For the Love of Laura

 I was blessed to have a wonderful fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Hannon. It was the first time that I really remember developing a passion for reading. I discovered all sorts of wonderful books that year. My favorite books were the Little House series. Oh, how I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder. I longed to live out on the prairie and wear long dresses and bonnets. Thankfully, I discovered the books before I found the tv series. I didn’t have any preconceived notions of how Pa, Ma, Mary and Laura should look or act.

That same year, my Papa Jack died. My parents sat vigil at his bedside for two weeks. During that time, my brother and I stayed with a sweet family that lived near us. Jon Spearman was older than I was, but he had the most wonderful book collection. I spent those two weeks reading from his personal library. Jon had the Little House box collection and he sold it to me for $10. I think I used my birthday money to purchase the collection.  It was the best $10 that I have ever spent. I read those books well into my college years. About once a year, I would hibernate in my room and read the entire collection over the course of a weekend.

I was sad when I realized that Jessica didn’t share this intense love that I had. Jess didn’t learn to enjoy reading until about a year ago. Her fourth grade year, she read fluff for her book reports. If she was forced to read, then she would read Goosebumps or The Babysitters Club. Jonathan is in the fourth grade this year. I didn’t even dare to dream that he might enjoy the same books that I did. However, he surprised me and read Where the Fern Grows and he enjoyed it. I cautiously suggested that he might enjoy reading Little House in the Big Woods for his next book report. He agreed, so I pulled out my blue box set. It was still in great condition. We carefully pulled out the first book. The pages were a little yellowed with age, but otherwise it looked great. Jonathan proudly and carefully took the book and promised to be ever so careful with it. It was like a torch was being passed off.

Jonathan is about half-way through with the book. He likes the stories that Pa tells about hunting and he reports that the author is very descriptive (oh, the blasphemy, I would have never referred to Laura as "the author"). I don’t think he will have my same passion for the series, and he might not read the rest of the collection. Jonathan sometimes rejects a book on the single premise that the main character is a female. However, I am so happy that he gave the book a chance. I can’t wait to introduce him to more books this year.  I'm thinking I might suggest Number the Stars or The Great Gilly Hopkins next.  I love fourth grade book reports!