Raina Telgemeier

631 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Roles of promotion in marketing

“I LOVE this book,” I nearly shout at a bewildered-looking middle schooler standing in front of my cash register. A teen screaming about children’s books is understandably unsettling, but I continue at full throttle. “I’ve been following Raina Telgemeier’s work since I was in elementary school when she published her first book, an autobiographical graphic novel about her two front teeth, or lack of two front teeth--” I babble on. I first learned how to work a cash register at the age of seven by attentively observing my mom at my elementary school’s Scholastic Book Fair, and I’ve had the pleasure of wrangling the irritable Scholastic cash registers every year since. I’ve done so from when I was too young to ring up kids that were older than …show more content…

The magic was palpable as I played self-made ping pong with Grant, the kid of the other mom in charge. To the hardcover picture books we used as paddles: I am so sorry! I appreciated you then as much as I do now, I just didn’t know how to appropriately show my love. The magic still comes back to me as I glance over at the many spines reading Coke or Pepsi? on my bookshelf, the notorious question book that no one ever finished but was nonetheless purchased anew each year. Sometimes, I crack one open to gain insight on my younger self: Coke or Pepsi? “Neither.” …show more content…

But even that couldn’t kill the magic, for the books that lived inside those crates now reside in my heart. There are a lot of cringe-worthy finds—sorry to whoever wrote Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book—but there’s also the wondrous Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children or The Book Thief and the pretentious excitement of knowing about them before anyone else. High school arrived but the book fair didn’t come with it, so I found myself returning to my middle school each year. I chat with the new army of moms working the book fair, I chat with the kids who are willing to listen, and the year that Grant showed up to help, I chatted with him too, more so than I had since we played our makeshift ping pong. I steal the now-useless promotional poster hanging in the now-dreary middle school library after my last book fair as a surrogate for the experience I’ll no longer be able to revel in once I leave for college. “I LOVE this book,” I nearly shout at a receptively smiling mom of a middle schooler standing in front of my cash

Show More
Related

  • Brave New World by Aldoux Huxley

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    When small children are being conditioned to keep away from books, the procedure is presented, “Crumpling the illuminated pages of the books, the director waited until all were happily busy. Then, ‘Watch carefully,’ he said. And, lifting his hand, he gave the signal. There was a violent explosion. The children screamed; their faces were distorted with terror.”

    Read More

  • The Power Of Words In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    The idea that high school is one of the best times of life is constantly stated. Parties, friends, and endless days of fun is the American stereotype. These dreams dissipate, though, if you start freshman year with a record of zero friends. In the young adolescent novel titled Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, the reader encounters the feeling to lack the most powerful tool ever given to you: the tool of words. Melinda’s predicament commences after an end of summer senior party, where she cruelly got raped. Rather than sharing her pain with the world, and achieving justice, she chose to keep her secret locked up, as she did not know how to reveal it. Speaking out would have dramatically changed her life for the better. The main theme

    Read More

  • Concepts of “Brotherhood” – and “Siblinghood” – from Cain and Abel

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was the summer of 2007. My family went on vacation to Mendocino, about 3 hours Northwest of Castro Valley. We were visiting a small shopping center next to the beach there, looking to see what kind of souvenirs and other goodies we could find. My sister and I visited a bookstore, seeing some cool toys (namely, Lego) in the window. My parents decided to wait for us to finish looking, right outside the store. My dad thought it was a getting a little cold, and decided to go back to the car and get our jackets. Browsing around, I first went through the store and looked for the small toy section. I found it, marveling at all the Lego that I didn’t have, although it was probably a trivial amount compared to the entirety of my current collection. After that, I went to check out the rest of the store, eyeing interesting picture books and funny book covers. In the midst of so many extraordinary books and souvenirs, I spent a good half an hour in that bookstore, browsing the many genres and types of books.

    Read More

  • Banning Books

    4607 Words  | 10 Pages

    “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written, the books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers” (Blume 1999). Judy Blume can not explain the problem of book censorship any clearer. The children are the real losers because they are the ones that are not able to read the classic works of literature which are the backbone of classroom discussions all across the United States.

    Read More

  • Racism In Huck Finn

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    “A child should not have to read something they don’t feel comfortable with”, said Kathy Monteiro (Born to Trouble)

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Book Analysis

    1540 Words  | 4 Pages

    High school students in many American schools first read this book in an English class, which has been a staple for many schools. A required reading assignment exposes many more people to the book. Even though the book is considered to be a children’s book by many, it is still enjoyed by people of all ages.

    Read More

  • The Characteristics Of Truth In Swedenborg's Alice In Wonderland

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Stop judging it by it’s cover, how would you feel if everyone judged you on the color of your hair? I promise it’s a good book Caitlin.” I hear this from my mother all the time. I remember a particular time when my mother said this to me, when she was trying to get me interested in reading a book at the age of 7. I could care less about a silly book, all I wanted to do was dance in the backyard like a princess while eating my chocolate-chips with my friends, the lightning bugs. I didn’t want to read a book about a girl sitting in a field with her cat, that’s just boring. But sure enough my mother convinced me to read it...by of course bribing me with more chocolate-chips.

    Read More

  • Stange Journeys and Gender Inequality in Pullman and Dangarembga

    1799 Words  | 4 Pages

    Falconer, Rachel. The Crossover Novel: Contemporary Children’s Fiction and Its Adult Readership. New York: Routledge, 2009.

    Read More

  • Role of Symbols and Symbolism in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    It has always been amazing to realize how well the literature I read as a child has stayed with me through the years. It takes an exceptional writer to compose a narrative that maintains a storyline on the same level of a child's understanding; it takes everything short of a miracle to keep a child's interest. However, that undertaking has been accomplished by many skilled authors, and continues to be an area of growth in the literary world. Only this year the New York Times has given the genre of children's literature the credit it deserves by creating a separate best-sellers list just for outstanding children's books. Yet, on another level, children's literature is not only for the young. I believe that the mark of a brilliant children's author is the age range of those who get pleasure from the stories; the wider the range, the better.

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech: I'm Ready for High School

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    8th grade, 8th grade from the opening day to the signing of the yearbooks. This is the year of memories, goodbyes, and regrets. 8th grade and I’m still realizing that there are people in the world that would die to go to a school like this. A school where every body knows everyone’s name, respects everyone, and where violence and fighting are about as common as the Yankees missing the playoffs. When I’m done with my homework and go to bed, as the days of 8th grade wind down, summer will come and go, and I will find myself in one of those giant, scary places called high school.

    Read More

  • Yearbook Analysis

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    The sun shines on a warm June day. Trabuco Hills High School’s 2013-2014 edition yearbook, the very first book I contributed to, has been published. As I walk to my sixth period yearbook class, I see swarms of students passing around multicolored pens as they finish signing each other’s yearbook before the bell rings. I can hear an echo of laughter coming from my classroom as students of all grade levels flip through the freshly bound book, contemplate puns, and embrace each other on the account of all the hard work they put in this year. I feel the smile on my face stretch ear to ear as I walk in the room, with a multitude of pens begging for my signature in their book. I have never felt more proud of my achievements then when I first held

    Read More

  • A Timeline of Children's Literature

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    "The Value of Children's Literature | Education.com." Education.com | An Education & Child Development Site for Parents | Parenting & Educational Resource. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. .

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative Essay: A First Day In A New School

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was the second semester of fourth grade year. My parents had recently bought a new house in a nice quite neighborhood. I was ecstatic I always wanted to move to a new house. I was tired of my old home since I had already explored every corner, nook, and cranny. The moment I realized I would have to leave my old friends behind was one of the most devastating moments of my life. I didn’t want to switch schools and make new friends. Yet at the same time was an interesting new experience.

    Read More

  • Children Literature Essay

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many different definitions of children’s literature and even varying definitions for literature and children! Before the nineteenth century, very few books were especially written for children. Since then, changing attitudes towards childhood and children’s development, along with the increased sophistication of print technology, have led to the development of children’s literature as a major industry. There is, however, no simple, straightforward definition of children’s literature that can be applied with equal validity at different times and in different contexts. Just as concepts of ‘child’, 'childhood’ and ‘literature’ have changed over time, so too have definitions of ‘children’s literature’. It is not a simple matter to define ‘childhood’ or ‘literature’. Some writers maintain that children’s literature differs from adult literature in degree only (Lukens, 1995); others (Lesnik- Oberstein, 1996) maintain that it differs in kind, that is, that the word ‘literature’ when used in the context of ‘children’s literature’ cannot necessarily be related in any straightforward way to the word ‘literature’ as used in other contexts. Thus, for example, Bottigheimer argues that children’s literature is “an important system of its own”. To complicate matters further, there are those who maintain that to be included in the category of ‘children’s literature’, writing must be of ‘good quality’. Thus, for example, Hillman would exclude from the category of ‘children’s literature’, writing that is “stodgy,” “too predictable,” or “too illogical.” Precisely how one determines whether a work meets these extremely vague criteria largely remains an open question.

    Read More

  • College Life

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Graduation: the last day that I would unwillingly set foot on the fields of Horizon High School. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, and tried so hard to keep my feet moving one after the other in order to maintain my perfect stature. After the two hour wait of opening speeches, class songs, and the calling off of the five hundred plus names that were in front of me, it was finally my turn. As my row stood up and we walked towards the stage it had set in at last, this is it, I am done. My high school career ended on that night, but it didn’t close the book that is my life, it only started a new chapter, and with it came a whole slue of uncertainties.

    Read More

More about Raina Telgemeier

Open Document