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Welcome to my blog! I'll be blogging about writing for children, children's books, and curious things.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

2012 Books That Made Me Love Reading - Challenge

I’ve signed up for a fun reading challenge!
Re-read and review one book a month from your youth. Any treasured book that fostered a love for reading.

Like many kids, my first love was Dr. Seuss. Green, Eggs, and Ham was a favorite Dr. Seuss book in my house. One day, my brother, sister and I pondered what we could eat that was green. My father offered to make us green spaghetti. We cheered with delight. While we anxiously waited for our green spaghetti my mother left to get her own dinner at Taco Bell. With a sly smile, not unlike the Grinch, my father served us our dinner. To our horror and disgust it was nothing more than pureed green peas and pasta!
But I digress…

On to the world of Hans Christian Andersen, I read the original stories and all the adaptations available to me.  Though, in my child’s mind, I did wonder why an author would do an adaptation and not come up with his or her own story? It felt a bit like cheating. Yet, I loved reading and re-reading every version I came across.
Reading these stories in my room or in my favorite oak tree I was transported into magical realms.

From the imaginative worlds of Hans Christian Andersen, I embarked into real life tales such as the survival story of an American Indian girl named Karana, in Scott O’Dell’s, Island of the Blue Dolphins. I remember reluctantly putting this book down when my mother called me to dinner.

In Junior High, I plucked from my parent’s shelf, Nicholas and Alexandra, the tragic true tale of the last Tsar of Russia and his family, by Robert K. Massie. Like most young girls my age I wondered and hoped Anastasia had escaped with her life. To this day, I like to imagine that she did.

Now, off I go to select my first book. It may be one of the ones mentioned here or another one all together. So many books to chose from, so many memories. What were some of your favorite childhood books? Feel like going down memory lane and joining the challenge? Click here: 2012 Books That Made Me Love Reading Challenge 

5 comments:

  1. Fabulous intro, Cheryl. I totally want some green spaghetti now. Num num :-D Welcome to the challenge!

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  2. It was the Brothers Grimm who really needed adapting. "Grimm's" Fairy Tales is an apt title.

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