One child story that began my love of reading was Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss has not only created imaginative rhyming children stories, but has taught me important morals to live by. I also give credit to my grandmother because she showed me you can have fun reading, something I thought was impossible.
When I was younger, I used to spend a week every summer in Mount Airy, North Carolina with my grandparents. My grandmother’s favorite thing in the world was to listen to her grandchildren tell her a story. One of the only, and my favorite, children’s stories in their house was Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. One early morning, before any of my sisters woke up, my grandmother asked me to read her a story. I read Green Eggs and Ham to my grandmother and she was fascinated how well I was able to read at such a young age. In fact, she was so inspired; we created our own green eggs and ham. My grandmother is the best cook in a 50-mile radius, every day her neighbors come to her begging for some of her homemade peach cobbler. Needless to say more, she can easily make country ham better than the local restaurants. While the pan was heating, she told me to fetch some markers and she will get eggs for me to color. When I returned with the supplies, she had three blindingly white eggs sitting on my grandparent’s wooden kitchen counter waiting to be decorated. I began my journey to color the eggs. I have to admit, at that age I was not very careful so most of my eggs cracked when I first applied any pressure of the tip from my felt marker. After many failed attempts, I successfully transformed the plain, ordinary eggs into a bright grassy green. My grandmother broke the yolk out of its shell. She allowed the puddle of limp egg yolk to simmer in the now scorching iron pan. The eggs were making a crackling sound. I honestly thought there was a neighbor outside knocking on the door. I do not remember exactly when she put the ham on the stove but when I got my plate of green eggs, there was ham. The smell was amazing, but the food was better. I did not even wait for the rest of my family to wake up before I started eating. My mother and my sister, Jami, did wake up as I was finishing my breakfast. They were surprised when greeted with sizzling plates of green eggs and ham. They happily took the plates and ate their breakfast as fast as I ate mine. The green eggs were incredible, just like they are described in the story.
I enjoy the story Green Eggs and Ham not only because I had that one remarkable morning, but because I admire how Dr. Seuss is able to make the reader, no matter what age, connect with the character Sam-I-Am. Sam-I-Am is a cheerful character that’s only wish is to show a grumpy old man something to smile about. One of many morals in Green Eggs and Ham is to not judge something because of what it looks like. For example: do not judge a book by its cover, but this moral can relate to everything. Books with fancy covers mean nothing. The books with inspiring words that come together to create a divine pieces of literature, will create magic; regardless what it looks like. Another moral is trying everything at least once before you classify it as revolting. The grumpy man was never going to try green eggs and ham: “I do not like them, Sam-I-Am” (Seuss 12). Once the man finally decided to just try green eggs and ham, with the only intention of having Sam-I-Am quit asking, he realized Sam-I-Am was right, Green eggs and ham are delicious: “I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-Am” (62).
When I look at any book I am always taken back to the kitchen where my love of reading began. I’ll always remember how proud I was the moment I finally colored my eggs green. I’ll always be thankful of my grandmother, not only for being my grandmother, but helping me realize how words on a page can turn into something wonderful. I am who I am because of Green Eggs and Ham and the one indescribable day I shared with someone so close to my heart.