I don't have too many clear memories from my very early years, but something I remember with absolute clarity is the books that I had as a child. Sadly I no longer have them, but their covers and their stories have stayed with me.
I consider myself so lucky to have had a mother who also loved reading and who passed on that love to me. She reminded me quite often that the greatest punishment she could hand out to me if I misbehaved (surely it wasn't very often?) was for her to take my books away.
Like other avid readers, I'm sure we share the experience of reading books under the bedcovers, with a torch. Just recently I've taken to reading in bed, before sleep, again and am loving it. And I'm sleeping better! Thankfully I don't need a torch any more.
The Katy books led to a phase of seeking out as many 'school' books as I could. I raided second hand shops where a treasure trove of old original books was found. Books from the 1920s about English girls' boarding schools. I was quite addicted, and still have some of my favourites. They are coming up to being 100 years old and I just love that. Now watching grand children being read to, and learning to read, it's such a joy to see them embrace it. We recently asked the eight year old what he'd like for his birthday, and his answer was 'books'. Makes your heart smile.
I am so thankful that I was brought up with books, and that I fell in love with reading. My life would be so much emptier without them - and I never would have become a writer.
Andra's latest release - Jasmine - Book 2 of the Hothouse Flowers series is now available for 99c on Amazon. Book 1 is FREE
5 comments:
Andra, I think my EE Milne books are coming up on 100 years. I'll check because that would be awesome! I'm the "Book Grandmama" so my great grands expect at least one book from me for birthdays, Christmas or "just because."
Enjoyed the blog! I had never heard of the Katy Did books. Are they still in being published?
Love this, Andra. Loved books as a kid. As a teen, I doubt if I finished a book assigned in school, because I was a painfully slow reader. NOW, I read many books a week - mostly at night while in bed. Problem is - sometimes I stay up WAY too late :-)
My passion for books also began in the preschool years. I wanted to be able to read them myself. The summer before Kindergarten, I pestered my older brother, who was seven, to teach me to read. He got sick and was stuck in bed for a week. I checked out beginning readers from the library and sat beside him on the bed. The magic happened! I learned to read that week. Have loved reading ever since.
I love hearing about children's books from other countries to know what was popular elsewhere in the world. I had not heard of the What Katy Did series. It was evidently first written in the late 19th century.
Where What Katy Did was about an American girl (tomboy) on a farm and the scrapes she got herself into, I was reading also about a tomboy called Pippi Longstocking but written by a Swedish author. I'm sure at the time I didn't know the girl was Swedish. In fact, I'm sure at the time I had no idea where Sweden was.
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