Throwback Thursday :: 6 :: Reading Rainbow

This week's Throwback Thursday is in honor of Reading Rainbow.

I LOVED Reading Rainbow as a kid. I watched it all the time and would love catching the re-runs because I would get a chance to re-read the books.

Reading Rainbow exposed me to books that I otherwise would not have been exposed to because my immigrant parents were not very well-versed in children's literature, especially since they were learning English themselves. I was introduced to some of my now-favorite children's books - Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash, A Chair for my Mother, etc. (Here is a link to the episode for A Chair for my Mother that I found on youtube.) I can actually still visualize specific pages of books with it's simple animations.

I don't remember the live action parts with LeVar Burton as much, but apparently that was a big part of each episode. I didn't realize that the rest of the episode centered around a theme from the book. Smart!

I do remember looking forward to the end of the episode when Levar would say, "Don't take my word for it..." and then kids would recommend other books to read. The best recommendations for kids are ones that come straight from the kids' mouths.

After doing some research on what happened to Reading Rainbow, I didn't realize that it kept on playing until 2006. I wish there was something like it on TV now, but the kids would probably have e-Readers or something, huh?

One part of who I am as a reader today is because of Reading Rainbow and for that, I am grateful to the show and PBS for airing it for so long.

And who could forget the theme song?! 

"Butterfly in the sky!
I can go twice as high!
Take a look, it's in a book...
A Reading Rainbow!
I can go anywhere!
Friends to know and ways to grow...
I can be anything!
Take a look, it's in a book...
A Reading Rainbow!"

Did you watch Reading Rainbow as a kid?
What was your favorite episode/book?

Throwback Thursday :: 5 :: Book It

I LOVED the Book It program when I was a kid. I loved reading and getting certificates for pizza was just an added bonus. I still have my old button somewhere in my parents' home.

I can only speak for myself, but I loved reading to begin with and getting free pizza was just icing on top of the cake. Growing up with immigrant parents, eating pizza was always a treat because we hardly ate "American food." :)

I know it is a touchy issue when it comes to whether it is the "right" thing to do to give external incentives for reading. The argument is that joy of reading should be enough of a motivator for kids to read and "bribing" kids with external rewards defeats the purpose of reading.

As a teacher, I remember receiving the Book It packet of information, but it's been awhile since I've received anything from Pizza Hut. I did a Google search and found out that it is still around. You can find more information about it here: http://www.bookitprogram.com

Anyone else remember the Book It program? Was is a positive experience for you too?

Throwback Thursday :: 4 :: RL Stine & Goosebumps

This week's Throwback Thursday is in honor of R.L. Stine and his series, Goosebumps.

When I was a kid, I was very easily afraid and scared of things. Maybe my parents sheltered me too much, but it didn't take much to scare me. I used to sleep under the covers because my friends told me about night-stalkers (people that watch you when you sleep). Why I believed them, I still don't know, but that was my version of the "monster in the closet" when I was a kid.

That being said, I actually enjoyed the Goosebumps series when I was younger believe it or not. Even though I was such a scaredy-cat, the books were just scary enough to satisfy my curiosity, but not so scary that it would cause nightmares.

My 5th grade students every year without fail DEVOUR my Goosebumps books in my classroom library. Girls AND boys, once one kid starts reading one, the rest of them follow in suit and literally devour them. So much so that now I have two tubs full of Goosebumps books and have had to replace several books because the covers were falling apart because of the wear and tear of being used so many times.

Now that there is a NEW series, Goosebumps Horrorland, there is a whole new generation of kids that are enjoying reading because they love these scary stories. I have yet to read one on my own, but my students have raved about the new series. According to my students, the back part of the book is an ongoing story that continues in the next book. I think some of them were confused about it, but I think that's because they weren't reading the series in order.

At the LA Times Festival of Books about a month ago, I had the awesome opportunity to listen to R.L. Stine speak and get his autograph. I brought it back to my students and they were SO stoked to see his signature. I think it definitely upped my "cool
teacher factor" for a little while. :)

He shared one of his favorite poems, "Haunted" by Shel Silverstein, when he spoke at the Target Children's Stage. I loved that he shared with the kids that he reads and enjoys other authors. Authors and writers are real people too!

There was a REALLY long line to get his autograph. All ages of people - old and young were there with copies of his books. Some were old and tattered like the ones in my classroom and others were holding the new Horrorland books. What a honor to have such a wide range of fans!

By the time we got to the line, we were all the way around the corner and didn't think we'd get to the front in time. We waited anyway and I am so glad that we did because we did get to meet him and get an autograph. It was quick and there were no pictures allowed, but that didn't stop my Mom from snapping a few from the line. :)

It was an exciting day for all of us. Thank you R.L. Stine for creating generations and generations of readers with your books.

You can follow R.L. Stine on twitter at @RL_Stine.

Throwback Thursday :: 3 :: The Berenstain Bears

This week's Throwback Thursday is spotlighting The Berenstain Bears series. These books were the first series of books that I read as young child and I loved the stories. I also enjoyed looking at the pictures. There was always a moral to the story and I enjoyed reading them over and over and over again.


Another reason why I have a soft spot in my heart for The Berenstain Bears has to do with my grandpa. My paternal grandparents lived with us and helped raise us while my parents worked all day. When I was really young, my grandpa would take us to the mall and whenever we would go together, he would let me pick out a book. And thus began my collection of The Berenstain Bears books. It is such a sweet memory of mine and I hope my kids will enjoy this series when they are of age too.


I have bought a few Berenstain Bears books for my daughter and I've noticed there's a new character in the books. There's a baby named Honey. What's strange about it is they've incorporated her into some of the older books where Honey wasn't there before. Not a huge deal by any means, but just a little strange for me to go back and look at some of my favorite titles as a kid and see different pictures where they've added Honey. It's almost like she's photoshopped into them.


I also noticed that there are many Christian faith-related books that they've published. I didn't know that Stan and Jan Berenstain were Christian writers. All the more reason to share these with my daughter when she's more interested in hearing the story and not just chomping in the book. :)



Which Berenstain Bears book was your favorite?

Throwback Thursday :: 2 :: Shel Silverstein

This week's Throwback Thursday is in honor of National Poetry Month. I know there's only a few more days in April, but thought I'd give a little love to the poets out there.

I LOVED Shel Silverstein when I was kid. Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic and then when I was a little older, Falling Up. I used to always check those out of the school library and try to memorize the poems. I remember reading his books, cover to cover, with all the silly poems and pictures inside. I think one of my favorite ones is where the kid try to sell his sister, I don't quite remember the exact title. Needless to say, I did have my own little sister AND brother of my own. :) I remember when I first started to understand poetry around 5th or 6th grade. Sarcasm started to make sense.

As a teacher, my students still love the Shel Silverstein books and they often go missing from my classroom library.

Shel Silverstein's books were some of the first poetry books I ever read and I thank him for making poetry fun - for me and many, many other young children.



Do you have a favorite Shel Silverstein poem?

Throwback Thursday :: 1 :: The Secret Garden

I am going to start a weekly meme called, "Throwback Thursday," that's been floating around in the blogging world for a few years now. Different blogs do it differently. I'm going to do what Jenny at Take Me Away started in 2009 and post an old favorite each Thursday on my blog.

So for this first installment of Throwback Thursdays, I am going to share one of my childhood favorites, The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett. I came across this beautiful cover on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago and fell in with love it! It was designed by Jillian Tamaki for the Penguin Thread Project. Isn't it beautiful? I hope to actually purchase it when it comes out in the fall.


Here is a full cover image. I would love to see it in person and even though I know they would not let me, I would love to run my fingers over it to feel the different textures. Yes, I'm the kid the goes to the museum and wants to touch everything.

The Secret Garden was one of my favorite childhood books. I devoured books when I was in elementary school and this one was of my absolutely favorites. I loved the idea of having a special key to a secret place that only you knew about. When I pictured it in my mind, it was filled with beautiful, colorful flowers. The main character, Mary, doesn't just keep this garden all to herself, she shares it with her cousin who is ill in hopes that it will help to heal him, inside and out.


Here is a summary from Goodreads:

What secrets lie behind the doors at Misselthwaite Manor? Recently arrived at her uncle's estate, orphaned Mary Lennox is spoiled, sickly, and certain she won't enjoy living there. Then she discovers the arched doorway into an overgrown garden, shut up since the death of her aunt ten years earlier. Mary soon begins transforming it into a thing of beauty--unaware that she is changing too.

But Misselthwaite hides another secret, as Mary discovers one night. High in a dark room, away from the rest of the house, lies her young cousin, Colin, who believes he is an incurable invalid, destined to die young. His tantrums are so frightful, no one can reason with him. If only, Mary hopes, she can get Colin to love the secret garden as much as she does, its magic will work wonders on him.


What was one of your childhood favorites?

image courtesy of: Jillian Tamaki