Family Fridays – Children’s Books I First Read As An Adult

Howdy! I’m on vacation in Brazil for most of September, so I turned the tables on my readers and opened up the blog for guests posts while I’m gone. You may recognize today’s guest blogger from the comments as “Beth Hennings”, but I just call her “Mom”.

Many of my earliest memories are of my parents reading to me and my siblings.  This nightly ritual was as important to the bedtime routine as brushing our teeth.  My mother was diligent to take us to the library during summer months, and diligently read to us from the stack of books we hauled home on hot Texas afternoons.   We were given books as gifts, allowed to join children’s book clubs, encouraged to order books from Scholastic Readers through school.  Mother saved many of our children’s books, and when she downsized to a smaller home, divided these treasures among us.  I’ve always loved books, the smell and feel of them as much as the words and pictures.  Libraries have always been one of my Happy Places.  And yet…for some reason I cannot explain, other than I was a serious tom-boy and much preferred outside play to inside reading, I did not become a passionate reader until I was a junior in high school.

During one scheduled library session, I was idly browsing shelves for some interesting title, when my English teacher asked if I’d ever read Pride and Prejudice.  She put that book in my hands, and I’ve not been the same since.  Jane Austen opened up a whole new world for me.  I pounced on her oeuvre, then moved on to Charlotte Bronte, first reading Jane Eyre as a college freshmen.  I was so completely absorbed in this novel, that when a favorite high school friend came from my home town to visit one afternoon, I could hardly concentrate on our conversation, and wished for her to leave so I could get back to Jane and Mr. Rochester.  During those college years, I began to realize just how many hundreds of books I’d completely missed as a child.  I had a lot of catching up to do, and started an earnest reading plan to do so.

So it was as a young adult that I met and fell in love with Mole and Rat in The Wind in the Willows, first discovered Middle Earth with Bilbo in The Hobbit, was entranced by A Secret Garden.  As a young married woman, I explored local libraries in Plano and Lafayette, and fell upon the Anne of Green Gables and Little House series.  (With these particular finds, I first felt a bit shy about checking out children’s books without any children in tow, but then grew to love the books so much, I didn’t care what the librarian thought of me.)  The Narnia Chronicles I first read to my newborn son, aloud, as I nursed him.  Well, I would always start reading aloud, then would get so wrapped up in the story, I slipped into silent, faster reading.

As my three children grew past picture books into chapter books, much of what we read together was as fresh and new to me as to them.  A favorite series we discovered during our years in England was Enid Blyton’s Famous Five mystery stories.  These were perfect to read after school on a cold, wet English afternoon, with cups of tea all around.  And it wasn’t just the kids who liked these books; I couldn’t wait to finish one and find out what happened to the Famous Five in the next mystery.  When my parents came to visit, my dad was eager to take his turn reading Enid Blyton aloud, and would sometimes have to silently read ahead to finish a book before their departure.  As I write, I find myself wondering how many books he missed reading as a child between the two World Wars.

So many wonderful children’s books, so little time, especially since I started so late.  But now I have a grandson!  Now I can comb the aisles of libraries and bookstores for Children’s Books To Read As A Grandmother!

What great children’s books did you first read as an adult?