Tales of a Fifth Grade Reader

May 22, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

Mr. A rarely smiled and his dress shoes—as black and shiny as his slicked down hair—squeaked. I think I saw him smile once. A little. I don’t remember. He was quiet like me. I do remember the five-shelf classroom library he stocked with books just for the fifth and sixth graders who shared the same room all day long.

In Honor of Independent Bookstore Day

April 28, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

There is a scent. Sometimes it makes me sneeze.

The smell of books:

One like a door closed on a dusty attic that, when opened, overwhelms you with its secrets and want of discovery…

9 of the Most Important Books I’ve Read

January 17, 2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

By Amanda Cleary Eastep In the corner of our fifth/sixth grade Lutheran classroom was a narrow bookshelf full of books that were ours alone. Our parochial school had a library, a place I loved to visit despite the taunts of the older students who worked the desk: “You’ll never read this book. . .it’s too […]