Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Memories

A walk down memory lane on this Tuesday morning! I’ve got dozens, if not hundreds of bookish memories, but I’ve included a few that really stand out in my mind. Some of these memories are about certain books, while others are book-adjacent having to do with my career and my blog.

Bookish Memories

1. Special Delivery
   My dad used to read this Sesame Street book to us at bedtime. It was one of those books that was read over and over again. And I can remember him changing the story around and us getting so mad! “No, Dad! That’s not how it goes!”
   
2. The Polar Express
   My mom read this book to us every Christmas season and I can still hear her voice when I read it myself. A few years ago, I got a chance to meet Chris Van Allsburg at an author visit and purchased a personalized copy for my parents and each of my siblings for Christmas.
   
3. Meet Samantha
   The American Girl books were one of the first chapter books that I can remember being able to read all in one sitting. I’d start one when I got into bed and be done within 30-45 minutes. It was such an exciting feeling!
   
4. … If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War
   This is my first signed copy of a book from my childhood that I remember (and still have) – circa 1994.
   
5. The Bread Sister of Sinking Creek
   This was the first time I think I saw an author speak during a visit to my elementary school. I loved reading historical fiction as a kid and hearing the author’s story of how this book was created was so exciting to me.
   
6. My first library job
   I started volunteering in my hometown library two days after my 14th birthday. A few months later they kindly offered me a job and I’ve never looked back. It’s a small library, but I learned a little bit of everything and found a lot of great mentors that I keep in touch with. I even stopped by the library on Prom night so the ladies could see my dress. I’ve been working in libraries for over 20 years already!
   
7. My first library conference
   I went to ALA Midwinter while I was going to graduate school because it was being held in Philadelphia and I have some family in the area. I dragged so many books home on the train every day from the exhibit hall. I’d love to say that I learned from that first experience, but I always end up with TONS of books every time!
   
8. Graduating & Starting my first professional job
   I graduated from the University of Maryland over Memorial Day weekend and started my first official/professional library job as a children’s librarian on June 2. And let me tell you, there’s no better way to become a children’s librarian than to get throw into the deep end of Summer Reading beginning in three weeks and just learning the collection!
   
9. Starting my blog
   I’ve met so many amazing people (virtually) through my blog – authors, illustrators, bloggers, librarians. These are people I may never have interacted with in person, but between my blog and social media the kid lit world gets to be even more fun.
   
10. The Dot
    I’ve got a signed copy of The Dot and my very own dot created by author/llustrator Petery H. Reynolds after stumbling upon a tweet one day and an adventure to Target!

The Artsy Reader Girl currently hosts Top Ten Tuesday, an original feature created by The Broke and the Bookish.