When I
completed graduate school, I was allowed to, along with the other students
working in the university library system, to have my name placed inside a
book. I didn’t even have to think—I
chose “The Boxcar Children” out of the Education Library, because it was one of
my favorites when I was a kid and remains so to this very day. My choice was not high-minded or pretentious
or even academic; it was simply a work that was meaningful to my life,
particularly my passion for reading.
Oddly enough I was not a shy child, but I was painfully self-conscious. Over the years as I found out that being
outgoing was a mistake more often than not, I retreated back into my shell and
allowed books to be my friends. I read
all of the original Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner, as well
as the ghostwritten later books, which were good but kind of amusing when you
consider the arrested development of the characters. They definitely lived a lot of life over the
course of their never-aging selves.
Another
of my favorites was a picture book, “Winston’s Red Boots”. I’m not really sure why aside from the art
and the fact that I didn’t have a lot of books or toys at that point, and thus
made do with what I had. I enjoyed it so
much that I took it to school and recreated the cover for an assignment about
my favorite book. I still have the work,
hardcover book on my shelf—the price tag tells me it was purchased at LA Joe
for .99. Hey, maybe that’s where my love
for boots and nautical stuff originated.
Then again, Winston’s boots contained a treasure map and I always loved
the ideas of maps and treasure and adventure.
Two more
books I loved when I was older were “Gone-Away Lake” and “Return to Gone-Away”
by Elizabeth Enright. Again, I loved
adventures and mysteries and these stories tied in a historical perspective and
were so vivid that I could see everything in my mind as it happened, even
without the aid of the books’ illustrations.
What were some of your favorite children's books?
YES Boxcar Children. Love, loved, loved it. I especially loved #2 in that series where they are on the island. I read a ton of those. My favorite books were The Baby-Sitter Club books. I was obsessed. I also loved all the Ramona books. I chose to have my name put in Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Just a perfect, perfect book. I also enjoyed Sweet Valley High (oh to be a perfect size 6 with aquamarine eyes!) and all of my Granny's romance novels that I 'borrowed' and read cover to cover without anyone knowing.
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