Reading  is cheating, is what I thought in first grade. Up to this point I’d pick a story by the pictures, trying to ignore the ugly choppy black marks at the bottom of every page. My Mom would glance at the picture to remind herself of the story then she’d recite it for me. She was a wonder; she knew hundreds of them.

In first grade I found out the marks were telling my Mom what to say, bossing her around and cheating. I  wanted nothing to do with that unethical behavior and I was very disappointed in my mother. Guess what; I was a slow reader.   nancymauerman.com

Tar Boy