an early love

(a very short and incomplete reading memoir)

There is no frigate like a book 

to take us lands away....

~Emily Dickinson

When I was a child, I was entranced with books, or perhaps it was the stories...

My mother would sit in the hallway between my bedroom and my brother's and read to us from the Bible and the wonderful Narnia stories.  (Pauline Baynes' illustrations are magical!)

Circus Time (a Little Golden Book--remember those?), a book I loved and still own.

◊ I used to read at night under the covers with a flashlight.  
◊ I remember trading Nancy Drew books with my neighbor girlfriends.  (I still have some of those books.)
◊ In one of the elementary grades we were required to read books from different genres.  I remember being enthralled with sea creatures and intrigued by Mary, Queen of Scots.  
◊ Did you ever have to make a diorama for a book report?  I remember making one for Magic by the Lake by Edward Eager.
I loved Dr. Seuss books, Curious George, and Babar.  and fairy tales.  Oh, and definitely Laura Ingalls Wilder.  And then there's Pooh of course! See?  There is just no stopping!

Please tell me a favorite childhood book and/or childhood reading memory in your comments. 

Books to the ceiling
Books to the sky
My piles of books are a mile high
How I love them
How I need them
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.

~Arnold Lobel 

This is a fun weekly meme under the direction of Jenny Matlock.  You, too, can join in the fun!  This week our letter is "R."  visit all the other wonderful entries HERE.

PS:  Check out this blog for wonderful children's book art and illustrators:  Children's/Fantasy Illustrations

photo © 2011; book art is also ©