Wednesday, January 23, 2008

books books and more books

when i was little i had a winnie the pooh stuffed toy and every night my dad would have to pretend to make the pooh toy talk to me to get me to go to bed. i don't remember my parents ever reading me winnie the pooh books but they tell me that story about the toy all the time.

last night i asked my mom if there were any books she read to us kids that she really liked and she said, "i don't remember! it was all too overwhelming!" i asked her if there were any books with messages like don't beat up your brother and sister that she read to me and she said, "now why would i tell you not to do that?" i'm pretty sure she was joking.

later i went to my sister's apartment and i asked her what her favorite book was as a kid. she instantly replied, "corduroy, it still is." my friend brie came over and when i asked her what her favorite book was she said she couldn't remember however, goldilocks taught her not to eat other peoples porridge. when i mentioned corduroy being my sister's favorite book she had never heard of it! ashley (my sister) and i couldn't believe it but brie was in luck. ashley had a copy so she pulled it off her shelf and read it to us. it is still just as great of a story as i remember.
some of my favorite books when i was little (that i still have the original copies of!) are:



bony legs by joanna cole






popcorn a frank asch bear story















has anyone else heard of these books that i still have twenty some years later?
it's amazing to me the impact these stories can have and how long they will continue to be favorites, even as i've grown into an adult. i still pick these up and read them from time to time and as i'm trying to get a book published for nepalese children i am wondering more and more how my life would be if my parents hadn't read to me as a child, or if my dad hadn't reenacted winnie the pooh each night before bed, or for that matter if winnie the pooh didn't exist. i am surrounded by books in my home and i can't imagine life without those stories in it.
what were some of your favorite books as a child?








6 comments:

Anonymous said...

i found the pic of you reading to murphy. and it was an abc book.

Anonymous said...

my favs were:

amelia bedilia books
chose your own adventure

and as an adult my favorite children's book is Pelitos , sandra cisneros... it's actually just a passage from house on mango street with beautiful illustrations.

Anonymous said...

I think I loved anything with the gold seal. They were classics! I wonder if you can get the original hard covers anymore.

Anonymous said...

oh so many favorites!
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (when I was very young) and anything by Judy Blume as I got older. I still re-read those Judy Blume books every once in a while. Expecially, "Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself"

Anonymous said...

My faves were Were The Wild Things Are, and any Clifford or Berenstain Bears books. Who am I kidding? I still read that level of book!

Anonymous said...

I'm kind of a cheater since I teach second grade and am thinking about children's books on a daily basis, but... Some of my favorite picture books from my kid days are:
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Where the Wild Things Are
Mooncake (also by Frank Asch--good call!)
old Dick and Jane books of my Mom's
The Monster at the End of This Book Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover

My favorite chapter book is Just As Long As We're Together by Judy Blume. Very typical, middle school girl drama. I love it!

Information

Comments and questions are highly encouraged! If you're interested in volunteering with Room to Read please feel free to email me as I am also the Volunteer Coordinator for the Denver/Boulder chapter or if you are an artist and would like to donate to the cause!
Email me here: Aimee's email
For general information on Room to Read visit their website at
http://www.roomtoread.org/