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| {My first favorite book} |
Since forever, I've loved books.
The way they smell.
All their different covers.
The way the library always wrapped them in plastic with yellowed scotch tape.
During my first love affair with reading,
I took a trip down a sunny, dirt road,
deep in bear country.
I journeyed with Little Critter.
I lived in a hollow tree with Nicholas.
I was in on the trick with Miss Nelson.
I was friends with Frog and Toad.
I learned that if you can bake strawberry tarts
like Amelia Bedelia,
no one cares if you make a mess.
Then came the chapter books.
The Babysitter's Club.
Stacy and Mary Ann and Dawn
and Claudia and Kristy.
Even Logan and sometimes Karen.
Ramona got egg in her hair.
Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade.
Roald Dahl and The Witches.
Judy Blume and Superfudge.
Dear Mr. Henshaw.
R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike (my goth phase)
For a high school paper, I read Catcher in the Rye
and realized the role symbolism plays in stories.
When I declared an English major at Kent State,
I was thinking about that paper and how it was fun to figure out the puzzles writers give us.
And how stories we read can become our memories.
Jane and I read together - books, magazines, whatever is there.
They say it's a good thing to do for your baby; I won't argue.
She has a bookshelf full of stories and I wonder which ones she'll remember, many years from now.
All the wonderful little worlds she can open up and turn, page by page.
what about Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Mousekin, and The Little Prince? Have you read those when you were little? I didn't realize that Sylvester and the Magic Pebble was banned In parts of the United States. the Little Prince by Exupéry is an exquisite read, though I would not try reading it to a child younger than four ( Yonah was a trooper and stayed with me for about the first 21 pages). I enjoyed this post, it jogged my memory and had me combing my memory for favorites. I think more important than the books we read to our children, is the intimate backdrop for our imaginations to wander off together, the gift of dreams and the love of words we take part in passing down...
ReplyDeletePs. I ADORE Richard Scarry! my mother bought me those Richard Scarry paper doll books instead of Barbies...haha
ReplyDeleteAgreed; he is classic. I had fun thinking of these old books, too. It makes me want to track down all my old favorites.
DeleteI am a Bunny, my Name is Nicholas-best.book.ever. Also loved the Berenstain Bears, Beatrix Potter, LOVED Charlotte's Web and all Little Golden Books. The Babysitter's Club was also a fave-and loved Sweet Valley High. This post makes me want to read.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Shel Silverstein. And Dr. Suess. And "The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash."
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