The first book I read that made a huge impression on me was Lois Lenski's Strawberry Girl. I remember the cover, the pictures, not so much the story at this time, but back when I found this book in the school library and read it, it was a book I could relate to. My family weren't migrant workers, but we lived on a farm and the whole family- my paternal grandparents who lived with us, my parents, my 2 brothers, and I all worked in the garden. It was large to grow all the vegetables we needed for canning to keep us fed all year. We had 8-10 rows 30 feet long of strawberries. We all had to pick them. And I had to help take the stems off and cut them to either eat or freeze to use later. Strawberry Girl was a book about someone who worked in a garden and lived rural. Most of the stories I read before that one were about cartoon characters or people who lived in towns and cities. It sparked a chord with me because I knew a little about the life the book talked about.
The other books, big surprise, that I loved were Walter Farley's Stallion books and Marguerite Henry's books about horses and Brighty of the Grand Canyon. We never had a burro when I was growing up but as an adult I've had 2. They are just as fun and personable as I remember Brighty being.
Walter Farley's books took me to Arabia. A country I knew little about. But I went there because of my love of horses.
I read all of Marguerite Henry's books. They too taught me things I didn't know. Like the island of Chincoteague off the Carolinas. Her Medicine Hat stallion book had me falling in love with paint horses.
And we can't forget Nancy Drew! One summer my mom bought the whole set of Nancy Drew books for me to read and a set of Hardy Boys for my older brother. I read both sets and I think my brother might have read one of the Hardy Boys books. LOL
In Jr. High and High School I read the fattest books I could find at the library because they would last me longer. I read Gone With the Wind, anything by Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stewart.
Remembering the books that brought me such joy is one of the reason I love writing books. I hope that my books bring joy to those who read them. And if not joy at least an new understanding of something they hadn't knows before.
Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 44 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.
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7 comments:
I'd never heard of "Strawberry Girl" before reading your post, Paty. My love of books as a child and as an adult is that they take me back in time and all over the world. (I'm not a futuristic reader as in I've never read Jules Verne, etc.) After spending time walking or riding a horse or traveling in a lurching wagon or carriage, using outhouses or bushes as rest rooms, I'm grateful to shake my head and come back to my couch or recliner with amenities at hand.
Judith, I've not read Jules Verne, either. I tried the Hobbit and couldn't get into it. My older brother gave me the Narnia box set. I read them but I didn't care for them. I prefer realism in my books, though I do believe in magic and spiritualism. I just don't care to read about creatures and places that, to me, aren't real. I didn't care for Star Trek (which my brother watched every afternoon after school) and I don't care for Star Wars. I'm ground in history and the here and now. Thanks for commenting!
Some of my favorites were The Black Stallion, The Boxcar Children, The Secret Garden, The Nancy Drew series, The Student Nurse series, Florence Nightingale. I read constantly. My dad took me to the branch library not far from where we lived in Los Angeles.
Paty, I read all the books and authors you mentioned, but also fairy tales from around the world and SciFi stories like Visitors from the Planet Vega and the Mushroom Planet series. In middle school and high school I read a lot of SciFi and fantasy books by authors like Robert Heinlein and Andre Norton. I loved the world building and endless possibilities. I also read Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney and Helen MacInnes romantic mysteries. And some Harlequin romances for teens, as well as historical fiction. I loved to read, to walk in another's shoes and view life from their perspectives.
Love your books!!!
Barbara, Like you I read constantly. Saturday mornings when I was vacuuming the living room, I'd be reading a book while I moved the machine back and forth. I read late at night when I was supposed to be sleeping. I read during lunch hour at school. Now, I write so much it feels like a privilege to be able to pick up a book and read for pleasure. Thanks for stopping in and commenting.
Hi Sarah! You were an eclectic reader! And it shows in what you write. You are open to all possibilities. Thank you!
Strawberry Girl is one I haven't heard of. I can see though how it would attract you. My relationship to farms as a child was only as part of a vacation. My father grew up in Mountain Home, Idaho. His best friend's family had over 1,000 acres of cattle ranching and he would often spend time there. We visited perhaps once every two years as children and, for me, it was a scary place with so many things I knew nothing about and very large animals.
That said, I did love horse books and the Black Stallion was one. I really loved Nancy Drew and because of those books I've always been a puzzle solver and learned a kind of logic for figuring out what is true and untrue in the real world.
Thanks for sharing these great memories.
Maggie, It was an award winning children's book, but I picked it because I read everything I could find and it was like a first chapter book, so it was thicker than a picture book which meant it would last longer to read. ;) It is amazing how many people are afraid of the large animals. You don't have to be afraid, but you have to respect that they can hurt you and stay alert. I never thought of myself as a problem solver, but I love writing mysteries and putting twists and turns in the stories to keep people guessing. Thanks for commenting!
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