Reading For the First Time
Iza Trapani’s I’m a Little Teapot. I remember sitting on a maroon carpet floor in my mother’s lap with the book, a ten-by-ten floppy paperback about the famous children’s rhyme. The vibrant palette of green, purple, red and blue made learning to read fun. I was about two and a half.
That book is probably stored at the bottom of some forgotten, dust-covered, cardboard box in my garage, but its stories will never leave my memory. The first few pages had a detailed visual representation of the well-known nursery rhyme, “I’m a little teapot, short and stout, here is my handle and here is my spout...” My mastery of the tune made it easy to follow along as my mother read to me; as she pointed to each word on the page, I would match it with its corresponding musical note in my head. What ultimately made the book so special was the unmatched creativity in its depiction of the rhyme’s secondary verses. I will never forget the bizarre and intriguing story of how the little teapot traveled to outer space to have a tea party with aliens.
From as early as I can recall, my parents have always stressed the importance of reading. “Reading well is an important skill for being a good student – and that is what you have to be,” my mother, who was nicknamed “bookworm” by her childhood friends, would say. I’m a Little Teapot by Iza Trapani introduced me to the beautiful insight and vivid imagination which I believe make any book great.
That book is probably stored at the bottom of some forgotten, dust-covered, cardboard box in my garage, but its stories will never leave my memory. The first few pages had a detailed visual representation of the well-known nursery rhyme, “I’m a little teapot, short and stout, here is my handle and here is my spout...” My mastery of the tune made it easy to follow along as my mother read to me; as she pointed to each word on the page, I would match it with its corresponding musical note in my head. What ultimately made the book so special was the unmatched creativity in its depiction of the rhyme’s secondary verses. I will never forget the bizarre and intriguing story of how the little teapot traveled to outer space to have a tea party with aliens.
From as early as I can recall, my parents have always stressed the importance of reading. “Reading well is an important skill for being a good student – and that is what you have to be,” my mother, who was nicknamed “bookworm” by her childhood friends, would say. I’m a Little Teapot by Iza Trapani introduced me to the beautiful insight and vivid imagination which I believe make any book great.