This post is a part of the Slice of Life challenge which is hosted on the Two Writing Teachers blog. The month of March the challenge is to write a blog post a day.
When I got the Troll and Scholastic catalogs as a child, I felt this deep sense of wonder and excitement. I would pore over the catalog circling every book that sounded interesting and longing for the luxury of being able to get every book I wanted. My parents usually gave me a price limit and I would agonize over my decision for days. Finally, I would bring the catalog and my payment back to school and the interminable wait would begin. How long would it take until my books arrived?
And then, the day would arrive. The book box would show up at the classroom door as if brought there by fairies (yes, I loved fantasy books as a kid). My teacher would sort the orders and the pile of shiny new books would be placed on my desk, sometimes towering precariously from the height. All I wanted to do was bury my nose in that glorious pile and sniff the aroma of new book. Oh, if they would only figure out a way to bottle that smell. Being a pretty smart kid, I realized that I needed to restrain myself from book sniffing in public so I just picked up the books and paged through them. If I was extra lucky, the books would arrive right before silent reading time. Then I could spend my reading time savoring one of my new treasures.
When I started teaching, I went in search of the Scholastic catalog because I knew I wanted to share this experience with my students. What I didn’t anticipate is that I would be just as excited about the book box now. I have a serious book addiction and cannot help myself when it comes to good book deals, so I spend hours agonizing over my selections as an adult also (more so since I am paying for it). When the book box arrives, I am so excited to sort the books and give my students their books…I only hope their reaction is as enthusiastic as mine used to be.
So yesterday, when that red box arrived at school, I dove right in and sorted through the treasures inside. I cannot wait to crack open those new books and find the riches waiting there.
You are entirely right that the monthly book orders bring back a sense of the past. For me, getting books from Scholastic was one of the few purchases my parents never said no to! Thanks for the memories.
I loved it then and I still get so excited when I see the boxes piling up in the office. It is a great memory and I loved getting reminded. xo nanc
Loved it then, love it now. Nothing like new books! Which reminds me…I should have a smiley faced box waiting for me at school!
I love it when the book box comes in. I think I'm even more excited now. I keep the box behind the desk with the books I want to read before putting them out on the shelves. Every so often one of my students will beg me to let them read a title first.
Oh my, reading that and reading the comments….made me wonder how many teachers have the same memories and then the same excitement when the box arrives. I thought I was the only one….well…no…I figured there were others, too.
YES! I just got a new catalog today and I was so excited to leaf through it. I'm thankful as a teacher that I can use my classroom points to help feed my need to read 🙂
I love your description! I remember feeling the same way as a student and I love getting book orders just as much now as a teacher. It is so great to see the excitement in students' eyes as they see their new books. I also love doing book talks for the books I bought our classroom.
Oh I love the memories of Scholastic books. I still need to be careful, I often spend more than all my students combined.
Same excitement here! And the SMELL! I did exactly the same thing…. Loved the new book smell! If only they could get that on the iPad ar Kindle! I still love the smell of a good book!
This is a common problem for me too.
Yesterday was a great day as there was a book box waiting at home! Today I got to share the books with my students!. What could be better than new books? Well, old books work for me too.
Oh the pure joy of the day the book box arrives…loved it as a kid and it hasn't any of its magic now that I'm an adult.