All of us here at Fragile Earth Stuffed Animals are voracious readers. You can usually find us with a book in hand, looking for the closest comfortable chair. This week's birthdays included some of my favorite authors, so I wrested the reins from Helen and took over this post.
Steven Kellogg was one of my favorite authors to use with my kindergarten classes. His books are full of wonderful color and creativity. One of my brothers found me a copy of The Mysterious Tadpole with a plush version of what the tadpole becomes. The kids loved reading the book to each other and bringing out the monster at the end.
Enid Bagnold was a prodigious writer who published books, plays, poetry. Her most famous work is National Velvet, which I first read when I was in 5th grade at overnight camp. Lying on the bunk and reading is one of two memories I have from that time - the other is walking off the wrong end of the dock and having to get fished out because I didn't know how to swim. So now, I always associate National Velvet with almost drowning (sigh...)
The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is one of those books that affected me deeply and has remained with me since I first read it when I was 12 or 13. I got it for Easter one year and read it in one sitting. My mother came in to find me sitting on the couch sobbing. I have yet to see the movie because I'm worried it may differ from the book and the very clear picture I had of the whole story. PS - if you want to read about a fascinating woman, click on the link to Katherine Paterson above. She's lived all over the world, done missionary work in Japan, and sounds like a wonderful person to just sit and chat with.
