Childhood Books

"A brief surge in the insanity levels at work" is a great way of putting it. "Irritably carving out time" for various things is another great description.

So I got tagged with this meme here by Erica, and she and I seem to be on the same wavelength in general, so I'll do it if only to reassure the three people reading this that I am still alive.

List 5 books that played and important role in your childhood and explain why. Then tag 5 others.

Anne of Green Gables. When I think of my childhood I think of this book. Anne was the perfect heroine for a little girl.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. My mother read me this book--she used to read books aloud to me right through at least early middle school. I was in elementary school when we read this book aloud together. I can still vividly picture Mr. Grainger's looming, evil Packard.

My Side of the Mountain. Probably the first chapter book I ever truly got lost in.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. When I was little I loved this book so much I had dreams about it.

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. The first library book for me. I didn't understand the concept of "return" so it was also my first totally unnecessary but ultimately compulsory book purchase.

Honorable mentions: The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley, which was on Erica's list--I just wanted to name different titles than she did. Also the Indian in the Cupboard series by Lynne Reid Banks; Calvin and Hobbes, which I read obsessively as an awkward preteen; I remember the trash I read, too, as a preteen and young teenager, like Christopher Pike slasher novels and Sweet Valley High and The Babysitters' Club. And Judy Blume's excruciating but comforting novels; Ramona Quimby (most vividly remembered episode: when Ramona called Beezus "pizza face"--and when Ramona and Beezus go to a hairdresser for the first time ever and marvel at how much shampoo she uses, like, "She's wasting it!" That was the episode that made me realize that I couldn't really even imagine poverty, imagine having to worry about shampoo. And now I'm tangenting on my tangent.)

Anyway, tagging. Hmm. Chris. Dan. Iain. Joe. Steve. (In the hopes he'll ever update again)

Comments

[Erica]

Oh, I loved Ramona! We were pretty poor when I was a kid and I could relate to hand me downs, a laid-off dad, and mom going back to work. I remember reading about Ramona having to stay late at Howie's, through dinner time, and they offered her crackers and she expected nothing more because "meat was expensive". Yup.

[Dan]

Hey! Mad props for name checking Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel! I loved that book! Ditto My Side of the Mountain! Did you ever read any of the sequels?

[beth]

i did read at least one sequel, i believe...i could definitely have gone on a lot further with that list! looking forward to you taking the "tag", dan. :-)