Armchair BEA: Children's Literature



I am constantly in contact with book trends working in a public library.
I always get a little thrill seeing books that I loved as a child being revamped and introduced to a new generation.





My all time favorite book as a child was the Snow Child by Freya Littledale. I first got the book on casette and would carry it around in my tape player all the time. The tape was played so much that the film got warped and wouldn't play anymore. I then had my mom read it to me. When I got older, I read the book on my own. When I became a teacher, I read that book to every classroom I entered throughout my practicum.

As an adult, I stumbled upon this book in 2011 when one of my colleagues ordered it. I was so elated when I found out that the book I loved as a child had been rewritten. It was as though I was revisiting an old friend.



  Have you you ever had books you loved as a child resurface as an adult?



Armchair BEA:Non-Fiction

Non-fiction books have helped broaden my interests. I am constantly interested in new things. Once I finish one project, I am always looking for that new, non- fiction book that is going to launch me into another adventure. I like to think it stems from being extremely creative. Instead of picking other people's brains about my latest interest, I would rather read about it. I love conversation, but there is something which really resonates with me when I can sit in my favorite green chair with a large cup of tea soaking in the information at my own pace and creating my own intepretations of it.

A few examples:  

 Besides having a foundation of professional technology classes in my arsenal, I am a self-professed technology junkie. Technology fascinates me. Previously, I used a  PC laptop for everything. When my parents bought themselves Macs during  one of my undergraduate holiday breaks, I formed an intimate relationship with this program and every other program in the Adobe Creative Suite. For Dreamweaver, this book became and still is my go-to-reference.  The easy descriptions, correlating pictures, and step by step instructions made it a good book. Aside from the "how", the author provided a "why" explanation, so that the reader could develop an understanding of the process behind the program which catapulted it to the level of a great book. I can still be found copying pages from this book when I'm teaching library patrons to use this program.

I tried my hand at knitting and failed miserably. I kept losing track of the number of stiches, so I was pretty ecstatic when I found this book and delved right into loom knitting. This book taught me about loom knitting, pearl stitching, and provided diagrams on how to knit my own socks. 

Feel free to share how non-fiction books have influenced your interests and/or your life.

Happy Reading!