Where do the months go? It is already September 6, and I need to wrap up our August comment contests, and announce September’s….
So, for August the Comment winners are Jessica Burchett and Michel Wehrey. They each won $25 gift certificates for the comments posted in August.
With the changing seasons, rabbit brush blooming, and kids getting back into the school habit, my thoughts of September are always a little bittersweet and nostalgic. In that frame of mind, our question for all of you this month is “What is your most fondly remembered book from childhood, and what do you remember about it?” If you are still in your childhood, just tell us about your favorite book so far. If you are in your second or third childhood… well feel free to enter a comment on a favorite from each of those periods!
I really have so many fondly remembered books; how to pick a favorite? I loved the Little House on the Prarie series, I loved my mom’s old Raggedy Ann storybook and another of her books about a giraffe racing a car with wonderful dramatic illustrations (that is probably a valuable one Mom!), and the book of poetry for children with the Calico Cat and the Gingham Dog poem, and Wynken Blynken and Nod… it is often tough to remember titles and authors, but I sure recognize them again when copies come through the store! Probably the one book that I carried around the most and nearly memorized was a fat Reader’s Digest compilation of Fairy Tales. These were the traditional versions, full of graphic and violent justice (remember the evil stepmother drug in the barrel with nails?). There was no doubt about whether good prevailed over evil in these pre-Disney stories. The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen was my all time favorite, and I read many other translations after the Reader’s Digest volume, but have never been able to stomach the calypso Disney version. While I can appreciate Disney’s exuberance and beautiful animation in other tales, this was not a story with a happy ending, and making it one is a complete travesty. What happened to those tough choices and lessons learned?
Okay, time to hear about your memories! Come browse the vintage children’s shelf if you need some help remembering!
Diane
My favorite childhood book, and the first book I remember reading on my own was Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards. It was the story of an orphan girl who finds a secret cottage in the woods that she makes her own. It was paperback with a white embossed cover with a hole cut in the center to show a color picture of a cottage. I remember reading the final pages on a car ride, straining to see the words in the gathering darkness.
I also remember another long car trip where my grandmother reading aloud to my sister and two cousins The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles also by Edwards. Even my grandfather, an avid baseball fan, turned down the Cubs to follow the story as she read. I can still hear her voice and the magic she spun as we traveled past the endless cornfields of Iowa.
The other childhood book that captured my imagination fully was Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. I loved the bold lettering that depicted Harriet’s journal entries. I loved that Harriet was so REAL. Someone who made mistakes and sometimes did bad things even when she was trying to be good…just like me. Harriet was the first of many characters who I wanted to be, a personality I wanted to try on as I was attempting to find my own.