6.10.09

My favorite book

Because I can't not participate along with Cheryl:

When I was a child, my favorite book was ... because....

Here's the truth. We didn't have children's books in our house growing up. My sister and I were just talking about this while making dinner a few nights ago. Our first books were Carrie, Cujo, and The Color Purple. Our mom actually went page-by-page through The Color Purple and marked out the words or paragraphs she thought we were too young to read. You can imagine how drastically the story changed when we read it as teenagers.

The "book" that I cherished and read cover-to-cover more times than anyone count was The Children's Encyclopedia of Fiction. It was a big purple hardcover book full of stories from writers around the world. My absolute favorite story was about Nils, a miniature boy who lived beneath the bed of a child who spent a lot time home alone. Nils became a comfort and confident to the boy.

What's truly awesome is that despite several moves over the span of my life, my mother held onto that book and recently gave it back to me. So many beautiful and uncomplicated moments came rushing back to me. I am so excited that Javi is now old enough to read and appreciate the stories that brought me so much joy when I was only a little bit younger than him.

6 comments:

  • Mari

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing your tip on using newspapers.
    It's great your Mom saved that book. I often wished that some of the books I enjoyed as a kid were still around.

  • Susan Berlien

    We have so many kids book in this house. I just keep buying them. Mainly because I love them so much. We go to the library a lot too, especially when my hubby was laid off...the book buying had to be held up. Books are so great!

  • Melissa W

    I've read the Nils story! I loved it also. I think my mom still has the book it was in somewhere. I should try to find it next time I'm home and give it to my oldest son now that he's reading.

  • Tatiana

    It's so beautiful that you have that book now. I wish I had some of my childhood books, but unfortunately we had a huge housefire when I was in 5th grade & lost EVERYTHING except the shirts on our backs. Sigh.

    Thanks so much for dropping by my blog last night & commenting on my "Angry" post. It means a lot.

  • Kelly

    Melissa - Of all the stories in that book, the one about Nils is the one I loved to pieces. I told Javi that when he finishes with Harry Potter, I have the perfect book for him. :)

    Tatiana - Wow, I can't imagine losing everything. I know it has to make what you have now take on special meaning. We didn't have any fires, but I still only have a precious few things from my childhood -- which means I save way too much for my children when they are adults. Also, you're welcome -- I meant what I said.

  • Cheryl

    So fun that you played along! :) It's so cool that you're now reading the book you read as a child to your son. It makes me happy that I still have some of my childhood books.

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