Challenge Activity: Re-read an Old Favorite

“Yesterday was a very happy day for me.  I visited our library at Clare Oaks and was given a book and a photograph.  The picture was of you.  I was truly excited to see such a pretty girl who would be my partner in reading.  But then I was even more excited when I saw the book you chose – namely Charlotte’s Web.  Actually I read that book a long time ago.  It was when I was teaching the third grade.  […] The night I read it, it was nine o’clock.  I read one chapter, then another, and so on.  I said to myself – maybe one more chapter… I’m reading and reading – all of a sudden I heard the birds singing.  I said to myself – what’s that?  I finally realized it was five o’clock in the morning.  I stayed up all night to finish the book – It was so good.  I should have paid attention to Charlotte when she told Wilbur to go to bed ‘sleep is important’ (see page 81).” – Sister Connie

Whether you are 8 or 108, chances are you have experienced what Sister Connie experienced when she first read Charlotte's Web.  

It is a universal human experience to lose oneself in the world of a book.  

Sharing how we feel during this experience is one way we can cross generational boundaries and connect with each other.  No matter how our lives may be different, we can share how we feel when we let go of all our other thoughts and focus solely on the book in our hands.

Have you ever had this experience?  

Have you ever re-read a book you read when you were younger?  

What was the experience of reading the book for the second time?

Challenge Activity

Find one of your old favorite books and re-read it.  Share the experience with someone.  Consider choosing someone with whom you think you have very little in common to talk about getting lost in a book.