My first memory of books was in Anaheim, CA. I was around 3 and Mom gave me this large Teddy Bear book that was old, very old. It had belonged to my Aunt Virginia,  Dot and Bud. The red hard cover was faded and frayed. I liked looking at the pictures as my mom read the rhymes to me. But there was one page all about a bad bear who had a knife and was threatening another little bear. It frightened me and I hated it.  One day  when I was alone, I took my pencil and scribbled all over the bad bear so he couldn’t hurt anyone. I knew I shouldn’t make marks on book pages, but this was different. I had to stop the evil. I believe this was the first time I’d ever seen anything bad and it made an impression on me.

Luckily this incident didn’t stop my love for books. When I was 3 or 4 , my mom began taking me to the Public Library for Story Time every week. I can remember listening to the librarian read to us and looking at the pictures.  I also remember the sun streaming through the big window. My mom always let me check out a few books to bring home. I thought that was the greatest thing ever! I knew we were poor and I didn’t have many books.

In those days the books were very small and thin but the stories were wonderful. I had a tall cherry wood bookcase that I could use for my books. It had been Dot and Bud’s when they were little.  There was a set of encyclopedias on the upper shelves but the bottom two were mine. Whenever Mom had a little extra money from the beauty shop, she would buy me a book. I was alone a lot so my books were very important to me. As long as I had a piece of paper, pencil, crayons and my books, I was happy. (Hmmm, just like today!)

I don’t remember learning how to read. It seems like it was natural for me. In school we were taught to read with Dick and Jane books but I thought they were silly. Too easy and boring! “Look Jane, look”. I guess I learned to read by hearing stories read to me. I think it must have been the same way for my 4 children. I don’t remember any of them struggling. My grandkids the same thing.

Some of the books I remember reading and loved….

The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew – The heartwarming story of a very poor family struggling to make life meaningful and positive. The father died and left the mother and 5 children with no money. As sad as the situation was, good things kept coming their way.

I liked this book because it was about family and I loved the way the children worked together. I believe this was when I knew I wanted to have a large family with at least 4 children when I grew up.

 

A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson – I loved the poems. I would read them over and over. I especially loved the poem about the swing.

How do you like to go up in a swing,  up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing, ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall, till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all, over the countryside.
Till I look down on the garden green, down on the roof so brown.
Up in the air I go flying again, up in the air and down!

The Swing poem inspired a bedtime story I told  Mark, Lisa, Darryl and Scott when they were young. It was about each of them swinging so high that they were able to catch hold of an airplane and ride safely to their Auntie Dot’s house in Lancaster, CA.  It dropped them right into her swimming pool! This was their favorite vacation every summer. We’d drive up for a week, go swimming, play pool, and go to the Antelope Valley Fair. The kids were fascinated with Uncle Bob’s collection of knives. I can still smell the aroma of the pork roast in the oven simmering with navy beans. Dot always made dozens of homemade chocolate chip cookies that were heavenly. For us, this was better than staying at a 5 star resort, (which of course we couldn’t afford.)

Little Red Riding-Hood and The Story of Silky – Both of these books were well worn and read a lot. Little Red Riding-Hood included the story of The Little Red Hen and The Three Wishes. The illustrations were clever and well done and I would read them over and over. Silky was a lovely book about a cute little dog and a kitty. I loved animals and always had pets. Spotty was my little fox terrier, Spicy was my kitty, and June, my pet chicken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scott posted this cartoon on his Facebook page and yes, that is definitely him and probably the rest of the family!