to myself, "Man, I can write better than that!" Like I mentioned, I never have tried to just sit down and write but I sure do love to read. It is so ironic, though, because in elementary school, I hated reading. I was always so worried about wanting to be the fastest reader in my class that I did not comprehend what I was reading. Therefore, I need extra help and hated it. Once I learned to block everything out, I learned to love the joy of reading. Some people love novels, romance stories, or such. I love children's books! Now, I do have my favorite authors, though. I love to collect as many as I possibly can. Let's see, I have 32 books by the author Eric Carle who wrote the famous book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (which happens to be the 40th birthday this year!). I have 10 or so Jan Brett books, 3 Jamie Lee Curtis books, 3 Margaret Wise Brown books, and many many more. I have so many books, I can't even count them. We have so many books that I organize them by holidays, authors, and good stories. I get extremely giddy when the kids bring home Scholastic book orders. I can live at the school when the Book Fair is set up! I love love love children's books! It is funny to watch how the books change in our house hold. We started with Eric Carle since he wrote simple stories and illustrated such vivid pictures. Then we moved onto Goodnight Moon and My World by Margaret Wise Brown for the story factor. Now we are onto longer and more complex stories like The Hat by Jan Brett or Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. I am just as excited to move onto chapter books when Nolan is ready. Am I crazy or is it really a passion? I am currently waiting to buy Where Do Balloons Go by Jamie Lee Curtis, The Moon Shines Down, a new book by the late Margaret Wise Brown, and I See a Song by Eric Carle. My collection keeps growing and for you family members that have trouble buying me a gift for me during the holiday season, just go out and buy a children's book! hee hee