What Literacy Means To Me

  The art of reading requires  the reader to use the  skill of  visualizing for true understanding.  In Hot Dog, the 2023 Randolph Caldecott Medal selected book written and illustrated by Doug Salati, the reader is allowed that freedom to develop the story for themselves.   The book uses very few words to take you on a day trip with a dog and his owner.  The author instead uses detailed imagery to draw us into the story.  Through pictures, we are immersed in the hustle and bustle that many experience in a hot overcrowded city that is then calmed by a seaside detour used to decompress from amidst the chaos.  The story then ends with both the owner and dog having a good night’s rest that was filled with pleasant dreams from their much-needed seaside get away.  Through pictures, Salati was able to construct details that added depth to the reading.   We became a part ...

  As a child, my parents always stressed the importance of reading.   Reading is a way to experience new things and explore the world.   I can remember my mother sitting by lamp light in the living room, reading her beloved mystery novels.   She would sit for what seemed to be hours entranced in the pages.   I was always so intimidated by the book’s thickness, thinking it was going to take her forever to read it.   My mom picked up on my fascination with watching her read and would sometimes allow me to hear the happenings that had such a hold of her attention.   By sharing these stories with me, she planted seeds in me that developed into my love for reading.   At first, I wanted to read mystery novels, just like my mother.   I loved trying to figure out the cases before the end of the book.   As I got older, my interest changed to adventures and humor.   Adventure books allowed be to travel to different places.   I read abo...