I’ve been such a voracious reader for so long, that I laugh at people when they ask me who my favorite author is. Not to laugh at THEM, mind you, just at the enormity of such a seemingly simple question.
I remember half the dialogue and choice bits of narrative from all of the stories that I adored as a child; I also remember half of my son’s favorite stories by rote, after re-reading the same books over and over again to them. My five-year-old and my two-year-old both have the words memorized to Rosemary Wells’’Max and the Chocolate Chicken.’ I have blossoming bookworms under my roof!
I drove my mother batty with huge book orders from the school book club between grades two through five. I spent hours in the juvenile section of Waldenbooks and Booksmith. I would drift away from my mother in the supermarket while she was purchasing food to browse the sparse and overpriced book section by the front entrance. My husband STILL hates taking me to Barnes and Noble.
It’s not hard to list my childhood favorites, or my childrens’, for that matter. Certain books are’back by popular demand’ every night at bedtime. These are several, and it is not an all-inclusive list:
My Favorite Stories:
Disney’s Cinderella: I know this was written by someone else originally, either Hans Christian Andersen or the Grimms Brothers, I have read more elaborate versions of Cinderella before, but the movie-derived version is a classic. My macho sons even enjoy this story, particularly when Cinderella’s stepsisters are trying to shove their enormous feet into the glass slipper.
Freckle Juice, by Judy Blume: Excellent book. The story follows a little boy that envies the impressive face of freckles of his classmate Nicky. A conniving and bratty little girl that has a crush on him sells him a farfetched recipe for’freckle juice’. The recipe includes all kind of vile things(the first ingredient is grape juice, but it goes downhill from there) that inevitably makes him sick to his stomach. WHen he wakes up freckle-free, the boy takes matters into his own hands and draws freckles onto his face with blue marker, just to show the girl that he had some measure of success in spite of her awful recipe!
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, by Judy Blume: I read Judy Blume’s books out of sequence. This book is the sequel to’Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing, ’ a story detailing Peter Hatcher’s sibling rivalry with his spoiled, upstart brother Farley(nicknamed Fudge). Sheila is Peter’s grade school nemesis that loves bragging and exaggerating her talents. When Sheila goes off to the secluded vacation house in Tarrytown and tries to befriend the local girls, all of her exaggerated tales of things that she can do begin to unravel, until she realizes she can make friends by being herself. This book is amusingly written.
The Fat Albert Books: Bill Cosby wrote a series of books based on his cartoon show back in the seventies. The illustrations were the same as the cartoon on TV, and dealt with real issues such as divorce, living with grandparents, having your tonsils taken out, being sick at home from school, and bullies. Bill Cosby writes Little Bill stories that his cartoon show in Nick Jr. is based on now. The characters in the old Fat Albert show were based on kids that he knew in his old neighborhood in Philly.
The Ramona books: Beverly Cleary is a Caldecott award-winning author who wrote books about Beezus and Ramona Quimby, two little girls living in Oregon. The earliest stories had old-fashioned illustrations and narrative that makes you think they were written in the 1950s, but the later books in the series read like they were written in the 1980s. Beezus(actually Beatrice, mispronounced by her little sister) is a clean and organized adolescent, easily embarrased by her sister’s antics. Ramona is mischievous, has an overactive imagination, and is incredibly messy and destructive. My favorite story was’Ramona Quimby, Age 8.’
The Great Brain, by John D. Fitzgerald: This book is one out of a series of stories about the author’s older brother, Tom, who was a child genius. The stories are based in a Mormon suburb of Utah.
Chocolate Fever: I forgot the author, but this was a great book about a boy named Henry who was addicted to chocolate. His indulgent parents allowed him to consume it at every meal, until one day, his skin began to break out in brown spots, and neighborhood dogs began to follow him around when they were attracted to the chocolatey fragrance that the gave off. The moral of the story is’Too much of a good thing can be bad for you.’ Great book.
My Sons’ Favorites:
Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes: A book about a young mouse with a long name that earns her ridicule at school. Kids with unusual names will appreciate this book.
Is Your Mama a Llama?
Judy Boynton’s cardboard books, particularly’But Not the Hippotamous’ and’One Two Three.’
Max’s Birthday, Max’s Bedtime, and Max’s Breakfast, by Rosemary Wells. Actually, ANY book by Rosemary Wells.
Little Golden Books, such as the Poky Little Puppy.
Other Books that I Wish Had Been Written When I Was a Kid:
Miss Spider’s Tea Party
Weekend with Wendell by Kevin Henkes
The Remarkable Farkle McBride by John Lithgow