the year of the books

I'm pretty sure the book that started my addiction to the written word was the one about the Martians. Up until that time, third or fourth grade, I enjoyed books -- read to me or read by me -- about the same as an average kid. I had some favorites and liked it but only about the same as I liked playing with my Barbies or riding my bike. 

The Martian book changed all that. After the cover closed on that modest chapter book nothing was the same. Reading became my most treasured pastime, a reason to get up every morning and tuck into bed early. 

Oddly, I can't even recall the title or what exactly it was about. I remember it was a 'hot' book that year, and all of the kids in class were clamoring to borrow it next from the school library. This was also the year that I read the "Little House" series. It was the year we were studying the Oregon trail in school and I ordered a book called "Plain Girl" from the Scholastic catalog, thinking I'd get another great book about pioneers. 

Imagine my surprise when it arrived and turned out to be a book about an Amish girl in Pennsylvania. I had never heard of the Amish or even much about New England. I was hooked. I now had a window into worlds I never knew existed -- a magic key that unlocked many doors.