When did you first learn to read?

[chardman]

My Grandmother was a teacher, and had me reading at about 3 or 4. Was reading my Dad's old SF pulps at 6, and moved on to adult novels by 8. In 3rd grade, I did a book report on Ayn Rand's post-apocalyptic novella "Anthem". My teacher didn't believe I'd actually read it, and initially gave me an "F". Thankfully, my Grandmother taught at that same school, and she knew I'd read it, and intervened on my behalf.

 

[Jadzia]

Pssssst. It's a joke.

Psssst. I was making humour too.

Then you have failed.

I'm beginning to think so too.

 

[indranee]

I've heard that I was an early reader -- around 2.5 years.

 

[Holdfast]

Mum and dad taught me to read when I was about 2 or 3 I think. I'm really grateful to them; by the time I started school I could already read at a pretty high level and it made schoolwork so much easier.

I think my very first book was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"...

Weirdly enough this was one of my earliest books too. I loved it. I had loads of the ladybird series of books too.

I had a horrible time learning to tell time (back in the days when time was only analogue) -it was just so weird to me.

Me too. I remember trying to learn how to read the time when I was about 5 I guess and really REALLY struggled. Took me a while to figure it out!

Not as long as it took Monica though (FF to 6:45 and watch the next chunk )

 

[Saumer]

I learned to read at about 3, definitely before I went to school. Because my mum had to work, my nana taught me while she was taking care of me.

 

[DanTheGrey]

According to my parents I was about 3/3.5 years old when I started to be able to read on my own. I could do single words without comprehension before then, but I could actually make sense of sentences by that age.

 

[Amaris]

My favorite books were the Bunnicula series of mystery books. They were about a cat named Chester and a dog named Harold, who are suspicious (mainly Chester) of a white rabbit the family brings home and named "Bunnicula". Anyone else remember those?


J.

 

[Lord Garth]

I remember reading my first book completely on my own when I was 6. It was The Cat in the Hat. I probably started learning how to read -- with help -- before that, but I can't remember when.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

In 3rd grade, I did a book report on Ayn Rand

Don't take this the wrong way, but . The thought of third graders reading Ayn Rand is...well, I'm not sure what it is.

My grandmother taught me to read when I was 2. She took me along grocery shopping and I learned by reading the names off the shelves. Then she put it into practice by taking me to Dairy Queen.

 

[Kestra]

My favorite books were the Bunnicula series of mystery books. They were about a cat named Chester and a dog named Harold, who are suspicious (mainly Chester) of a white rabbit the family brings home and named "Bunnicula". Anyone else remember those?


J.

Yes! My brother used to read those to me. Anytime we see a white rabbit my siblings and I refer to it as "Bunnicula".

 

[TGTheodore]

I was reading at three. And loved reading until Junior High when they TOLD me what to read.

Problem with authority here.

--Ted

 

[ITL]

I can't remember exactly when I started reading, but I do remember that me and my sister used to read books at school like there was no tomorrow. Both of us were reading at a level we shouldn't have been at for a couple of years, apparently.

I still read a lot, now - and my sister? She's had a couple of kid's fantasy books published. So it's safe to say she's still in love with the written word.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I can't remember exactly when I started reading, but I do remember that me and my sister used to read books at school like there was no tomorrow. Both of us were reading at a level we shouldn't have been at for a couple of years, apparently.

Weird thing, although I always struggled with reading, writing and maths at primary, I nearly always scored a couple of years ahead of my age on the reading/vocabulary/spelling tests... even though I always spelt they as thay

 

[RJDiogenes]

I was reading long before Kindgergarten; I learned mostly from Fantastic Four and Magnus, Robot Fighter, as well as the assortment of children's books that my mother got me (Arty The Smarty and Big Max ). In Grade School, I was reading everything from kids' SF (The Wonderful Flight To The Mushroom Planet) to what we used to call "juvies" (Islands In The Sky and the Mike M.A.R.S. books) to adult SF like Childhood's End and Ringworld. I kinda like reading.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I was reading at three. And loved reading until Junior High when they TOLD me what to read.

Problem with authority here.

--Ted

I actually had no problem reading books I was told to read during secondary school (needs must, I suppose), but I had a problem reading books I wanted to read, as I'd lost faith in the English language and for a while I was speaking better German (i.e. I was doing better in German class). Somehow, I regained that love of books towards the end, to the extent that in my last school year I had only signed up for two school science subjects but I insisted that I join the most senior English Literature class (even though it would have give me more work to do that year), and by Uni, I made a conscious decision to start reading all the books I felt needed reading.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

Probably around 3. By fourth grade I was reading at an adult level, but I totally sucked at math. Still do. That's what calculators are for, I guess.

 

[Trippy]

I read my first book before kindegarten, which was Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls (I got it for Christmas just after I'd turned 4). The main character was a little girl named Laura (my name) so I had to read it!

I remember my librarian in the children's section always giving me more and more books...I had read through the (almost) entire children's section when I was 10! (given I lived in a small town with a pretty small library). I got my adult's library card then and my first book I took out was Carrie by Stephen King



Oh, and I remember when I got to kindegarten later that year (I was still 4) my teacher was pissed that I could read already! I helped the other kids in class

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I read my first book before kindegarten, which was Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls (I got it for Christmas just after I'd turned 4). The main character was a little girl named Laura (my name) so I had to read it!

I remember my librarian in the children's section always giving me more and more books...I had read through the (almost) entire children's section when I was 10! (given I lived in a small town with a pretty small library). I got my adult's library card then and my first book I took out was Carrie by Stephen King

I started reading Carrie when I was 11, my teacher stopped me reading it a couple of chapters in saying he thought it was too "adult", and to this day it's still on my shelf at home unread...

 

[Michael Chris]

Definitely before I can remember (most likely since my childhood memories are mostly gone)! Apparently I started to read at about age three. I started to read books when I was five, and I could read at about a middle school level when I was six.

 

[Lindley]

My favorite books were the Bunnicula series of mystery books. They were about a cat named Chester and a dog named Harold, who are suspicious (mainly Chester) of a white rabbit the family brings home and named "Bunnicula". Anyone else remember those?


J.

I read some of those. Don't really many details, though. I do remember being amused when they try to kill the bunny by driving a steak through its heart.