Back in November, I did a feature I called “Share Your Nostalgia.” I asked some of my blogger friends to write up a piece that focused on their favorite toy from childhood. The response was positive and it was suggested to do another round. So this time around, I asked for them to tell us about their Favorite Childhood Book.
Their book could be something that was read to them by their parents or grandparents. It could also be a book that was read to them in school at story time. I also suggested that their book might be one that they read to their own children. I wanted each of them to have as much freedom as necessary.
My next guest blogger is my friend Randy from Mostly Music Covers. I loved his site from the moment I discovered it. He appreciates a good (and bad) cover song like I do. So, which book was Randy’s favorite? Looks like a classic!
My Favorite Book – Dr Suess’s A B C
When Keith asked us to “Think about your favorite book from childhood”. This one was easy for me because this is the first book that I owned myself. Any other book in the family would be a hand me down from my three older siblings or maybe some cousins. I seem to recall not sharing this one with my younger siblings, however I think they probably did use it.
I was given this when I was six years old and would soon be going into Grade One. We called it Public School that went from kindergarten up to Grade 8. I don’t remember using the word elementary in those days though it may have been on the sign outside. And no such thing as Middle School or Junior High.
The expectations for learning at a young age were different in 1965 than they are today. So while this may seem a little late for such a book, we were still learning to connect the words with the letters of the alphabet in the first classes in Grade One. Now I read this book to my four-year-old daughter in the early 90s, as she had learned the whole alphabet in short order. And then started to read, almost two years before I did.
Many of you who are Dyslexic will understand, but I gave the appearance that I was a bit ‘slow’ compared to most of my classmates. Hmm, come to think of it, maybe I was a bit slow through all my days of formal education. Now that explains a lot!
Not sure what kids get taught and at what age now. At age two my grandson was counting to 10, possibly with two 11’s or 18’s on his way to 20 before his third birthday last September. He already seems good and ready for a book like this.
Well before and into the 60s what we were using to learn to read is the Dick and Jane series of books. Those books contained lines like “Oh, Mother, Oh, Father. Jane can play. Sally Can play.” With the accompanying illustrations, in colour no less. Riveting stuff that some of you will no doubt remember.
Dr. Seuss books were a big deal as I recall. And How the Grinch Stole Christmas! came out the following year. So having a Dr. Seuss alphabet book was pretty cool I thought. Inside the book would be pictures of some of the Seuss characters. For the letter ‘A’ the question was “what begins with little ‘a’ and what begins with big ‘A’”. The following page was a picture of long Alligator with Aunt Annie riding on it’s back. “Aunt Annie’s Alligator A…a…A”.
At the time this seemed like a fun way to learn to match the letters and put them into a sentence. I really coveted this book. While I only used Dr Seuss’s A B C for a short while (ok maybe up to grade 9;), I don’t think I could say another one was more important to me for a long while. Not that I actually used the book, but I just don’t remember another one being that important.
The next book of significance would be when I got The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift from my oldest brother as a teen. I still the have those paperbacks. And, I have Dr Seuss’s A B C in storage (somewhere) so I will have to dig it out before the grandson’s next visit. Though he’ll probably be on to The Hobbit already. Just kidding.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 