What was the first book you ever read?

Tip and Mitten was the first book I remember reading. It was about a dog and cat. I remember my older brother introducing me to “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” short stories when I was in grade school and that started my life long love of books.

The first book I can remember reading was “The Indian in the Cupboard”. I know I read other books before I got to that point, but I don’t remember any of them.

The very first book I remember reading was The Digging-est Dog. The book was written way before I was even born, but it used to be one of my absolute favorites as a little kid.

“Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss. I remember it well and had the same kinds of feelings that you describe @muppetish .
It was a library book. I hadn’t yet heard the story. I sat on the sofa in my living room, and page after page, I could sound out and read the words. When I got to the end I was thrilled! I remember going to the kitchen to tell my mom. I figured that if I could read, I could do anything!
I bought that book for my self after I became an adult, just because.

“Papering & Painting”—The essential guide to home decoration—Just finished it 10 minutes ago. ;)

It was most likely a children’s Bible.

Earliest memories of reading is more than welcome for this post :) I know not everyone can remember so far back (or even thought to keep track of this sort of thing.)

@wilma I love when people go back and read books they read when they were kids. I took a children’s literature course a couple years ago, and the biggest kick most of the students got was revisiting old favourites.

War and Peace. I was three, so it took me a very long time to get through it.

Seriously, it was something about animals, but I don’t remember the details or how old I was.

“The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf. It’s the story about a gentle bull who refuses to fight in the bull-ring. I read this great book when I was about 5 or 6, and it’s one of the reasons why I am such a staunch supporter of animal rights and an opponent of cruel bull-fighting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Ferdinand

Green Eggs and Ham.

I think Tootle was the very first, but it was either that or Scuffy the Tug Boat. Both are Gertrude Crampton books for the 40s.

My first real full length book was; On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was seven and my Mother brought it back from the library for me. I know that I had read plenty of books before then, but even then I did not consider any of them to be real books. Golden books and school primers did not count for me.

When I was little, reading chapter books vs. reading picture books was a big deal. If you could read a chapter book, it meant you had arrived. The first “big” book I read was Little House on the Prairie.

@Haleth exactly, and why my mom didn’t start me at the beginning of the series I have no idea. I remember feeling very grown up marking my place and was excited that I could comprehend what I was reading. The absence of a picture on every page was a big deal for me. I felt more confident in myself because of it.

@MRSHINYSHOES There was a part of me that had to cheer when I heard the news that in Northern Spain a bull jumped from the ring into the crowd gathered to watch him be killed. Yes, 40 people were injured, but none were killed, and they had come there expecting the bull to die for their viewing pleasure.

@Haleth Unfortunately, literacy was not the most cherished of fundamental abilities at the primary school I attended. Very few students in my classes enjoyed reading at all. I wish it had meant the world to everyone. Graduating to “big kid” books was a big deal to me though, much as you said :) It was a rite of passage. The first chapter book I read was Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar and the first classic I read was The Odyssey in sixth grade. I’ve yet to read Little House but I’ll get to it yet!

The first one I remember is The Little Engine That Could

I remeber the first chapter book I ever read and that was a Goosebumps book about a summer camp witha secret. I read a lot of those Little Golden Books, too.

Cat in the Hat

As far as I can remember, I think Cinderella was the first book I ever read with its pretty picture. I was in awe of myself. I could read! I felt all grown up at once. :)

Maybe Cinderella. I was so young that I recall the pictures seemed to light up and almost become 3D in my mind’s eye. So I got it on Ebay and it wasn’t the same. LOL Then I became devoted to the Nancy Drew Mysteries and read over six of them.

I don’t remember the first one I read on my own. Mom and I used to go to the library every week, so there were tons of books. I do recall reading Stuart Little for the first time. My parents were having the living room painted, and I’d come home from school and crawl under the sheets that covered the furniture and read it. Every time I smell fresh paint, I’m transported back to the Little’s house.

@Trillian and @Haleth The 1st in the series was Little House in the Big Woods.

@Pied_Pfeffer Yes I know. I have the series on a shelf in the spare room. I re-read it about nce a year.

@Pied_Pfeffer My mother also has fond memories of E.B. White :) Her first book was Charlotte’s Web. She’s seen all the film versions of it since then and was so proud of me when I read it for the first time. I haven’t read Stuart Little though. I’ll add it to my ever-growing reading list.

@Pied_Pfeffer I loved Little House in the Big Woods, too.

@muppetish One of my favorite things about Wayside school was the elevators that only went in one direction… so they could only use them once. And the cafeteria lady who cooked worse and worse food the more meals she made. I got a kick out of that stuff!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?. I read it when i was three years old.