And while the other kids moved up into the second reader and third reader, she stayed alone in Our Neighborhood. Always when it was her turn to read, her teacher had to help her with every single word.

But her teacher would move on to the next person. “Trisha, what are you looking at in that book” they’d say. But when Trisha looked at a page, all she saw were wiggling shapes, and when she tried to sound out words, the other kids laughed at her. They said, “Beh, beh…oy, boy, and luh, luh…ook, look.” The teacher smiled at them when they put all the sounds together and got a word right.

They were all holding Our Neighborhood, their fi rst reader, sounding out letters and words. In fi rst grade, Trisha sat in a circle with the other kids. “In fi rst grade, you’ll learn to read,” her brother said. The other kids would crowd around her and watch her do her magic with the crayons. Still, she loved being at school because she could draw. Each day she saw the kids in the fi rst grade across the hall reading, and before the year was over, some of the kids in her own class began to read. When she turned fi ve and went to kindergarten, most of all she hoped to read. And whenever she visited the family farm, her grandfather or grandmother read to her by the stone fi replace. Her redheaded brother brought his books home from school and shared them. Her schoolteacher mother read to her every night. Trisha, the littlest girl in the family, grew up loving books. The little girl answered, “Sweet!” Then all of the family said in a single voice, “Yes, and so is knowledge, but knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book!” The little girl knew that the promise to read was at last hers.

“Taste!” She dipped her fi nger into the honey and put it into her mouth. “I did this for your mother, your uncles, your older brother, and now you!” Then he handed the book to her. Falker The grandpa held the jar of honey so that all the family could see, then dipped a ladle into it and drizzled honey on the cover of a small book. Writing Matters - Text Binder: Texts: Thank You, Mr.

Thank you mr falker pages