by Cindy R. Williams
A new year begins and we tend to reminisce right? My reminiscing this year went clear back to my childhood and the magical times when my mother would lay a blanket down on the lush green grass in the backyard in the middle of the day and read to my sister and I. She read most of the Dr. Seuss books which we soon had memorized then went on to Wizard of Oz, Shadow Castle, Mary Poppins, Pippi Longstockings and many more. When summers ended, she spread the blanket out on the front room carpet and continued the magical "quiet reading" time.
Thanks to Mom, I learned to love books and stories. Whenever time permitted in Jr. and Sr. High, I snuggled in the stuffed rocking chair reading the entire Wizard of Oz series, all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys and all the Grimm's Fairy Tales and Hans Christian Andersen Tales I could get my hands on.
To this day, I love to curl up on a rocking chair or on a cuddly feather bed and read fairy tales and fantasies.
Thank you Mom for my love of magical stories. The magical world is just a book away.
What are your childhood stories and books and memories?
Dr. Seuss (Green Eggs and Ham, poor mom, I think she had that one memorized), Shel Silverstein, Narnia, The Giving Tree, Goodnight Moon, the Serendipity picture books, The Velveteen Rabbit. I still have The Velveteen Rabbit in a safe place, it's a very old copy. Those were all my magical childhood favorites. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mom read to me as a kid. My favorite book was THE BLUE NOSED WITCH. It was a long time after I was in school before my reading level was high enough to read my preschool favorite. I had a very active imagination as a kid and being read to helped develop my mind as a whole and my imagination in particular.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately memories of my childhood aren't pleasant, and they most certainly didn't contain reading. But because of the way I grew up, I made a point, probably over made the point of reading to my boys every night. I love books. Dr. Seuss was my favorite in our library, I think. Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Are You My Mother. Hop on Pop. They made me laugh, and they made my boys laugh. And when they were old enough, my sons were the ones reading to me.
ReplyDeleteI wanted my sons to have the same love of reading I do, and you know what? I keep finding out you can't have everything you want. LOL. They are intelligent, and well adjusted, and now they're both happily married. I'll settle for that.
Well my mom and dad were big readers. But my mom was an English major wannabe and dad a historian wannabe. So I grew up with bedtime stories of real battles, kings and queens, and Greek mythology. Loved then, love it now.
ReplyDeleteAs an older kid I remember the first book I could not put down was, The Secret Garden. Then I love the V.C. Andrews books (I look at those now and think "hummm".
ReplyDeleteI love how my kids are in bed on time and ready to listen to me read to them Trixie Belden books. Then my older girl sits up at the nightlight to read ahead. (read most of the Nancy Drew books also)
It took quite a few books to find a series they would both listen to (I love reading out loud to them). and sad to say neither kid likes Harry Potter :-/
Thanks, Cindy, for reminding me how grateful I am to those authors whose books were loved companions during childhood.
ReplyDeleteI too loved Hans Christen Anderson and Grimm's Fairy Tales. As a very young child I loved Mother Goose nursery rhymes. Later I read anything and everything that had to do with horses and ponies. Misty of Chincoteague, The Black Stallion, anything by James Herriot ( I really wanted to be a veterinarian!).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memories, Cindy!
hugs~
Kristin, Susan, Debra, Teri, Leesa, Rene & Kari . . . thank you so much for sharing your memories and how important books have been to your life, then and now. They are magic!
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