*This post was sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central.     When I was growing up, I was a reluctant reader and refused to read unless I was required to do so for school assignments or homework.  This was very upsetting to my mother who had always been an avid reader and tried to instill a love of literature in us kids since we began our early learning.  She knew that once I realized how wonderful books were, it would spark a lifelong love of reading in me.     Finally, in fourth grade, a family friend gave me a box of old books that she had put away from when she was a young girl.  I decided to start reading them and I immediately fell in love with reading!  It was almost like a lightbulb went off over my head and I realized how wonderful it was to be transported into the worlds and adventures inside the books that I was reading.     Unfortunately, in … [Read more...]