Good Friday Morning! As I was preparing for this week's podcast and book sharing, first lines and first chapters came into focus for me. Now, I will admit that I have been known to encourage more than one student reader who is challenged to engage with a book to give the author twenty-five pages or so to reel them in. I am also here to tell you that for me the first line and then the first chapter of a book is crucial to bringing me along with the storyteller. So many books pass through my hands that if the firsts, both line, and chapter do not give me that feeling of needing to read more, I typically set the book aside and move on to a book that makes me feel that connection. Along with "don't judge a book by its cover," we in the "book business" have been told not to judge a book if the first chapter doesn't light a fire under us to commit. Yet, according to the Huffington Post, "all great authors know that a killer first line is almost more important than the first few pages." So today, with that in mind I thought I would share some first lines from great books and see if you recall the book and agree that it is exactly those starting words that drew you into the author's world.
Shall we start with a children's classic? We all remember wondering what was going to happen in this story when the author started with "Where's Papa going with that ax?" We were not able to put down this book with the opening line "There is no lake at Camp Green Lake." Then there is a favorite YA book that simply starts with "Once upon a time there was a pair of pants." How are you doing so far? Do you know these books by their first lines?
One of my all-time favorites and Snoopy's as well is "It was a dark and stormy night," the beginning of a classic children's science fiction story. Then there is the high seas adventure and historical fiction that starts with “Not every 13-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty.” And, of course, there are these dark tales written specifically for children with this warning “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.” Finally, who can forget our introduction into the world of magic and wizardry with this simple and compelling first line “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”
Have you guessed them all? Do you have your own favorite first lines? I would love for you to share them, to try and stump the expert as it were. Here is my challenge for the week, share your favorite first lines of your most unforgettable books with me. You can email me, record a short video especially if you want to read a whole first chapter but do not identify the book and author, let's see if the librarians can!
I would also like to share the first chapter of a book that I have read recently. The book by Padma Venkatraman is titled The Bridge Home and is the story of four children who find themselves living by courage, grit and the security that comes with finding a family, people in whom you can believe. Told in the form of a letter from Viji to her sister Rukku, the first chapter draws you into a vivid sometimes scary world in which Viji spins beautiful stories and she and her sister try to survive on the streets of Chennai India.