Dr. Andersen's Virtual Reading Bio

Book/Reading Bio
I have linked each book to an Amazon.com page where you can view the front and back covers as well as look at an excerpt. When you click on excerpt, you can click the arrows on the side of the frame and get several pages to look at. Enjoy! I look forward to reading each of yours.

1. The first book I ever read by myself (according to my mother) was The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. This book is one of my all time favorites because of that and of course, it is a classic. It is an important book to me since it is my first but also as a teacher of reading, it is a milestone for many young readers as they learn the reading process. I started reading at an early age and this book is not an easy one to read. I am sure that I had most of it memorized but that is one of the first steps in reading.

2. This second book I want to highlight is Where the Red Fern Grows. I am not even sure to this day why I loved this book so much. Perhaps some of the characters reminded me of my own family. My grandfather owned a general store just like the one in the book. I wanted my own dogs just like the kid in the book did. Granted, I did not want to go hunting but I did want a dog more than anything (except maybe a horse). Also, this was the first book I read that dealt with death on a large scale. I think that interested me and make me curious about things as it often does. I have not read it for a long time but still fondly remember Old Dan and Little Ann and can see them in my mind any time I want.

3. The third item in my virtual book biography is the Weekly Reader. I loved this newspaper type publication when I was in elementary school. It is still around and now is in full color. What a great way to learn about the world in an interesting way. The website they have is totally awesome. Make sure you check out the link and see how they help readers with hard words and how they use pictures.

4. When I was in college as an undergraduate, I read On the Beach by Nevil Shute. I could not put the book down. It is an amazing story about the aftermath of nuclear war and how people coped. The story takes place in Australia so that was extremely interesting to me as well since I had a pen pal in high school who lived in Australia. We still write back and forth on occasion and I have visited her twice at her home in Australia. Back to the book, it is extremely sad as pretty much any book about nuclear war would be. Basically, Australia is the only place left where there are still people alive. It really made me think more about global issues that affect everyone and not just issues that affected me or people I knew. It is a great read!

5. The final book I will put here is Night by Elie Wiesel. This book has changed my life in many ways. I had read it once before a while back but we chose this book as the common reader for freshmen here last year so we all read it again. I cannot describe to you how powerful this memoir about the Holocaust is. It really makes real the things we can only imagine about life and death in the camps. With this book as our common reader, we had the author, Elie Wiesel come and talk to our students as the Convocation speaker. I am the chair of that committee so I spent most of the day with Professor Wiesel. What an honor!! We had an essay contest for freshmen about the book and took 20 of them to Poland over spring break. I was lucky enough to go with them and it was incredible. We spent two days at Auschwitz where Elie Wiesel as interred. I cannot begin to tell you what a life changing experience that was. It is something I will never forget. I have read Night many times now and each time I find something new to think about and consider. It will always be there telling me to get involved and never let something like this happen again. Anywhere. Ever.