Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Aunts and books

Joanne Rock has a lovely post up at Tote Bags about storytelling. She happened to mention Goodnight Moon. Immediately the first few words of the story entered my head.
One of my aunts sent me the book as a board book back when my eldest was a baby. I spent many hours reading it aloud to all three of mine.
I was very fortunate with my aunts as they could always be counted on to give books when I was growing up. And they were generally the sort of books I wanted to read as opposed to the improving tomes that other relations occassionally gave.
It is through my aunts that I first encountered The Borrowers as well as Richard Scarry, Kate Greenaway, Paddington Bear and other books that linger in the mind. As a little girl of about 5, I can safely say that my favourite books were The Borrowers series. The whole concept fascinated me and my brother. We spent hours inventing games about borrowers as I believe it was around that time that my grandparents gave me a dollhouse (my paternal grandmother had made the house and the furniture). And I suspect that it was the first time I was really aware of England as a special place. It also gave me a desire to live in an old house, a fascination with history and many other things...
I am not sure if people give books to children as much. I know that I do. It is one of the great joys of having nieces that are younger than mine, I can give books that my lot loved.
I know I am glad that my aunts gave books.
When in doubt give a book.

2 comments:

Kate Hardy said...

I love buying books for littlies. Even now, my children know they can always drag me into a bookshop and I will come up with the goodies. And I really enjoy buying copies of the books they loved for other people.

Ones we loved were the Lynley Dodd series (both the dog and the cat ones - wonderful rhymes and I can still quote Slinky Malinki), Mick Inkpen's "Kipper" series, Colin McNaughton's series about Preston Pig, Helen Oxenbury's "Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig", and Inga Moore's "Six Dinner Sid" (which I've always been tempted to get for Kate Walker).

Anne McAllister said...

I've just been buying books for grandkids -- a real treat. And it's fun to reminisce with their parents about the books we read together when they were kids. Bought Sol and Hank each copies of Pat the Bunny, Where the Wild Things Are, Pierre, Goodnight Moon, Katy and the Big Snow, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel and more that I can't remember. Oh, yes, and Make Way for Ducklings. Great stuff.

Kate, I'm a sucker for bookshops, too. And all the kids know this.

Great post, Michelle. Thanks for reminding me!