I read a lot during my childhood. Marguerite Henry's King of the Wind and Misty of Chincoteague and every other horse book she wrote. I also read all of Beverly Cleary's books. I moved a lot (always lived in Chicago or the suburbs) and one of the positive events was discovering the new library. S... more

I read a lot during my childhood. Marguerite Henry's King of the Wind and Misty of Chincoteague and every other horse book she wrote. I also read all of Beverly Cleary's books. I moved a lot (always lived in Chicago or the suburbs) and one of the positive events was discovering the new library. Sometimes I'd read old favs because they had a different cover and often I'd discover a new author that I liked and begin reading a whole new set of books. Reading gave me security and a positive outlook on life. I liked that the families usually had a mother and a father and lived in some "nice" place and everthing turned out alright in the end. When I got older and the themes of children's books began to change, I felt dissappointed that kids could no longer depend on the goodness of stories.