What was the last good book you read? The Cover 2 Cover festival is a way to celebrate good books, find new great books, and keep a record of it all. Plus, there are prizes!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Once upon a time . . .
Some books stay with you long after the covers are closed--you wonder what the characters are doing now, or if there might be a sequel. We'd love to know some of the books you've loved as a kid, a teen, a grown-up.
12 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Sometimes I was resistant to reading when I was in elementary school, and looking back I think that was because I wasn’t reading books that I really got into. The first book that I read more than once was Matilda by Roald Dahl. Though I don’t really consider myself as someone who seeks out literature about girl power, I do think that the strong female child character in the book was someone to identify with. Something about how Matilda had all the cards stacked against her in her life, but she had the strength to overcome all of the misery she was experiencing, with help from a special ability. I’ve always been attracted to stories that involve characters that have a quality about them that puts them ahead of the rest; be it a super-power, smarts, charm, wit, anything. To experience Matilda’s triumph with her, in finding love despite all the hatred around her, and being able to stay strong while encountering her obstacles, made the book an empathic read for me. It was probably the first time I had experienced that as a child, and as longed to feel it again, I ended up being surprised that I actually wanted to read a book more than once. This experience also led me to want to read all of Roald Dahl’s books, hoping to find the same sensation with another book. And since then, I have noticed that many books that I have gone back to for the 2nd or 3rd time in my adult life have characters whose qualities are very similar to Matilda’s.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell was one of my favorite books as a child. This is the story of a girl who is left alone on an island for 18 years. The fact that the story was inspired by true events made it even more intriguing. I loved Karana, the strong female character who survived so many obstacles. She built shelter, made weapons, fished, hunted and created clothing for herself. I believed that even though she was lonely she also found peace and beauty on the island.
Like alot of little girls I had a love of horses,still do, so my favorite books were the "Billy and Blaze"books by C.W.Anderson. I loved the the great art work and the exciting stories,my favorite story was "Billy and Blaze" and the Gypsies. Having books about subjects I loved made me a reader for life!
I grew up in one of those typical tiny Arkansas towns, where the nearest Wal-Mart is a half-hour drive and the local store is literally named "The Store" for lack of any competition. While the hay bales and catfish holes held their own charms, I found an escape into a new world opened up to me through reading. I read everything I could get my hands on as a child, but my favorite books were from the Anne of Green Gables series. I identified with the spunky red-head from Prince Edward Island, though I was most definitely land-locked and blonde as could be. At an age when my mom was entering me in beauty pageants, Anne of Green Gables was determining that it was more important to be smart than to be pretty. That turned out to be just one of the many lessons that came easier for me because of the lives I've lived through the heroines of countless books. Anne is just one incarnation of the strong, brainy, and tenacious female character that I discovered in my girlhood. She has the Jo March, Elizabeth Bennett type of attitude that I tried to emulate as a young woman. You know, being a girl is hard. I'm sure being a boy has its own set of challenges that I can't possibly fathom. But being a brainy gal with an opinion on just about everything is no walk in the park either. Reading about Anne and her successors helped ease the ackwardness I felt as a young woman. And I have no doubt her tale is still doing the same for others today.
The first book that came to my mind was Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel. I poured over this book again and again as a child. The story concept was irresistible to me: alone in the synagogue each night, Hershel must face another goblin, each more mischevious and terrifying than the last and all bent on ruining Hanukkah. He has to trick each one into lighting another candle on the menorah, on up to the rather grim-looking King of the Goblins on the last night. The illustrations are great and I remember staring for so long once at the page where the King of the Goblin's bony hand reaches across the darkness to strike a match that I thought I saw it move across the page.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett! This may be the only book I have read cover to cover more than once. It had every element of a great story (if you asked me when I was 10) - mystery, travel, little to no parental supervision, secret invalid cousins. Awesome!
I was also a big fan of Anne of Green Gables. I especially appreicated her many attempts to remove her freckles. No, sadly, lemon juice face baths do not work.
In retrospect, the best gift my mother ever gave me was an active membership in the Children's Weekly Reader Book Club. The books she bought for me were wonderful and I still have each one at home. My favorites were the Gus the Ghost series by Jane Thayer. I loved reading Gus Was a Friendly Ghost -- how he cooked every cheese dish imaginable for his friend Mouse. Even better was Gus and the Baby Ghost with Mr. Frizzle and the cooing baby ghost with ghostly bubble baths and ghostly diapers. These sweet tales put me on the right track to wear out the library in my pre-teen years. I might have to go home tonight and dig out ol' Gus for a refresher.
As a young girl I did not care for reading. It was a strain to read because of my dyslexia and the fact that it took me so long to read a small book made me dislike reading. Even though my mother read to me all the time, which was very enjoyable. I just cannot remember any of the books she read or I tried reading. Now as an adult I enjoy reading. It still may take me a long time to finish a book but it does not matter anymore. I have gone back to read the Children’s classics and some new ones to catch-up. Some are ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, ‘Winnie the Pooh’, ‘Anne of Green Gables’, ‘Series of Unfortunate Events’, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Mary Poppins’, ‘Lord of the Rings Trilogy’, ‘Chronicles of Narnia’, and ‘Redwall Series’. I have a lot to catch-up on but it is fun reading children’s books, it keeps one young at heart.
My favorite book as a child was Alonzo Purr the Seagoing Cat by Mary Carey. It is the tale of an orange tabby who lives aboard a ship. One day, he encounters a slick city cat who convinces him that life in the big city is better than his boring life aboard the ship. In the end, Alonzo Purr learns that the ship is home sweet home after all. I can think of many other books I absolutely loved as a child. I used to sit out on the back porch with my dad on summer nights and we read the entire Oz series by L Frank Baum. I also loved The Little House and Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton. Those books were given to me by my favorite baby-sitter, Harriet. I loved looking at the illustrations. I also loved looking at the illustrations in The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown. I remember the librarian at my elementary school reading Arthur's Tooth and The Bionic Bunny Show by Marc Brown to my first grade class. I remember wanting to sit in the front row so I could see the pictures and hanging on her every word. Later on, when I was learning how to read, I especially enjoyed Danny and the Dinosaur and Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff. I also read the Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish, Amelia Bedelia and the Baby being my favorite. And, I loved The Bears Picnic and The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Stan and Jan Berenstein. When I graduated to chapter books, I thought that the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books by Betty MacDonald were magical. I also loved the Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin. All of my friends and I could not wait for the next book in the series to come out. We ordered them from the book fairs at school and would read them together. I owned almost every book in the series. Books have always been an important part of my life. I loved participating in the summer reading program at the Fayetteville Public Library when I was a child and the Cover to Cover event brings back some fond childhood memories.
My favorite book as a wee-one was, "A boy, a dog, and a frog" by Mercer Mayer. This book has no words and I LOVED making up the story over and over again. I was also captivated by the illustrations. As a teen I had the "Princess Bride" by William Goldman as required reading in one of my high school English classes. Wow did I luck out with that. I would have never picked up a book that had 'princess' in the title, much less 'bride,' on my own. It is still a favorite today and my husband and I are reading it together again right now. Now, as an adult, I gobble up anything that is by Terry Pratchett! My husband and I read aloud together and with his amazing ability to mimic various voices, dialects, and personalities reading Terry Pratchett is almost like being at the movies.
As a younger child I loved Dr. Seuss books, especially And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street. I also loved, Go Dog Go, Are You My Mother?, Put Me in the Zoo, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and Harry the Dirty Dog. As I got older I loved The Mouse and the Motorcycle and my favorite series was the Little House on the Prairie books. I love that I got to read all of those all over again to my child. In addition to those classics, we both have enjoyed Hank the Cowdog, Junie B Jones, Harry Potter, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and and The Mysterious Benedict Society. What fun!
We're using this space to talk about our community read title, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
You're Invited to a Community Book Discussion!
A community read is more fun if you come to the discussions! Everyone is welcome, even if you haven't had a chance to read the book. The community read is sponsored by the Walt Danforth Memorial Fund.
Monday, March 1 and 6:30pm.
Monday, March 8 at 1:00pm.
Sunday, March 14 at 2:00pm.
What an inspiring story! Learn more about Kamkwamba's book and mission at his website.
Sapphire's Push
Sapphire will be speaking at the library April 20th at 7pm. The library has multiple copies of her book Push and will host book club discussions April 5th and 12th.
12 comments:
Sometimes I was resistant to reading when I was in elementary school, and looking back I think that was because I wasn’t reading books that I really got into. The first book that I read more than once was Matilda by Roald Dahl. Though I don’t really consider myself as someone who seeks out literature about girl power, I do think that the strong female child character in the book was someone to identify with. Something about how Matilda had all the cards stacked against her in her life, but she had the strength to overcome all of the misery she was experiencing, with help from a special ability. I’ve always been attracted to stories that involve characters that have a quality about them that puts them ahead of the rest; be it a super-power, smarts, charm, wit, anything. To experience Matilda’s triumph with her, in finding love despite all the hatred around her, and being able to stay strong while encountering her obstacles, made the book an empathic read for me. It was probably the first time I had experienced that as a child, and as longed to feel it again, I ended up being surprised that I actually wanted to read a book more than once. This experience also led me to want to read all of Roald Dahl’s books, hoping to find the same sensation with another book. And since then, I have noticed that many books that I have gone back to for the 2nd or 3rd time in my adult life have characters whose qualities are very similar to Matilda’s.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell was one of my favorite books as a child. This is the story of a girl who is left alone on an island for 18 years. The fact that the story was inspired by true events made it even more intriguing. I loved Karana, the strong female character who survived so many obstacles. She built shelter, made weapons, fished, hunted and created clothing for herself. I believed that even though she was lonely she also found peace and beauty on the island.
Like alot of little girls I had a love of horses,still do, so my favorite books were the "Billy and Blaze"books by C.W.Anderson. I loved the the great art work and the exciting stories,my favorite story was "Billy and Blaze" and the Gypsies. Having books about subjects I loved made me a reader for life!
I grew up in one of those typical tiny Arkansas towns, where the nearest Wal-Mart is a half-hour drive and the local store is literally named "The Store" for lack of any competition. While the hay bales and catfish holes held their own charms, I found an escape into a new world opened up to me through reading. I read everything I could get my hands on as a child, but my favorite books were from the Anne of Green Gables series. I identified with the spunky red-head from Prince Edward Island, though I was most definitely land-locked and blonde as could be. At an age when my mom was entering me in beauty pageants, Anne of Green Gables was determining that it was more important to be smart than to be pretty. That turned out to be just one of the many lessons that came easier for me because of the lives I've lived through the heroines of countless books. Anne is just one incarnation of the strong, brainy, and tenacious female character that I discovered in my girlhood. She has the Jo March, Elizabeth Bennett type of attitude that I tried to emulate as a young woman. You know, being a girl is hard. I'm sure being a boy has its own set of challenges that I can't possibly fathom. But being a brainy gal with an opinion on just about everything is no walk in the park either. Reading about Anne and her successors helped ease the ackwardness I felt as a young woman. And I have no doubt her tale is still doing the same for others today.
The first book that came to my mind was Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel. I poured over this book again and again as a child. The story concept was irresistible to me: alone in the synagogue each night, Hershel must face another goblin, each more mischevious and terrifying than the last and all bent on ruining Hanukkah. He has to trick each one into lighting another candle on the menorah, on up to the rather grim-looking King of the Goblins on the last night. The illustrations are great and I remember staring for so long once at the page where the King of the Goblin's bony hand reaches across the darkness to strike a match that I thought I saw it move across the page.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett! This may be the only book I have read cover to cover more than once. It had every element of a great story (if you asked me when I was 10) - mystery, travel, little to no parental supervision, secret invalid cousins. Awesome!
I was also a big fan of Anne of Green Gables. I especially appreicated her many attempts to remove her freckles. No, sadly, lemon juice face baths do not work.
In retrospect, the best gift my mother ever gave me was an active membership in the Children's Weekly Reader Book Club. The books she bought for me were wonderful and I still have each one at home. My favorites were the Gus the Ghost series by Jane Thayer. I loved reading Gus Was a Friendly Ghost -- how he cooked every cheese dish imaginable for his friend Mouse. Even better was Gus and the Baby Ghost with Mr. Frizzle and the cooing baby ghost with ghostly bubble baths and ghostly diapers. These sweet tales put me on the right track to wear out the library in my pre-teen years. I might have to go home tonight and dig out ol' Gus for a refresher.
As a young girl I did not care for reading. It was a strain to read because of my dyslexia and the fact that it took me so long to read a small book made me dislike reading. Even though my mother read to me all the time, which was very enjoyable. I just cannot remember any of the books she read or I tried reading.
Now as an adult I enjoy reading. It still may take me a long time to finish a book but it does not matter anymore. I have gone back to read the Children’s classics and some new ones to catch-up. Some are ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, ‘Winnie the Pooh’, ‘Anne of Green Gables’, ‘Series of Unfortunate Events’, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Mary Poppins’, ‘Lord of the Rings Trilogy’, ‘Chronicles of Narnia’, and ‘Redwall Series’. I have a lot to catch-up on but it is fun reading children’s books, it keeps one young at heart.
My favorite book as a child was Alonzo Purr the Seagoing Cat by Mary Carey. It is the tale of an orange tabby who lives aboard a ship. One day, he encounters a slick city cat who convinces him that life in the big city is better than his boring life aboard the ship. In the end, Alonzo Purr learns that the ship is home sweet home after all.
I can think of many other books I absolutely loved as a child. I used to sit out on the back porch with my dad on summer nights and we read the entire Oz series by L Frank Baum. I also loved The Little House and Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton. Those books were given to me by my favorite baby-sitter, Harriet. I loved looking at the illustrations. I also loved looking at the illustrations in The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown.
I remember the librarian at my elementary school reading Arthur's Tooth and The Bionic Bunny Show by Marc Brown to my first grade class. I remember wanting to sit in the front row so I could see the pictures and hanging on her every word.
Later on, when I was learning how to read, I especially enjoyed Danny and the Dinosaur and Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff. I also read the Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish, Amelia Bedelia and the Baby being my favorite. And, I loved The Bears Picnic and The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Stan and Jan Berenstein.
When I graduated to chapter books, I thought that the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books by Betty MacDonald were magical. I also loved the Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin. All of my friends and I could not wait for the next book in the series to come out. We ordered them from the book fairs at school and would read them together. I owned almost every book in the series.
Books have always been an important part of my life. I loved participating in the summer reading program at the Fayetteville Public Library when I was a child and the Cover to Cover event brings back some fond childhood memories.
My favorite book as a wee-one was, "A boy, a dog, and a frog" by Mercer Mayer. This book has no words and I LOVED making up the story over and over again. I was also captivated by the illustrations. As a teen I had the "Princess Bride" by William Goldman as required reading in one of my high school English classes. Wow did I luck out with that. I would have never picked up a book that had 'princess' in the title, much less 'bride,' on my own. It is still a favorite today and my husband and I are reading it together again right now. Now, as an adult, I gobble up anything that is by Terry Pratchett! My husband and I read aloud together and with his amazing ability to mimic various voices, dialects, and personalities reading Terry Pratchett is almost like being at the movies.
My favorite books as a small child were "Go Dogs Go" and "Put me in the Zoo". They were the first books I ever bought at the school book fair.
As a younger child I loved Dr. Seuss books, especially And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street. I also loved, Go Dog Go, Are You My Mother?, Put Me in the Zoo, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and Harry the Dirty Dog. As I got older I loved The Mouse and the Motorcycle and my favorite series was the Little House on the Prairie books.
I love that I got to read all of those all over again to my child. In addition to those classics, we both have enjoyed Hank the Cowdog, Junie B Jones, Harry Potter, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and and The Mysterious Benedict Society. What fun!
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