This week I want to share some books much loved in childhood. I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s in a small town that had no library and one book shop that I used to drool at through the window mostly. Our school didn’t have a library either but there were a few saints books on classroom shelves that I read and our schools had readers and journals with stories. Later a family library some distance from us was accessible when the family down the road kindly took me there sometimes when they were going.
My mother bought us books when she could and they were much loved. A year or two back I made a wall quilt celebrating authors who inspired my love of story. Those before the teapot are the authors I loved before my teens.
Joanna Spyri
Her Heidi, Heidi Grows Up and Heidi’s Children were very treasured books. I am not sure what happened to the first two, but a sister down the family rescued Heidi’s Children and eventually had it rebound. She said I hoped I didn’t mind because of course it had my name written in a few places! She was a book lover too and I was happy to see her do it. Unfortunately she died two years ago and so now the book sits again on my bookshelf.
My books are mainly British for in those days that’s what was mostly sold here in New Zealand.
Enid Blyton
She wrote numerous books and I read many of them. I loved the Famous Five and the Secret Seven.
Once as a teacher I read one of these aloud to my students and well I didn’t like it, it was pretty boring but they loved it. They wanted another, I told them to read more themselves. But I am very grateful to Enid Blyton for the stories she provided me in childhood.
Lucy Fitch Perkins
It turns out she was an American author. I loved her twins books which seemed to have been sold here. I couldn’t find a old cover for this one so just chose this.
There were many twins books. The Irish Twins, The Dutch Twins, The Cave Twins and many more. I read whatever I could get my hands on.
Joyce Lankester Brisley
A British author -she wrote all about Milly Molly Mandy. They were fun and while I don’t remember too much now, I know I enjoyed the character.
Elleston Trevor
I only read one book by this author, but I have a deep remembered love of it. It was about animals that talked and lived in the woods.
Elleston Trevor is a former RAF pilot. The Woodlander Series are classic children’s stories written in the 1940s and 1950s about the inhabitants of Deep Wood — Old Stripe the Badger, Potter-the-Otter, Woo Owl and Digger Mole.
One of them lived underground – maybe badger and I remember him sitting in a chair smoking a pipe and reading a book. I think it appealed to me most likely because that would have been my own complete introvert fantasy!
Have you a book you remember with great fondness from childhood?
The Book Date 