Tuesday, November 24, 2009

** Books: Glorious Books! **

Recently I "won" a huge amount of childrens' books at a silent auction. After we got them home and I was able to actually go through all of them, I was excitedly transported back to being a child again.

I remember the first chapter book I ever received as a gift. It came in the mail from my paternal grandma who lived in Colorado. As I opened the box and peeked inside, there lay a beautiful, hardcover edition of "Alice in Wonderland". I had to have been about 7 years old, so I wasn't old enough to read it yet then, but what a prized posession it was!

We moved around quite a bit during my grade school years and the last couple of times were not for happy reasons.....My parents were separating and later divorced. I could forget my sadness or lonliness when I buried myself inside a wonderful book. Sometimes I really loved bittersweet stories the most, like "Member of the Wedding" because I could relate so well. Other times, I loved adventurous tales, such as "Around the World in 80 Days". Later on I became a fan of Nancy Drew books, too.

My favorite grade school was the one I spent the most years at: 4th through 8th grade. It didn't have its own library, so the Bookmobile came at scheduled times, I think on Fridays. Walking up the steps into that small vehicle was like walking into Alice's wonderland! It was packed from floor to ceiling with books of all kinds. I still remember some of the beloved stories I read, borrowed from those marvelous shelves.

I hope that with technology racing along at the speed of light, we won't lose the incredible feeling of holding a book, turning its pages, inhaling its years of mystery, and falling asleep with it next to our pillow.

"When I discovered libraries, it was like having Christmas every day." --- Jean Fritz

4 comments:

  1. Hi Becky,
    What an inspiring post! And the Christmas music playing in the background is lovely.
    Donna

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  2. Thanks, Donna! I really appreciate it! And glad you enjoyed the music,too!

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  3. I think children's books are my favorite even though I am no longer a child. . .:) There's just something about them.

    Margo
    http://margodill.com/blog/

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  4. Thanks for leaving a comment, Margo! I understand about loving children's books, too! I love being surrounded by ALL great books!

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I'm still getting quite a few spam comments that are Anonymous, so I'm trying "User with Google Accounts." If anyone tries to comment that I know, and it won't let you, send me an email, okay? Thanks so much.