Spring Reading

Growing up in Los Angeles, you never really get a chance to appreciate, let alone notice, the change in seasons. As a kid, the only indications that I had that spring had finally come was our government-mandated spring break and the dreaded, statewide Stanford 9 tests. Flowers blooming, icy rivers melting, and the long-awaited goodbye to the winter doldrums and hello to sunshine were unknown to me.

So, I did what I usually do, and sought answers in books. The first time I read Rabbit Hill was in Mrs. Polep's fourth grade class. Talking animals, especially rabbits, have never really been my thing and I can honestly say, had I not been a nerd and chosen the desk right smack in front of the classroom bookshelf, I probably would never have noticed the book. Ever since fourth grade, though, I have read Rabbit Hill every spring ( on an almost consistent, yearly basis) to remind myself that spring has come and that I should be joyful.

I know it's a children's book, but that shouldn't stop you from reading it. It's the typical story of nature vs. man, as a neighborhood of small critters, rodents, and animals team together to get rid of the newest tenant who moves to Rabbit Hill.

I'm curious if anyone else has favorite spring reading that they turn to time and again to read, or, if there is a particular book that they feel evokes the spirit of spring like no other.

To be honest, I don't like spring. The main reason is because, after suffering through a cold and dreary winter, I want respite-- sun and warmth. And yet, spring is never as warm as I'd like it to be, not to mention far wetter than I remember each year. Spring is merely another blockade to summer that I must wait out. This, of course, explains why I need motivational reading, such as Rabbit Hill, to get me through March, April, and May.