Red, red, red!

Books and reading have always been a huge part of my life. I actually get nervous if I have fewer than a dozen books sitting on my 'reading table' -- I like to know that I've got options at all times, depending on my mood. I simply love to read -- and would choose a good book over TV, going to the movies -- almost anything at anytime. I even carry an "emergency" book with me in my laptop bag -- just in case I find myself with a few unanticipated 'reading' moments. My literary interests cross all boundaries -- I enjoy biographies, bestsellers, self-help and trashy romance novels. I can be just as content with The Iliad as with Wuthering Heights.

It got me thinking...what was the first book I actually remember reading?

And, if memory serves, the earliest book I remember reading to myself was in kindergarten -- and it was called Ann Likes Red. It was a mostly 'picture' book -- about a little girl (not unlike myself at the time) whose mother was trying to get her to choose something to wear -- it went something like this (with apologies to the author!):

"A blue dress, Ann?"
"No -- I want red! Red, red, red!"
"A brown belt, Ann?"
"No -- I want red! Red, red, red!"

You get the idea. Ann liked RED. I'll bet the book didn't have more than twenty words in it, but funny that I can remember much of it all these years later.

Laura likes red, too. Red, red, red!