EMILY DUPNICK

When I look back on my elementary school years, I remember books and reading the most. My early literacy experiences were positive, which encouraged me to keep reading as much as possible. I always had a book with me and read in any spare moment, walking down the hall, in the 5 minutes between activities, on the bus, in the car, etc. Read alouds, library visits, and book fairs were my favorite parts of school every year. They are my most memorable experiences, and I am very passionate about reading. I hope to be able to share my love of reading and learning with my future students.

 

Kindergarten

I curl up against the brick wall in the dimly lit hallway that runs along the gym and cafeteria. I try to tune out the mumbling of the other pairs scattered throughout the wide, long hallway and focus on my partner. Even though we are both sitting down, she towers over me and makes me feel like a tiny mouse. I’m terrified of the 5th grader and say nothing. I watch her as she opens up the books she brought and begins to read. I peer over to catch a glimpse of the pictures. My reading buddy continues reading, and I scoot a little closer, so I can see and hear better. I see that the pages are full of printed words, but I don’t understand what they mean. I become intimidated and feel stupid compared to my buddy. How does she make sense of all those letters and words? How does she read so fast? It’s like magic when she looks at the page and turns it into spoken words. I wish I could read like that.

 

First Grade

The library is full of muffled noise as kids scurry around to pick out a book to check out. I walk up and down the aisles until I come to the right section. My teacher told me I had to check out a chapter book this week, so I begin hunting in the chapter book section. I’ve never been to this part of the library, so I don’t know where anything is.  I scrunch up my face and get real close to the books as I try to read the tiny script on the spines of the books.  Time is running out as kids check out their books and line up by the door, and I begin to worry I won’t be able to find anything good to read. As I continue searching, I see my favorite color, yellow. I quickly pull the yellow book off the shelf and read the title. Junie B. Jones and the Smelly Bus. The little girl on the cover looks funny as she holds her nose in front of a yellow school bus. I flip through the pages and chapters, and decide to get it. I am nervous and excited as I walk over to the librarian’s desk to check out my first chapter book.

 

Second Grade

My eyes pop open as I walk through my new school’s library. The room is giant with a glass wall looking into the hallway we just walked down. The ceiling is so tall and the bookshelves so tall and endless that I feel tiny. I start to fidget as I sit on the carpet with my class. The librarian is talking to us about reading levels and what books we can check out, but I can hardly listen. All I want is to get up, walk through each aisle and read every book. When the librarian finally releases us, I quickly get up and speed walk to the bookshelves. My excitement quickly turns to disappointment and confusion as I examine the bookshelves closer. The giant shelves that I thought were full of books are nearly empty. Each bookshelf only uses two or three lower shelves and then each shelf only has twenty books or so. I frown as I stare at the nearly empty shelves. Where are the thousands of books and rolling ladders to reach the top shelves? What kind of library is this?

 

Third Grade

I wish everyone would stop making noise and pushing me. I curl up on the carpet and look up at Mrs. Tatom. She is sitting in the rocking chair, which is only for the teacher, and opens up to Chapter 3 of our class book. She begins reading where we left off yesterday, and I strain my ears to hear more about Laura Ingalls and the wide open prairie. As Mrs. Tatom reads about Laura wandering the prairie looking for something fun to do, I stare at the book cover. Laura is wearing a pretty blue dress and dancing on the grass roof of her family’s sod house, which is built into the bank of the river. I wonder what it would be like to live in a dirt house with no air conditioning. Suddenly, I am drawn back into the book as Mrs. Tatom describes how a bison herd traveled through the region. A stray bison ran right over the Ingall’s home and its hoof punched right through the roof, showered Mama with dirt, and caused her to scream! Wow, I did not see that coming! What will happen next?

 

Fourth Grade

I sigh as I settle onto the alphabet rug in the front of the library’s rocking chair. Why do I have to be read to like I’m a baby? I just want to go walk through the library and find a new book to check out. I try to pay attention while the library begins reading from our chapter book we started a few weeks ago. I can’t remember what the title is, and I try to remember what she read last time. As the librarian continues reading, I remember that the book is about a little Japanese girl who is sick because of the atom bomb from WWII. My heart beats a little harder when I hear that the little girl spends all her time in the hospital folding paper cranes because she thinks that if she folds 1,000, she’ll be given a wish, and she’ll be cured of her sickness. I wish that it was true, but even I know that won’t work. We are close to the end, so the librarian continues to read extra-long today, so we can finish the book. I am left heartbroken and speechless when the last words are read and the librarian solemnly closes the book. The entire class is silent and shocked. I can’t believe the little girl died! Why did she have to die? What did she ever do to deserve this? It’s not fair.

 

Fifth Grade

Mrs. Brooke explains to us that we are going to take a break today from working on our Island of the Blue Dolphins projects because we have something else we have to do today. She tells us to line up at the door and head down the hall to first grade for reading buddies. I get more excited with each step I take. We enter the first grade room and find our little reading buddies. I settle down in a chair next to my reading buddy and ask him what he wants to read. I am disappointed when he spends 5 precious minutes searching for a book and talking to his friends. I try to be patient, and I finally get him to settle down, so I can start reading from the picture book he picked. I struggle to get him to pay attention as I read. He seems more interested in looking around the room and talking to his friends rather than listening to me. I just don’t understand why he doesn’t find reading as captivating and fun as I do.