For as 
long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with bright colors. Something about the purple purse my sister had when she was four or the neon orange t-shirt worn by my cousin for a field day at school always excited me. Bright colors brought life to anything dull and could transform moods with a single glance. It is not surprising that this influenced what I picked off the library shelves as a young child when my mother would take me. I judged books by their covers, only wanting to pick the picture books with the neon pink princess or electric blue turtle. I would not necessarily even read the books, I would just look at the pictures. If younger me was in charge, this was the way things would have stayed; however, one library trip in particular changed this habit.
While I don’t remember my exact age, this occurred around the time when I was being prompted by my teachers to start reading chapter books and record reading logs. I hated reading logs. My mom would give me a timer and only when it had sounded was I allowed to stop reading. The minutes wouldn’t go fast en
ough. All I wanted to do was get back to playing with my Barbies and American Girl Dolls. That was until this one library trip. My mom discovered a book called Ruby the Red Fairy and told me that I should read it. It was part of the series called the Rainbow Magic Fairies, a small collection of beginner’s chapter books entailing the adventures of fairies to stop an evil villain. There were at least 20 of the books on that shelf and every single one was a different color; therefore, my interest had peaked. I checked out the first three in the series and went home.
To my surprise, there were no pictures in those books. Younger Macy was convinced that there was no way a book could be fun and interesting without imaged. After complaining to my mother about this very fact, I reluctantly agreed to read the first 10 pages because again, I had another reading log due the next day. That night I read more than I ever had before. I had truly learned what reading was: Imagining stories in your head. My mom couldn’t take the book away. I finished it in two days, only to find a cliffhanger awaiting. I read the whole series over the next few years of elementary school.
As I reflect on what I once thought was my mother’s pointless trick to get a young child to make the transition from picture books to chapter books, I now realize that this transformed me into the reader I am today. I switched from someone who looked for external color to someone who was excited to explore the internal colors that a text could offer. Reading gave me a chance to not just see color, but it prompted me to create a technicolor world in my imagination that just happened to involve the setting, characters, and theme of what I was reading. Even today, I still find texts with strong imagery the most interesting. While my imaginative process may have strayed away from the rainbows and fairies, my love for taking a story and letting it play vividly in my head has and will continue to influence the way I read throughout all my present and future English classes.
I really loved the short story that you used to demonstrate how you have grown as a reader! I definitely agree that many little kids start out reading simply for the pictures or the pretty colors they see in books, however it is extremely important that they come to understand how reading is so much more special and important than that. I loved when you said, “I switched from someone who looked for external color to someone who was excited to explore the internal colors that a text could offer. Reading gave me a chance to not just see color, but it prompted me to create a technicolor world in my imagination…”. The symbol of “color” that you created worked great for your narrative. By the way, I also read quite a few of the books in the Rainbow Magic Fairies series when I was little!
I loved your connection to judging books by their covers, because as much as I would not like to admit it, I did the same. I was also an avid Rainbow Magic Fairies reader, but I had never thought of the series in the same way you did; it’s amazing how such a simple transition from picture books to chapter books could transform your entire perception on the concept of imagination and color within texts. This was beautifully written and super relatable, as I had gone through a pretty similar experience with my transition as well. Great work!
This narrative took a super interesting and unique angle. I can definitely see how the Rainbow Magic Fairies, with all of their simple but vivid imagery, would be a good introduction into chapter books after transitioning from picture books. I relate to what you said about being talked into reading a book by your mom and loving it in the end – although I loved reading even as a young child, the Harry Potter books really intimidated me at age 7, but after my mom talked me into starting the first one, I was hooked for years. The influence of a “reading mentor” doesn’t always seem positive at first, but I am grateful for how much the adults in my life encouraged me to read. Also, I appreciate how you kept a continuous theme throughout your narrative, circling back to the “colorful” idea you introduced at the beginning.
Macy! – Reading your blog just unlocked a completely forgotten memory of mine. Like you, one of the first chapter books I read was part of the Rainbow Magic Fairies series. While reading about your encounter my initial reaction was complete surprise followed by nostalgia. I completely forgot about this book series, and my reaction reminded me of one of the main reasons I love reading. Every book not only has its own story but creates one with the reader. Back at that age, reading did not carry any burdens. We could read purely for enjoyment; No book logs, no analytical essays, no frustrating hunts for the life-changing theme that was potentially evident. I fell out of love with reading through these things, but I am glad to say I rediscovered my passion very recently. I enjoyed hearing about how you started transforming your love for vibrant external colors into a search for the internal colors of a book. I feel like that type of transformation is present within all of us as we grow. Thanks for sharing your journey, I enjoyed reading about it!