When I was eight years old, Mother told me to put my coat on because we were going to go someplace 1 Usually, that meant we were going to see someone important or2 I would at least get a new toy. I asked which one it would be that day, and she told me that I would be getting something3 than a toy. She said I would get "access to a world of toys."
But we did not 4 at any toy store. Nor did we finally see anyone we knew. 5, Mother 6 her car at Marcy Public Library. Mother led me directly to the reception desk. "I'd like to get my daughter a library card,” she told the man7 the desk. He asked her to fill out a form and smiled at me. "What kind of books do you like?" he asked. I was too shy to8 then. I simply smiled back and shrugged my shoulders. "Well, you'll figure it out 9," He said.
I do not remember what I10that first day, but I know that in the years that 11 I read everything I could find12 at that old library. I read through all the Nancy Drew books before advancing to Judy Blume, then the13 : Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Shakespeare. Then I read books on history, books of poetry, and books about art. The library opened up a world that I14 knew existed.
So Mother was15. Getting a library card was like getting access to a world of toys.
