Children's Classics

So I'm a rebel. I like to read all sorts of books. I have gone through one of many tracts that people follow when reading through their lives. I followed the Nancy Drew-Laura Ingalls-Star Trek-Terry Brooks-JRR Tolkien-Classics path. I did not read Trixie Belden, much to my mother's dismay. I did read The Five Little Peppers which doesn't seem all that well known for some reason...

I find that when I mention a book from my childhood, it evokes certain responses. I just completed an assignment revolving around Little House on the Prairie (it's a banned book, ya know!). In mentioning it in my FB, I got a very typical response. The reader recalled the sheer delight of specific scenes (like maple syrup candy at Christmas time) and was looking forward to reading the books with her little girl. I like to go back in time and relive those memories. I had forgotten that Jack (the brindle bulldog) had to swim the river and was swept downstream. The Ingalls feared he was lost, yet he showed up two days later. Having pets it's horrifying to think what I would do if one of them was lost.

I've found new books in the last couple of years. Not just newly published, but older ones I missed. My parents never guided my reading, but they certainly didn't discourage it! I just never moved through the library in that manner or at that speed. Redwall is a great little book about a group of mice that need to defend their home and very lives against rats and other invaders. I don't care for books with animals (that fear and tranferrence to my animals again), but I did like this book. The animals do die--so parents beware! However, they die natural animal-like deaths. One is bitten by a snake. One falls from a tree. One is scooped up by an owl. One is crushed by a small rock fall. All normal. What is abnormal is they live in buildings (an abbey and barn) and act like humans (making tools and weapons).

Why do these books come back to us time and again? It brings back a sense of security and happiness. We were doing something acceptable and safe--reading. We were immersed in worlds similar and disimilar to our own. We had adventures and travels. I, for one, traveled the west and was a great pioneer. We came back home just in time for mom's supper and dad tucking us in at night. Like comfort food, these books fill us up and teach us new things again and again.