One wonderful thing which has come from following my recent writing project, the Get Writing! Bootcamp is that the daily prompts opened up some wonderful memories of literature I read as a child.
As a child, I remember many happy afternoons spent at the local library choosing colourful books with stories which I can still picture today. (Mum, if you’re reading this, do you remember The Great Horse Chestnut Tree? We must have got that dozens of times!)
I also remember learning about Native Americans during my first year at primary school. We learnt the wonderful poem The Song of Hiawatha by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and there was an afternoon where we dressed up to recite a shortened version of the poem to our parents. I remember my poor mother trying in vain to plait my hair like an Indian squaw and losing her temper with my stubborn straight locks!
On a family trip down to London one winter, I remember going to see a recital of Captain Beaky and his Band at some theatre or other. I had the book for several years afterwards. Goodness knows what happened to that.
During my recent house move, I found a present my mother bought me for my 5th birthday: Little Grey Rabbit’s Storybook by Alison Uttley. Another charming little book with great illustrations brought back some more wonderful memories.
Well, all this reminiscing got me thinking: what if I read some of these books again, now I’m much older? Would the stories be as wonderful now as I remember? How much has adulthood changed my perspective? Will I even be drawn to writing some children’s stories myself?
So, I have a new mission folks. I’m going on a shopping spree for some of my childhood favourites. My objective is to try and answer these questions and maybe discover something about children’s literature along the way.
Feel free to add your own comments and memories of your childhood reading experiences. It’s nice to share!
Comments are closed