My Own Lola Basyang

My Own Lola Basyang

As I was thinking of the next SCBWI Booktalk and the Lola Basyang topic I realized that none of my grandmothers ever sat me on their laps to read to me. My maternal grandmother, a track and field champion in her region and an English teacher opened her library for myself and my sister but never actually read books to us. She let us explore them on our own. My great grandmother, a student of the Thomasites, likewise just kept handing us books and magazines to read. And my paternal grandparents just plied us with food and drink so we would be comfortable as we read.

My Lola Basyang, the older person who read to me in bed, on the floor, at the table was my sister, Sylvia. Sylvia is one year older than me. To help her learn to read, my mother encouraged her to read to her younger sister. And so there are photographs of us, two little girls, seated on the floor of our apartment, the older, skinnier one pointing out the words and pictures to the younger, plumper one. The first book we actually finished was "Puff The Magic Dragon." I remember it well - a big orange book with a green puff on the cover, and a red- shirted Jacky Paper riding on the dragon. To this date, I can remember every single page of that book and I can recall my sister, slowly spelling out the words and attempting to teach me to read.

To this date, my sister and I still share books. The closeness engendered by "Puff The Magic Dragon" and later, "Rhino the Rhinocerus" remains, as does the love for the books.

Nikki Garde-Torres