Where can a child find one-on-one time with a book in a busy household?

“Reading is my everything because I always had my head in a book,” recalls children’s author Leetress M. Burris. “I tell students that my best place for reading was in the bathroom. I had books all over the bathroom, maybe on the bathtub ledge or in the cabinet under the sink because that was the quietest place, and nobody would bother me.”

Burris comes to East Shore Area Library at 11:00 a.m. February 25 for a Black History Month author visit, where she will share activities and read her book I Am Me! After a stroke in 2018 led to her retirement from teaching elementary-age children, she discovered her passion for writing books filled with the uplifting messages she had always shared in the classroom.

Her love of reading originated with the books she brought home from the library, where her mother worked. Today, she enjoys reading inspirational, African American History, and light romance books, and she still has a soft spot for children’s literature.

“I like any kids’ book that has a very positive message,” she said. “My great-niece is in first grade, and not long ago, she asked, ‘Aunt Leelee, have you heard of the Junie B. Jones books?’ I said, ‘I love those!’ She’s going to take me back to get out my Junie B. Jones books. We’ll share them.”

What are you reading? I read a little bit of everything. I read the devotionals. I like light romance, such as those by Diana Palmer. I read Dr. Myles Munroe and Pastor Tony Evans, to name a few. I love inspirational things and self-help — anything that will keep me going and keep me uplifted. I like books. I like the smell of books. I like to dogear my pages. If something is profound, I highlight it.

What can children gain from reading books? I sincerely believe readers are leaders. When I do presentations, I tell children I have been everywhere through the pages of a book. I have been to space. I don’t actually need to get in a spaceship to go there. I can read about it. Use your imagination, and your mind transports you to that place. You can actually visualize it yourself. Visualization plays a big role in the books I write because I want the children to imagine themselves there.

Do you have a favorite author? I have many favorite authors but one of the greatest authors I love is Louisa May Alcott. I fell in love with ‘Little Women.’ I found pieces of myself in a couple of the characters. The book was a gift of reading. That’s how I would describe reading, period. Reading is a gift. I never know what will inspire me or give me an “aha” moment until I open or unwrap the pages of a book.