Growing up I used to be a huge fan of books. I still am, but the main difference is that the ones I used to read had pictures; the ones I read now don’t. Pictures were nice to help develop the imagery for the story, but as I grew so did my imagination. The books I vividly remember were by a specific author (Raina Telgemeier). I read a lot of her books and even re-read them because I enjoyed the storyline. The pictures added details that I never thought of before, and I really enjoyed spending my free time reading about fictional characters' lives.
I reached 5th grade and a lot of kids my age were reading chapter books. A lot of the books on my shelf at home were chapter books but I ignored them because I deemed them to be boring. As time went on, I did progress to reading more chapter books, mostly for school but a couple in my free time. Whenever I did not have plans, I wanted to read but I also wanted to hang out with my friends. I would often think about the next time I would pick up a book and read for fun, and eventually I did.
Now that I was older and had a better imagination that was not just piecing random information together, reading chapter books was fun. I still did not have a lot of time to read but I moved away from looking at pictures and used words to make the picture for myself instead of it being handed to me. I still enjoyed books with pictures and did not completely cut them from my life, but rather I just advanced to something different. Creating and interpreting my own pictures for the story made reading more fun in my opinion and with time; Words replaced the pictures.
-Chloe B.🦆 (sorry if this didn't make sense)
I think this is really interesting! I've definitely always been someone who's read chapter books, but when I was younger I would constantly look for ones with at least a few pictures in them; they really do help get a story across in a way completely unique to the words! Also, I too discovered the Raina Telgemeier comics at some point during elementary and I definitely have fond memories of those books.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Very few people share their personal stories surrounding literature like this in the blogs, and this offers a glimpse into what I'm sure is a lovely Reader's Autobiography. I feel as though people often understate the influence of literature on their lives, myself included. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI agree that pictures can really help the reader to understand the plot better. I also enjoyed books that had pictures in them as a kid. Good work on your blog post!
ReplyDeleteI vividly remember that one time I was reading a book and I was specifically focusing on making a "movie" inside my head of the book. I'm pretty sure that I read picture books when I was little, and I read picture-less books now, so I can relate.
ReplyDeleteHi Chloe! Yessss, I love reading books by Raina Telgemeier! I definitely agree, having pictures as you read helps you picture everything better. I love how your blog post shares your reading journey. I'm looking forward to your next post!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I also loved reading graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier (The Baby-Sitters Club, Smile, Sisters, Guts, Drama, Ghosts -- I read them all!)! I also agree that having pictures along with words helps me visualize everything better.
DeleteI think the central theme of the book, that as you grew older, you were able to visualize images in your head instead of relying on pictures, comes across clearly.
ReplyDeleteHey Chloe! I love how you explained your experience with both picture books and chapter books. I also thought the reference to the title at the end of the post was really cool. This was a really nice post to read!
ReplyDelete(Comment written by Naomi) Hi Chloe! I love how you go from talking about picture books to books without pictures, it is a cool and smooth transition. Also- I LOVED reading books by Raina Telgemeier, I found them so fun to read! Awesome blog post!
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