My oldest boy, Samuel, is learning to read this fall. He’s a bright kid and it won’t be long before he’s got “Hop on Pop” down cold (or completely memorized!). Thinking about the grand adventure ahead of him has brought recollections of many, many, many hours of my Alaskan childhood spent either at the library or at home with a pile of books.
I realize that John Hobbins had started a collective blogging project earlier this summer on the book(s) that inspired our childhoods… I figure I’m only four months late to the party!
Two books are coming to mind today - or more accurately, one book and a series of book:
Tove Jansson’s Moominpappa at Sea. I know now that Jansson wrote multiple books and there was even an animated cartoon on television, but my portal to the world of Moomin was this book in which the quixotic Moominpappa drags his troll family from their home across the sea to a desolate lighthouse. Followed by the mysterious Groke who freezes everything she touches while craving light and warmth, and sharing the island with a cranky old fisherman and delightful seahorses who dance in the moon light, the Moomins explore the dark and light of relationships and responsibility. I grew up surrounded by the sea and cold, so these themes resonated, as did the children’s pursuit of autonomy and freedom.
Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain series. This is like a poor man’s Lord of the Rings: fantasy adventure with a quest, an unlikely hero who must grow up to suceed, danger, monsters, an evil lord bent on destruction, etc. Yet good enough for the final chapter of this five-book series to win the coveted Newbery Award. And perfect for the youth yearning for adventure beyond the frozen windows of his house in the woods.
It’ll be a few years before Sam is ready to tackle these on his own, but his imagination is big enough to jump into the world of the storyteller and listen to them read out loud. Perhaps it’s time for Dad to share a bit of his youth…
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I have many fond memories of being read to as a kid. Of course, the Narnia books are pretty much obligatory. (My parents spent almost a year reading those to me when I was about seven.) Then there’s the Hobbit, some of the George MacDonald books (e.g. The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind), the Wind in the Willows, and so forth. So many excellent works of children’s literature, and so little time …
I loved Biggles, Jennings, the Famous Five, The 3 Investigators, and The Hardy Boys.
@Andrew: Yes, I’ve been meaning to reread the Narnia books - not so much because of the movies, but because my dad sent us the boxed edition with the funky artwork that I grew up with.
@Richard: My nephew is reading The Hardy Boys books now… I think I read every title they ever published, plus all the Nancy Drew ones too.
I also think I read every title they ever published (90+), plus all the Nancy Drew ones also.
Your nephew may like Jennings, it’s rather British (do Americans have Boarding school?) but very funny!!