Adventures of A True Reader

Kathina loved books. At three years of age, she read her first book aloud to her mother. It was The Little Engine That Could. By five, she was reading chapter books. When she was seven years old, her mother walked with her to the local library in the little town where they had finally settled down: Mother, Papa, Baby Sister, and herself. That memorable day as they walked, Mother explained that a library was a house of books, a special place for readers.

Kathina nodded her understanding and asked, “What’s going to happen there?”

Mother replied, “You are going to get your own library card which means you’ll be able to check out books for yourself and bring those books home to read.”

Kathina nodded vigorously, making her blond braids bounce, and grinned with delight.

Ms. Librarian greeted them kindly, “How may I help you?”

Mother nodded at Kathina encouraging her to answer.

“I’m here to get my very own library card,” she said proudly, as her blue eyes sparkled.

 Ms. Librarian smiled, “And so you shall. You may call me Ms. Librarian.”

After the formalities were finished and her library card was safely tucked into the spacious book bag Mother had bought her for this occasion, Kathina began to explore the shelves. As she came across a book that interested her, she placed it on one of the little tables. Her stack grew. When she had ten books stacked on that little table, she turned to Ms. Librarian who had been having a quiet conversation with Mother and inquired politely, “How many may I check out?”

Ms. Librarian saw her stack and asked Mother, “Will she carry these books home herself?”

Mother answered, “Certainly, in her book bag.”

Ms. Librarian addressed Kathina, “Let’s start with three today.”

Kathina nodded and began to read a bit from each book in her stack. Mother and Ms. Librarian moved away from the table and continued their quiet conversation by Ms. Librarian’s desk. When Kathina had chosen three books, she stood up and carried them to Ms. Librarian’s desk and waited with her library card in hand. Her first three books were Black Beauty because she loved horses, a Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear because it was sure to amuse her, and a collection of fairy tales entitled The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang because she loved magical stories. Mother had read aloud to her since she was a baby, so she was already steeped in the magic stories can bring.  

Ms. Librarian looked at Mother who answered the unasked question, “Whatever she chooses, you can be sure she can and will read it.”

Check out finished, Kathina tucked the books and her precious library card into her book bag and proudly slung it over her small shoulder without flinching at the weight.

Mother asked, “Shall we get an ice cream before heading home?”

Kathina thought about that and then replied, “Thank you, Mother, but can we save that for another time? I really want to get home and start Black Beauty.”

“Of course, I understand, and it’s a great story that shouldn’t be kept waiting.”

A couple of years passed with Kathina making weekly trips on Saturdays to the library. She read copiously and went on many adventures through her reading. She flew with Peter pan to Never Land, sailed the seas with Jim Hawkins to Treasure Island, and accompanied Dorothy and Toto on the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City in Oz.

When she was nine, she had read nearly every book in the section of the library reserved for children. She and Ms. Librarian had become reading friends. One day Kathina asked Ms. Librarian, “What’s going to happen when I can’t find anything new to read in this part of the library?

Ms. Librarian pursed her lips, thought, and then replied, “One choice would be to start rereading your favorites.”

“But I will want something new, books to take me on new adventures.”

“There is one other special possibility for you.”

Kathina’s bright blue eyes opened wide and she waited expectantly.

“When the day comes that there is nothing new in this section for you to read, I will take you to a special part of the library not open to the public,” Ms. Librarian said in hushed tones continuing, “Only True Readers brought by a librarian can enter. I know you are a True Reader. You have shown me that.”

When Kathina was twelve, that day finally came.

Ms. Librarian escorted Kathina through a door marked “For Librarians Only.” Once inside, they were in a room with very old books. They smelled old and alluring.

“You may have an hour to explore in here. Being a True Reader, I know you will handle the books very carefully. You can only read these books in here at one of the reading stations.” She waved her hand to small carrel desks squeezed along one wall flanked by bookshelves and continued, “I will return in an hour. Do you have a watch?”

Kathina pushed up a sleeve to show her watch.

“Set your watch to the same time as mine,” Ms. Librarian instructed revealing her watch.

Kathina did so.

“See you in an hour. Let your imagination soar.” Ms. Librarian turned around and left the room.

Kathina began exploring. Within a very few minutes, she started to pull a leather-bound copy of a book by an author unknown to her off its shelf, and suddenly, the shelf itself swung back to reveal an ornate door that had been hidden. Being ever so curious, she turned the doorknob and entered another room which was shining with light from a giant quartz crystal displayed in the middle of the room.

The crystal gave off not only beautiful light but energy that throbbed with a steady, vibrating pulse filling her with the promise of knowledge and adventure such as she had only experienced before in reading. All around the room were shiny silver bookshelves housing what looked like hundreds of books.

She began to walk about stopping occasionally to focus on a particular book that resonated with her innate curiosity and powerful imagination. At one such stopping place, she checked her watch and was surprised to see she only had half an hour left in the hour granted her. She had been so engaged with this magical room that she hadn’t realized how much time had already passed. She thought she had only been in the presence of the crystal and its books for a few minutes. She knew she couldn’t spend another second wandering and perusing. Without looking, she plucked the nearest book she could reach easily off its shelf and stared at the title, Endless Adventure by Arthur La Ventura. Opening the book, she was at once whisked away as she read the opening sentence.

“In the long-ago days, there lived a weaver who wove magical carpets that had the power to take anyone to places they had only ever dreamed existed.”

Before she could read any further, she found herself sitting on a magnificent hand-woven carpet. The walls around her disappeared and she was flying over desert lands populated only by tall carved spires sticking up out of the sand reaching toward the heavens through which she now flew. She couldn’t help but wonder what lay beneath the sand, the unseen part of the spires she was seeing. No sooner had that wonderment formed in her mind than a message emblazoned itself in her mind: Nothing is what it seems. She gulped, blinked rapidly, and abruptly found herself back in the Crystal Room holding the book Endless Adventure in her hands. Her flight was a memory as if a dream; yet she knew it had been real in its own way.

She looked at her watch. Three minutes until the hour was up. She quickly shelved Endless Adventure noting its location in the room in her mind. She turned around and left the Crystal Room through the door by which she had entered. Once in the outer room, she shoved the book that opened the door to the Crystal Room back into place.

No sooner had she done that, when Ms. Librarian entered the outer room. She smiled at Kathina and said, “Time’s up. Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Oh yes,” Kathina answered, “thank you. I hope I may come again.”

“You may. You are a True Reader. Just remember: Nothing is what it seems.”

“I will, replied Kathina seriously.”

Ms. Librarian took her hand and escorted her back to the public section of the library.

Many adventures and much knowledge awaited her in future visits to the Crystal Room. what these would be, only time would reveal. For Kathina, the promise of continued admittance to the Crystal Room as a True Reader was enough for now.