Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Hello...I am Cece Chatman.  I am a graduate student at NCSU in elementary math education. I am also participating in a children's literature course.  The one book that created a lasting impression on me in my youth (around age 3) is Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears  retold by Verna Aardema. It was one of the books that my mother read to me each time we visited our local library in Wilson NC. which was 4-5 times a week! I was  very curious and  inquisitive back then. My mother would go to the bean bag chair next to the window, pull me in her lap, and weave the tale about the mischievous little mosquito. It was also one of the first books I saw with a hint of another world that really existed (Africa). My world at that time existed of  small, identical wooden houses lined along both sides of an unpaved road. The same scenery each day almost devoid of  bold colors outside an occasional flower or weed. When my mom opened the book for the first time, I kept touching the pages. The color and contrasts were very bright. I also loved that I saw someone who had skin like mine. I loved looking at the illustrations so much that  I can still visualize the cover of the book at random. I think I love to read even now because my mother loved to read and she was my first teacher of reading. I love children's books because they can capture the  hearts and minds  of children and adults alike. My mother died when I was 11 years old. My memories of our trips to the library  are precious to me. Therefore, this book will always be a part of my history and soon it will be a part of  my daughter's  history as well just as it was for my  two sons who are now 12 and 14.