My mother read a lot of books to me when I was younger. Some of these included Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik, a children’s book about the adventures of a personified bear, and Happy to be Nappy by bell hooks, a story meant to uplift the self-esteem of young African American girls by praising their natural hair, which is often criticized by others. My first favorite book that she read to me was Sam’s Sandwich by David Pelham.

My mother is an artist and she really loved the illustrations in the book, so I think she wanted to share that with me. The book itself was shaped like a sandwich. All the pages are brightly colored and readers could unfold little flaps and reveal Sam’s secret additions to the sandwich his sister, Samantha, was making. The story rhymed too, so it was fun to hear my mother read it aloud to me. Every time my mother would reveal an ingredient, which was always an insect or some other outside creature, I would giggle in mild disgust. We read the book over and over again, and I enjoyed it, pretending I did not know what Sam was hiding in between the lettuce, tomatoes, and watercress, but little did his sister know she was about to get some unconventional forms of protein. At the end of the book, Samantha offers Sam some of the sandwich, but he kindly declines. Looking back, the story has greatly influenced my life, enabling me to eat bugs regularly without blinking an eye. Thanks, mom.

I have such fond memories reading with my parents. Not only did it begin my love of learning and reading, but it also created an incredible bond between my mother and me.