Favorite Books from Childhood
Crocodiles, Donuts, and a Movie Rec
Hello! I am back from Amsterdam and just watched the Vikings win a football game last night during which there was an ad for Progressive Insurance that discussed annoying things, one of which was a white woman who recently returned from her trip to Europe and was correcting people on their pronunciation of the word “croissant” and letting them know she just returned from Europe. lol. So let’s just transition now while I’m ahead.
As I wade into unknown territory that is the book authoring and/or illustrating world, I want to spend some time reflecting on the books that were meaningful to me as a child. I loved visiting the local red brick library downtown Anoka as a child with my mom—attending story time and walking out with stacks of picture books covered in clear dust jackets that somehow made a more addictive crinkle sound than a toddler’s sensory toy. Books were like currency in my hands.
In no particular order, here is an incomplete list of books that I loved as a child… with an occasional annotation. There are no affiliate links here, but if you appreciate this compilation please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Betsy-Tacy and Tib series by Maud Hart Lovelace (a Minnesota author whose stories about neighborhood friends and their misadventures were set in a fictional Deep Valley, MN based on her actual hometown of Mankato, MN)
The Country Life of J.B. Rabbit by Doris Susan Smith
Shel Silverstein’s silly poetry collections like Falling Up or Where the Sidewalk Ends… in particular the poem about the naked man who uses his long beard to cover his rear.
The Berenstain Bears series by Stan Berenstain—specicfically the ones about eating too much junk food and telling a lie about breaking a lamp. It sort of felt good to watch other kids make bad choices?
Frog and Toad Series by Arnold Lobel… the one about will power and chocolate chip cookies.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst … honestly what a terrible day.
Little Bear Series by Else Holmelund Minarik
Amelia Bedilia books by Peggy Parish… slapstick and literal, so good.
One of my favorites was Robert McCloskey’s book Homer Price, specifically the chapter about the automatic donut machine that malfunctioned and would not turn off (pictured above). The donut supply seemed unending and the small town did not know how they would sell off the piles of pastries. The woman that helped Homer make the dough returns in a panic saying she must have dropped a diamond bracelet in the batter. They were able to offer a reward for finding the bracelet and the town came through in consuming dozens of donuts and finding the lost bracelet. Honestly sounds like a perfect day… for a kid. The donuts themselves were plain cake donuts, which reminded me of the 10 cent donut my mom would always let me have from Festival Foods while she shopped for groceries. It was an honor system payment… drop 10 cents in a box and help yourself.
I know there are more I’d like to mention but I think they were ones I began to read myself as I got older, this list contains more of the books that were read to me.
Do you remember any of these stories? What was one of your favorite books as a child? Please let me know in the comments.
Movie Recommendation
While I did promise not to talk more about my trip to Europe, I will briefly suggest a movie I watched on the plane. I first heard about Past Lives on NPR and decided to watch it while trying not to have a panic attack on the airplane (don’t love flying over oceans).
Past Lives is about the reuniting of childhood sweethearts but also about the life made and the life lost after Na Young and her family immigrated from South Korea to Canada when she was a child.
It’s a theme I’ve noticed in a lot of stories I’ve watched or read recently—that consider alternate realities or the “what ifs” of life—like The Midnight Library novel by Matt Haig. In the digital age we live in it is easy to see tiny square images of other people’s lives and feel like we are missing something or imagine a life that would be better if only ______ (fill in the blank) were different or if we had made different choices, or if the people in our lives had made different choices.
But life, and jobs, and people and relationships are complex and the only thing we can control is ourself, today.
This movie is a sincere portrait of loss: loss of language, culture, and name, but also, a first love. I was inspired by the way the reuniting of the childhood sweethearts was an opportunity for connection in Na Young’s marriage. Although her marriage is not the focal point of the story, we see glimpses of how vulnerability and turning toward your partner’s bids for connection, even about topics that feel uncomfortable or threatening, can present opportunity for deeper intimacy and knowing and choosing. But no spoilers from me! Hope you get the chance to see it.
Got a good movie or book rec for me? Leave it in the comments below!
One of my favorite childhood authors is Elizabeth George Speare (Witch of Blackbird Pond, The Bronze Bow).