Kelly’s Unnecessary Blog

If I asked you what your favorite book is, you???d probably name one that you read, or had read to you, when you were a kid. Such is my case. Without a doubt, the first books I think of are the Nancy Drew series. I remember those yellow spines like it was yesterday, when in fact, it was 1973. Those were the ones that the public library had, and I diligently made my way through every one.??

For my first several years, we lived right across the street from the library (pictured below). At first, of course, my mom would check the books out for me. But then came the magical day when I was old enough to have my own library card. Boy, did I put it to use. In the summer, if I wasn???t at the swimming pool, I was reading. You could only check out six books at a time, for two weeks. I never needed the full two weeks, especially when I was was burning through the Nancy Drew books. And when I had finished with Nancy Drew, I took up with the Hardy Boys. I don???t really remember anything about any of the plots, only that I read them all.

(Just today there was an article about the 80th anniversary of Nancy Drew.)

I always liked to read, and right through high school, I continued to read quite a bit. In junior high, I made it through most of Robert A. Heinlein???s books. In high school, I tried to get into Kurt Vonnegut to impress a boy I liked, but I just couldn???t (on either count).??

When I was very young, I remember summer vacations at my grandparents??? and reading every book from my mom???s bookcase. A lot of those World War II era stories, I didn???t get. But I remember loving The Little Engine that Could. Back at our own house, I remember being vaguely scared of Where the Wild Things Are.

What is your favorite book from childhood?

photo of library by Google Street View
book photos from here

March 17, 2010