When I was little I made my daddy read to me as often as I possibly could. My favorite book to have him read was Johnny Go Round by Betty Ren Wright, illustrated by Jessica Zemsky.
This was my absolute favorite book ever. I had it completely memorized. Daddy would try to trick me and skip words or leave things out but I always caught him. I would sit around and “read” the book by myself once I had it memorized and people thought I was reading even earlier than I actually did!
I don’t remember Daddy reading for his own enjoyment much when I was a kid but in the past ten years or so he has become almost as avid a reader as I am! Mama and I got him hooked on Harry Potter and it just kind of grew from there. When he got his iPod last year he started downloading audiobooks. He’s sitting in the den listening to an audiobook right now actually.
While I didn’t see him reading for himself much, he had just as big an impact on my love for books as Mama did. Partly because he read to me as a child. Partly because if I asked for a book, I got it. For Christmas I would get whole stacks of books and have them read within days. Every two weeks, on payday, we’d all go out to eat and then walk down to the Little Professor Bookstore and I pretty much always left with a book in my hand.
So, thank you, Daddy, for everything you did and still do. I love you.
Johnny Go Round - 1960
