As a GenXer in the 1980s, I grew up as a latch-key kid. TV, movies, and video games vied for my siblings and my attention as we ate junk food. Yet, I became a reader at an early age, majored in English post-high school, and became a teacher and writer. Something about my childhood encouraged me to become a life-long reader. What was it?

SCAFFOLDS: A CHILDHOOD MEMOIR OF BOOKS is about the meaningful books I read when I was a kid and teenager. But the key to creating a life-long reader isn