About Ms. Brave

Ms. Brave

My mom taught me to read.

I don't remember how old I was when it happened, nor do I remember when I did not read; in a fuzzy way I seemed to just go from being "read to" to being "a reader." Some of my earliest memories are of sharing a chair with my mom as she read to me aloud. Each week she would take me to the public library where I found comfort in the organized bookshelves and the small couches, and in choosing my own stack of books...so grown up! I especially loved the little books that came on 45 records (we didn't have books on tape just yet!); I'd lie on the living room floor, following along with the words being read and turning the page each time I heard the "beep." Thumbelina was my favorite. As I got older, I looked forward to library day at school each week: signing my name on the little card at the back of the book and seeing who else had checked out that very copy of "Choose Your Own Adventure," or any of the Ramona Quimby series, or my favorite, All-of-a-Kind Family. 

It was these early experiences that led to a lifelong love of reading (my mom and I still talk about books) AND to the pursuit of a masters in Library Science many years ago. This is my twenty-second year in education: I've been a Basic Skills and Reading Recovery teacher in Tenafly, taught Kindergarten in an urban charter school in my hometown, 1st grade in a tony suburb of Houston, and 5th grade in northern Michigan where the kids went out to recess in snowsuits and boots...twice a day! I've learned from and enjoyed each of these roles, but I can say without a doubt that being a library media specialist is the BEST job in the school!