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Daily December #3 - Mini!Me & the Books That Kept Me Sane
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verdande_mi What was my favorite book as a child?
I was that kid who was always in the corner with a book—I always had a book, so trying to narrow it down to one favorite is really difficult. These are the books that spring to mind when I think about my childhood.
The first book I actually remember reading was The Wizard of Oz. At some point I managed to read all of the other Oz books, but I worked my way through the original at some point in second grade (not an adaptation or an abridged version, but one of the very early printings of the book, because I found it at my grandmothers. She had awesome bookshelves.)
Also from my grandmother's house came the 1940s-era versions of Nancy Drew (she had a red roadster! I had no idea what a roadster was, but it sounded *very* exciting) and the Bobbsey Twins, which I devoured. Then I got to go and read the more contemporary versions (the yellow covers of ND), which were almost entirely different stories, not just updated settings (Nancy had a blue convertible in the 70s, fyi.) And in the same vein, Trixie Belden & her friends kept me occupied for hours and hours.
In non-series reading, these are the books I remember even now:
The Twenty-One Balloons (William Pene duBois) -- Victorian-era adventurer takes off in a helium balloon and ends up on Krakatoa. This has stuck with me long enough that the actual novel that I'm trying to write has a massive, island-eating volcano as a plot point.
The Door in the Wall (Marguerite de Angeli)-- Anyone can be a hero, not just the physical types. I can trace my love of the medieval era to this one.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, (E.L. Konigsburg) -- Run away and live in the Met? SIGN ME UP. (Did you know you can sort of do this with the National Archives? I think you have to have a kid, but I'm sure I could borrow one from a friend since mine are too old now…)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare) – Kit was educated and opinionated and was horribly misunderstood by the relatives who were doing their duty by her. Of course I loved this one.
Gone-Away Lake (Elizabeth Enright) – Spending an entire summer exploring an abandoned lakeside village, complete with trunks of Edwardian-era clothing and treasures? OMG, I couldn't have dreamed up anything better.
So, hah, in looking at that list, wow, did I go for the run-away-from-your-life trope, or what? I'm sure there's nothing to be gleaned from that, right? /sarcasm.
verdande_mi What was my favorite book as a child?I was that kid who was always in the corner with a book—I always had a book, so trying to narrow it down to one favorite is really difficult. These are the books that spring to mind when I think about my childhood.
The first book I actually remember reading was The Wizard of Oz. At some point I managed to read all of the other Oz books, but I worked my way through the original at some point in second grade (not an adaptation or an abridged version, but one of the very early printings of the book, because I found it at my grandmothers. She had awesome bookshelves.)
Also from my grandmother's house came the 1940s-era versions of Nancy Drew (she had a red roadster! I had no idea what a roadster was, but it sounded *very* exciting) and the Bobbsey Twins, which I devoured. Then I got to go and read the more contemporary versions (the yellow covers of ND), which were almost entirely different stories, not just updated settings (Nancy had a blue convertible in the 70s, fyi.) And in the same vein, Trixie Belden & her friends kept me occupied for hours and hours.
In non-series reading, these are the books I remember even now:
So, hah, in looking at that list, wow, did I go for the run-away-from-your-life trope, or what? I'm sure there's nothing to be gleaned from that, right? /sarcasm.