There is something about the famous gold-foil spine that brings a smile to my face. Just seeing a Little Golden Book reminds me of how wonderful it is to sit back and be read to. I instantly think of being five years old and falling in love with books and Highlights magazines. I couldn't wait for book fair time at school. By that time I could read myself and I loved doing so. I'm not quite sure if my Mom remembers but I always liked to read out loud as a child. The book wasn't quite as entertaining or interesting unless I read where everybody could hear me. It all started with the Monster at the end of this Book. This story started my love affair with books. The story wasn't necessarily the greatest one I had ever heard but this book was the greatest ever to listen to. It was the reader that made it so exciting. It was the reader that made me anxious about each page turn. It was the reader that made me decide very early on that my story telling would always be out loud, always!

My almost four year old is really excited about books right now. He can't get enough of books! Although he can't quite read yet (we are working on it), he memorizes each page I read and then reads the book to me or his sister. It's amazing to hear him read it exactly like me. His voice inflections, his facial expressions, he mimics it all. Listening to my son as he reads (he thinks he is reading), reminds me of how he is learning now to share his story with the rest of the world, just like I did.

I will never forget the first time I heard my pre-school teacher read the Monster at the end of this Book. With each line she read, the anticipation grew. I, like Grover, truly believed that there WAS a Monster at the end of the book. The four year old imagination is priceless! As four year olds, we don't always analyze things, we just believe it. And I believed that at the end of the book, there would be a Monster. Never in a million years did I think it was Grover! But the reader had me convinced! She convinced me and every other four year old in the class room that there was something big coming at the end. The drama she added by prying the pages apart, pretending like she couldn't turn the pages anymore, made my heart beat a little faster. It made me giggle. It made us all giggle! No one could tell a story like this lady, no one! After the book was read to us the first time, we all knew. We all knew how the story would end. We all knew that there wasn't any monster. It was only Grover. But we still wanted more! We wanted to hear the book again. Many times we would ask the teacher to read it again as soon as she finished the first time. A few times she did and we would scream out loud, "DO NOT TURN THE PAGE, DON'T DO IT!" The book was an easy read, a short one too. The content wasn't that incredible and the story forgettable but the reader was the greatest story teller ever. That's what made it my favorite book. That's what made me want to read out loud for the rest of my life. And guess what? I do. I still read out loud.

"Amanda, you are a Kinesthetic-tactile learner. You want to touch it, see it, feel it, smell it, taste it. You want every part of it! ", Ms. Lively once said. My junior year in High School, I had a teacher that always, always called on me to read aloud. Ms. Lively told me that she knew I was someone that soaked up every word I read aloud. I loved her! She made me feel good about myself. She believed in me and she used to tell me that I was born to tell stories. I will never forget standing in front of my class to read a paper I had written. Everyone had to read that day and if you didn't read it to the class, you instantly failed the assignment. After I finished reading my paper,Ms. Lively looked at me, smiled and said "Amanda, I love to hear you read. You always make me interested. Always." I can see Ms. Lively's face and hear her voice like it was yesterday. While she may not be too impressed with the many writing errors I often display on this blog, I think she would be proud. She encouraged me to keep writing, to keep sharing my story and to be sure and share it with the world. So that's what I am doing Ms. Lively.

Over the past few days I have been Christmas Shopping quite a bit. While out and about, I went into a popular book store looking for books to buy Josiah. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Monster at the end of this Book. Since becoming a mother almost four years ago, I have looked for this book often. I have day dreamed about reading this book to my own children, hoping they would love the story just as much as me. Or maybe not so much the story but the story telling! Of course, I decided to buy the book and put it in Josiah's stocking. I can't wait! I can't wait to read this to him and Ava Beth and Ezekiel. May my children feel comfortable telling their story out loud. That is what we were all created to do, I believe.

This book reminds me of something very important. Ms. Lively reminds me of something very important. My story counts! People want to hear it, people need to hear it and I just may be able to change a little part of this world by letting the whole world hear me tell it OUT LOUD!