childhood – my books. my life.

It is choose-your-own-adventure day at Top Ten Tuesday and participants are picking from their favorite missed topics. I read a lot as a kid, so when I got to choose my own Top Ten Tuesday subject today, I went with the very first topic – Top Ten Childhood Favorites. This is roughly in the order I read the books and really only touches the surface of what I read as a child.

1. Charlotte’s Web

I can’t tell you how many times I read this as a kid. Confession: I used to read just the end when I needed a good cry. And it was actually the baby spiders flying away that would get me bawling.

2. Babysitters Club

I devoured these as a kid. The regular series, the mysteries, the Super Specials – I read them all. And I loved the prequel released last year.

3. Where the Sidewalk Ends

I was in love with Shel Silverstein’s poems. I read them over and over and over. Such fun.

4. Sideways Stories from Wayside School

These are also stories I would read multiple times. Nine-year-old me found them absolutely hilarious.

5. Narnia

I loved to slip away into the magical world of Narnia.

6. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

I read this book in 5th grade and fell in love with it. I once had lunch with my principal and gushed about it instead of the book I was supposed to discuss.

7. Little Women

I don’t remember the first time I read Little Women but I love it to this day. The last time my mom saw me reading it a few years ago she exclaimed, “How many times have you read this book?!”

8. Streams to the River, River to the Sea

My Aunt Martha gave me this book one Christmas and I am grateful to this day. It’s a beautiful telling of Sacajawea’s story.

9. The Giver

I read this one in 6th grade. I may not have known the word dystopia at the time, but it was my entry into the genre I would end up adoring.

10. Starlight Crystal

I’ve expressed my feelings for this book before. I once read it beginning to end twice in one day. I am afraid to re-read it for fear that it is actually less than amazing.

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted by the lovely ladies of The Broke and the Bookish.

As you all must know by now, dance is a big part of my life. I started taking lessons when I was 2 years old and I never stopped. I still make it to ballet class at least once a week. And I wish I had the time and money to go every day. I was never good enough to do anything serious with dance but it cheers me up on a bad day and I hope it is always a part of my life.

Fans of So You Think You Can Dance will know that today is National Dance Day. And I think I heard that today is actually officially recognized by Congress as such. In honor of dance, I wanted to share with you my oldest dance picture. But I’m not really sure what happened to it. I’m hoping a parent has it because it is adorable (way cuter than this one) and I would hate for it to be lost. What you get instead is 5-year-old Michelle, dressed up in sequins and tutu, and sporting a pretty good skinned knee (tights and skinned knees to not mix well). It’s an iPhone picture of a 1988 photograph so I apologize for the quality.

This was actually the first year I took ballet classes. I was forced to make the switch when we moved to Michigan (I was too young to tap) and I never looked back. I continue to try other forms of dance, but I always return to ballet.

So get out there and dance today. Or leave a comment about how dance has impacted your life. Or tell me who you want to win on So You Think You Can Dance. Just celebrate dance.