G.R.A.B.

When I was a kid, GRAB stood for 'Go Read A Book' month. Every year, my school would have a themed month dedicated to reading. At random intervals, a sounder would go over the intercom and we'd have to drop whatever we were doing, sit down, and read. We had to carry a book wherever we went. There were other activities as well... book readings from local celebs, etc. My favorite part was the themes... my favorite was one we had themed after art and van Gough's 'Stary, Stary Night' (it was also my first introduction to Don McLean).

Every year, we'd make a GRAB flag and at the end of the month, we'd hang it up in the library with all of the other GRAB flags. I'm sure this would be illegal now, but every class room would choose a favorite book and decorate their door in a huge fire hazard tribute.

I also had the best librarian. Mr. Angst had a huge stump sitting in the library and he'd pull out these awesome puppets and tell us the best stories while he sat on it. Mr. Angst was the best. Everyone loved him. His reading voice was amazing and completely trapped all of us.

In the 6th grade, I had an amazing teacher by the name of Mr. Shellenberg. He used to read to us every day. He'd tell us that he'd like for us to listen, but if we just wanted to sit and 'vegde', that was fine. His reading voice was also captivating and he'd get into the story and just pull you in. He was also an amateur writer and he'd often read us his work. I still wonder how the novel he was working on ended. He was also the first teacher to actually look at me and recognize some sort of talent. I remember him calling me 'flippant' on my report card and following it up with a rant on how smart I was and how I needed to apply myself. None of it was mean, it was all said in a way to motivate me. And it did.

One of my many Grandmas (long story) was a librarian. She's my last living grandparent and she still sends me books every Christmas. They'd always come with a bookmark from her local book store and a note on why she was sure I would love whatever she was sending me. It was obvious that she spent a great deal of time and effort choosing just the perfect book to nurture my mind. Some of my favorites came from her... Anne of Green Gables, Walk Two Moons, etc. Even though her love for books was earnest, I found out recently that she did many things to continue what my maternal grandmother had started. When I was really little, my maternal grandmother bought me the whole box set of Little House on the Prairie and I still remember sitting up in my room, reading extra chapters long after my mother had read our nightly chapter to me. I was finishing novels before most kids could manage a primer. When my Grandma died, my Grandma Evans continued to send me books. Recently, I found out that my mother sent her wool that my maternal grandma had bought to knit me a blanket. I've always had this gorgeous lavender blanket from my Grandma Evans and I've always loved it, but I never knew that she took the wool my mother had sent her and made it for me when my maternal grandmother couldn't. Needless to say, my Grandma Evans is one of the kindest people I've ever known and I'm truly lucky to still have her in my life.

All of these experiences contributed to who I am today and the people involved have no idea how much they shaped my life for the better. I`m seeing a bit of a resurgence in YA reading lately and I hope that these kids will have just as many positive role models in their lives.