"I read and read and read," he commented to
SAAS. "When I ran out of books for boys I read the girls' books.... Some days, I'd borrow three titles (the maximum allowed) from the town library, read them, and get them back to the library by five o'clock, in time to exchange them for three more before the library shut. I'd become a speed reader without really trying!" Marsden also found another pastime that was to help him with his later writing. "My favourite game was to draw a town layout on the driveway with chalk and use little model cars to bring the town to life. Perhaps that's how I first became used to creating and living in imaginary worlds."
Marsden became such a bookhound that by the time he was in grade three, he had memorized The Children of Cherry Tree Farm. His teacher would use him when she wanted to take a break. "She'd have me stand up in front of the class and recite the next chapter to the other kids ... from memory. She'd go off to the staff room and leave me there. I loved it! Maybe that's where I got my first taste of the power of storytelling."
That school year was also a difficult one for Marsden.
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