As discussed today - I have come up with my favorite childhood reads. I can't wait to read Dan's and Emily's. I look forward to hearing everyone's comments on this, additions, etc. Hopefully, you will look at some of my titles and remember books you once read, authors you once loved.
Update:
This is great. Here is Dan's list. I love his description of Harriet the Spy as a "proto-blogger". I loved Rikki Tikki Tavi, too. That book haunted me.
Also - kudos to your dad for not getting you the early "horrible Bakshi film" of Lord of the Rings, but telling you he wanted to "get you the real thing" instead. Meaning: THE BOOK. Yeah, man, good stuff.
And here is the list of Miss Emily. As she pointed out, conversations about deadly heat waves usually turn to conversations about favorite childhood books - so it all makes sense.
I read her list and thought: HOW could I have left Charlotte's Web off?? I also loved EB White's Trumpet of the Swan - a wonderful book about a swan who is deaf and learns how to play the trumpet in order to communicate. But Charlotte is the best of all. I still remember how the last sentence went - and again, this is a paraphrase: "It is not often that one comes into contact with someone who is a good friend and also a good writer. Charlotte was both." Tears! I'm in tears!
Here's my list...
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh - This has got to be number one on my list. It had such a huge impact I can't even start to talk about it. I would say that Harriet, with her obsessive journals and people-watching notes, is why I'm a writer. Or one of the reasons. This book didn't just draw me in - this book scared me. People were REAL in this book. They were HUMAN. Harriet's parents - upper class Manhattanites - were REAL - and there was Harriet - 10 years old, roaming the streets, breaking into other people's houses basically so that she could then write about them - and who was looking after her? Ole Golly, of course ... but Ole Golly was a wack-job as well (and looks NOTHING LIKE ROSIE O'DONNELL, WHAT AN OUTRAGE.) This book is up there with Catcher in the Rye for me, in terms of its importance. It's also laugh-out-loud funny.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis - Sheer magic. I lived this book. I wanted them to make it into a movie, and I wanted to star as Lucy. I wanted to live it, I wanted to find that world beyond the wardrobe. CS Lewis made it REAL. I still can remember some of his descriptions. The taste of the Turkish taffy - the "thick green ice" around the home of the Beaver couple - I so wanted to be there.
Little Women - Come to think of it, I need to read this book again. Of course I related to Jo March the most - the rebellious independent tomboy of the family - Jo March is a FANTASTIC character. Absolutely flesh and blood. But all of them definitely have their moments. When Mr. Laurence gives Beth the piano - what a scene! And then when Beth almost dies, and they are waiting for Marmee to return, and Jo and Laurie watch over Beth in the night, and Laurie (who is a man, God bless him, an amazing character) gives Jo a sip of wine to calm herself down ... and then Marmee arrives at dawn, just in time ... It is a great story, and I lived it. I read this book constantly. I wanted to slip between the lines and enter that family.
The entire Beezus and Ramona series by Beverly Cleary - These books were staples of the O'Malley household. Beezus (Beatrice) was the older sister, Ramona the younger. These books are the kind of books not safe to be read in the library because you will start to guffaw with laughter and then be asked to leave. I should read them again.
Alice in Wonderland - I don't even know what to say. This book wasn't even a READING experience. I LIVED those books (Looking Glass too). It was a window into some other realm - a glimpse of something else - something completely undefinable - but also totally real, compelling, frightening, interesting. I STILL do not understand Alice in Wonderland. I hope I never will.
Ballet Shoes This was a book by Noel Streatfield - and part of a series of books (Circus Shoes, Tennis Shoes, etc.) They were all books about little girls who ended up being very good at something - ballet, tennis, whatever. This sounds so pedantic and so stupid but they are really quite wonderful - Ballet Shoes, in particular. It was made into a Masterpiece Theatre mini-series. 3 orphan girls - unrelated - are adopted. And somehow - I forget how - they get accepted to this school of dramatic arts in London. It's really a fluke ... they don't know yet what they are good at. And one ... one of them ends up being what they would call a genius ballerina. At the age of 9 years old. This book was not just a book to me - It was a guide-book - It was instructions to me, at age 8, of how I wanted to live my life. I was going to devote my life to my art. Just like Pauline, Petrova and Posy. I still own this book.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, a personal idol. GREAT BOOK. Can't describe it. But GREAT BOOK. A new way to look at the universe. And at love. A ground-breaking book. Also, it's always on the Top 100 Banned Books, along with Catcher in the Rye and Huck Finn - so that must mean it's REALLY good.
Anne of Green Gables, and all the sequels - by Lucy Maud Montgomery. When it first came out, in 1906, Mark Twain wrote a review and called Anne "one of the immortal girls of literature". And he was right. This is an indelible character, a character who will NEVER leave you once you have met her. Lucy Maud Montgomery herself wrote in her journals, years later, and I paraphrase, "Sometimes I walk through the woods and I wish that I could come upon Anne Shirley - I wonder what she would say to me, and I to her." These books cannot be overpraised.
The Diamond in the Window - by Jane Langton. I don't even know if this is in print anymore, but DAMMIT what a book. It's about a brother and sister, who live in Concord Massachusetts, with their crazy uncle and weary aunt - The uncle is an Emerson freak. One day, when looking up at their house, the brother and sister notice a window shaped like a keyhole. A window they have never seen before even though they have always lived there. They do a bit of exploring and discover a secret room in the attic, filled with old treasures - but no one will explain what it means to them. Both of them start having dreams - dreams which become increasingly real. Emerson shows up in the dreams. Louisa May Alcott does too. All the Concord stars of old. It is an extraordinary book - It doesn't talk DOWN to kids. I LEARNED stuff when reading this book. I read Emerson because of this book. But it is, indeed, a kid's book. Magical. Completely magical.
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - by EL Konigsburg. Another brother and sister having adventures on their own kind of story. I could not even tell you the plot now. Does anyone else remember? All I can recall is that they run away, and they camp out in the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan, hiding in the bathrooms until the janitorial staff leaves, and then they have the run of the entire place. They take baths in the fountain, and gather up the pennies dropped at the bottom, so that they have funds. I guess I loved books about orphan kids - kids who are orphaned even though they have parents (like Harriet) - kids who have to survive by their wits.
The All-of-a-Kind Family series - I don't even know who wrote it. It was a story about a Jewish family who lived on the lower east side of Manhattan at the turn of the century. The all-of-a-kind part of it referred to the fact that there were 5 GIRLS in the family. No boys. I think in one of the later books in the series they finally had a boy. All of the sisters are fully fleshed-out characters (and I, of course, related to Henny the most - the wild rebellious one who was always getting into trouble). The book is filled with the rhythm of Jewish religous rituals, which I found fascinating, magical. Every holiday celebrated had a story to it - stories foreign to me - and yet I could relate. After all, how different was the ritual of the Advent calendar in the O'Malley family from the rituals I read about in the book? They didn't seem so far apart. I LOVED these books. And it was a series - so I read them as I grew up. When I hit puberty, so did the 5 Jewish girls. When I started being interested in boys, so did the 5 Jewish girls.
-- Other favorites:
I LOVED Carolyn Heywood. But I can't remember any of her titles. She's a wonderful story writer for children.
I LOVED this one story called The Lonesome Manor, which took place in Quebec. A little Quebec-ian girl, with 8 brothers and sisters, befriends a lonely mysterious woman in a "lonesome manor" down the street. What I loved about it primarily was its glimpse of a different world - little girls who filled up wash basins to clean their faces and then put on snow shoes to get to school.
I LOVED Oliver Twist. I read it in 6th grade. It tormented me. It was challenging. I didn't understand half of it. But I loved those people. I loved Fagan. I loved Nancy. I loved the Artful Dodger. This is an example of reading something beyond your abilities and what GOOD it can do you. I read that book - and I think that somewhere I thought, "Hm. Gonna have to come back to this one."
Posted by sheilaCarolyn Heywood did the "Betsy" series- one of my favorites, as a kid. "Snowbound with Betsy", "B is for Betsy", etc.
As for "Mixed Up Files", I read that with my kids two summers ago. Also, I required my niece to read it. Then, Tom and I took them all to NY, with the Met being the highlight of the trip. Apparently, a number of people have had the same idea, because you can get an information pamphlet at the info desk, to kind of retrace the steps of Claudia and her brother. The book was written in the mid-1960's, so a lot of the exhibits are no longer there, but they suggest similar things. But you totally get the feel of the book. It was probably the best trip we have ever taken with the kids- they were about the same age as the characters, and it made the book come alive. Any suggestions for other books we could "live"????
Oh right! The Betsy series! I LOVED those.
Then there was that OTHER Betsy series I loved:
Betsy and Tacy
Betsy and Tacy and Tib
Betsy and Tacy and Tib and Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay...
Okay, that last one was made up. But it was all Betsy and her friends. I LOVED those. I'm sure they're out of print now.
I did not know that about taking tours at the Met! I love it! There's a scene in "The Royal Tenenbaums" where a brother and sister go hang out in the Museum of Natural History, camping out beneath the exhibits of woolly mammoths, etc. It was such a blatant steal from that book!
I remember our Betsy (not Betsy, Tacy, Tib and Tallullah) loved a book called ... The Bridge to Terabithia, I believe. Perhaps she can speak to that.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 9:35 AMDearest: I remember being obsessed with series books [I can remember going through all of the Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys, etc.]. I enjoyed getting through them all, more than the stories themselves. My favorite series was the one on young Americans [Washington, Jefferson, Francis Marion, Hamilton]. The last one I read was John Wanamaker, Boy merchant. They were really scraping the bottom of the barrel by the end. If it was still going, your right wing friends could add to the series: Ollie North, Boy patriot; Don Rumsfeld, Boy protector. love, dad
Posted by: dad at January 16, 2004 9:40 AMOh, and Beth - try and find All of a Kind family for Ceileidh. They are fantastic.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 9:40 AMDad-
HAHAHAHAHA
"Don Rumsfeld, Boy Protector". Oh God. I think I might need to write that one.
And please please please no more "right wing" comments.
I seem to recall the words John Wanamaker Boy Merchant being bandied about our house ... I remember a series of similar books that I loved: and I'm making up these titles, but it was like:
Amelia, Maid of Old New York
Martha, Maid of Connecticut
Agnes, Maid of Massachusetts
All taking place during the colonial years - so you would learn the histories of the states from those times - and I recall they were wonderful.
Now, I'm sure, there are additions to the series:
Princess Two Bears, Disenfranchised Maid of the Open Plains...
Etc.
The kids at Wakefield School read Bridge to Terabithia every year. It is about a boy, Jesse, and a new girl in school that he befriends. They make their own world, Terabithia,hence the name of the book. She is queen, and he is king. Little crush thing going on there... Then, one day, Jesse stands her up to go somewhere with their pretty teacher, and the girl tries to go to Terabithia by herself. The problem is, you need to swing on a rope to get over the river, and the river was quite turbulent that day, due to some bad rainstorms. She falls, whacks her head on a rock, and drowns, all because he stood her up for another woman. Now there's lesson for everyone to think about.
Posted by: Beth at January 16, 2004 9:46 AMBeth,
Jesus. So it's a feel-good book with a cautionary moral, is that what you're saying?
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 9:47 AMDad-
Do you remember how much Brendan loved the Encyclopedia Brown series?
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 9:48 AMWell, in keeping with your Dad's books, it is apparent that Bill Clinton never read Bridge to Terabithia.
Posted by: Beth at January 16, 2004 9:49 AMOkay, Beth, that's a pretty funny comment, I have to say.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 9:50 AMOh, and in re: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:
It's so interesting to me, the very dear dear friendship between Tolkien and CS Lewis. He said in his letters, "For many years Mr. Lewis was my only reader." He credits CS Lewis with the reason why he completed Lord of the Rings. And CS Lewis liked to be read to out loud. So the image of those two Oxford dons, smoking pipes, as Tolkien read out loud early drafts to CS Lewis ... just amazing. Apparently, one of CS Lewis' main comments was, "You can do better." And he was usually right. He pushed Tolkien to be better, to go deeper. That's the best kind of reader you can have.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 9:52 AMCan you tell I work in an elementary school? I can tell the plot of just about any children's book from about 1970 on.....
Posted by: Beth at January 16, 2004 9:53 AMMine will probably come to-nite, unless I have some extra time at lunch.
Posted by: Emily at January 16, 2004 10:09 AMWow. Lots to comment on here...
...they are making 'The Lion, the Witch...' into a movie. Hopefully it'll be as good as Jackson's LOTR.
Yay! Madeline L'Engle! Another 'subversive' writer. Why are so many of the best children's writers like that? Must think on that one. Loved the 'Time' books. (And going completely off track did you ever read 'A Circle of Quiet' - might be ny favorite L'Engle book.)
'From the Mixed Up Files..' - how could I have missed that one?
I remember reading 'Little Men' and wishing I had a teacher like Jo March.
Lastly, at some point I'm going to post on all the books I loathed as a child - ya know, particularly putrid books that were forced on you in school (oh how I hate hate hate 'The Scarlet Letter.'). Any excuse to write more about books.
I had heard about the "Lion, Witch" movie but unfortunately I am now far too old to play Lucy. It deserves a good treatment. I'll never forget Aslan. God, how I cried when Aslan died!!
And Dan - WOAH with the 'Circle of Quiet' reference. I don't know anyone else who has read that. I have read every word she ever wrote - even all her semi-abysmal 'Christian' books - but Circle of Quiet is definitely special.
Other Madeleine L'Engle favorites: A Ring of Endless Light (wonderful book), Many Waters (another one in the 'Time' series - this time the 'twins' who show up in Wrinkle in Time fool around with their parents lab equipment and end up going back to the time of Noah and his Ark - wonderful book) - and House Like a Lotus.
Madeleine L'Engle is one of my idols.
And dude - give yourself a treat and read Mixed Up Files. SO COOL.
I would also participate in "books I loathed" series. Billy Budd would have to be number one.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 10:44 AMI have to confess I never managed to read Louisa May Alcott. I really ought to do something about that.
My favorites from my glorious youth include Johnny Tremain, the Encyclopedia Brown books, Black Beauty, and all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books (I think I read nearly all of 'em). In fact, I just started reading Little House in the Big Woods to Ethan (5 next month) last night.
Posted by: Ken Hall at January 16, 2004 10:52 AMKen -
She's a marvellous story teller. (Alcott) You can't go wrong with either Little Women or Little Men.
I think my favorite of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books is The Long Winter although, to be honest with you, I cannot remember why. I just loved that book.
Johnny Tremain!! Yeah! That's a name from the past. I believe my cousin Emma read and liked that one ... although I may be making that up.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 10:54 AMOkay, I lied. My list is up. I couldn't wait. This is too much fun. I feel like I'm 9 years old again.
Posted by: Emily at January 16, 2004 11:22 AMYard Ape, Emily, Yard Ape. Oh my God, the memories.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 11:33 AMDid you ever see the Ramona series they ran on PBS? The lead little girl *nailed* Ramona, just NAILED her. They did such a great job translating that book to screen.
Posted by: Emily at January 16, 2004 11:43 AMMy sister tipped me to 'A Circle of Quiet' - I think she's read everything L'engle wrote.
'Johnny Tremain' was grand. "A man can stand up." Another favorite in a similar vein was 'My Brother Sam is Dead.'
Posted by: Dan at January 16, 2004 12:02 PMDan -
Which book had the boy with the burned hand? Wasn't he burned by ... molten silver or something like that? Was it Johnny Tremain or My Brother Sam is Dead?
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 12:10 PMOh and Emily -
No, I missed the Ramona series! Damn!! I would have loved to see that.
I just loved Ramona Forever. That was the last one in the series.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 12:12 PMIt was adorable, Sheila. The "sqeaky shoes" episode....
You know what I left off of my list? Bridge to Terabithia. I bawled for days after reading that book.
Posted by: Emily at January 16, 2004 12:17 PMJohnny Tremain was the failed silversmith with the burned hand.
Now that I think of it there was another Revolutionary-era children's book that I liked alot; I can't recall the title (I'll have to do some digging) but it was about Paul Reverse as told by his horse.
Er, it was much better than it sounds.
Posted by: Dan at January 16, 2004 12:18 PM'Bridge to Terebinthia' was kinda evil like that. There I was reading it and thinking what a cool and fun relationship the two characters had and then - blam! - the author lays a whipsong on my fragile little mind and has the girl crack her skull open.
Posted by: Dan at January 16, 2004 12:31 PMOh, Sheil- Billy BUD!!!!!!!!!!hhhahahhahahaha Remember how Mr.Crothers TRIED to make us see the point in it- the Christ figure and all that...I HATED THAT BOOK!!!!!! But we forgave him, cause he was "The Crud" (meant in a TRULY loving way,Mr. Crothers, in case you are reading this...you were always our favorite!!!) Plus, he made us memorize and recite Shakespeare (Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace to the last syllable of recorded time...) I LOVE that!!!!!
oops-forgot "from day to day", but you get what I mean......
Posted by: Beth at January 16, 2004 1:08 PMWas "Encyclopedia Brown" a child detective? The son of a policeman? If so, I loved that series, read them all and tried to figure out how he solved all those "crimes" before I got to the end. How about Raoul Dahl (spelling?), I remember I loved his "Charlie" books. He has since become one of my favorites because it is so creepy the way he hates children.
Posted by: Pat W at January 16, 2004 1:20 PMSide comment. Do they make heated mice or heated mouse pads, because it's 51 degrees in my offfice.
Posted by: Pat W at January 16, 2004 1:22 PMPat, Encyclopedia Brown was a child detective and I believe his father was a cop. There were like 50 of them in the series.
Roald Dahl. Yes. I loved him. His books were extremely creepy, and the adults in them (even Willy Wonka at times) truly frightening.
Even creepier is the story of his real life. But I know way too much about that, and won't bore you with it here.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 1:30 PMBeth, I so remember Mr. Crothers trying to make us see the greatness of Billy Budd and every single person in the class hated it with unabashed passion.
I remember referring to Billy himself as "a total wimp".
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 1:31 PMThe "All-of-a-kind-Family" books were by Sidney Taylor. I loved those as a kid! Thanks for reminding me!
Posted by: segacs at January 16, 2004 2:20 PMStuck mine up, but I was a few months ahead of yous!
Posted by: Carrie at January 16, 2004 2:48 PMCarrie -
Awesome! Bridge to Terabithia is obviously a well-loved classic - it keeps coming up.
Speaking of "witches", have you ever read The Witch of Blackbird Pond? Ann Marie, if you're reading this, didn't you LOVE that book? I seem to recall that. I loved it as well.
Posted by: red at January 16, 2004 2:56 PMOk, I'm JUST now catching up to this thread and was scrolling to see if anyone included The Witch of Blackbird Pond and I see it's Sheila's last comment.
Here's what I noted recently... many of my favorite childhood books are about orphans or runaways... Witch/Blacbird, Anne of Green Gables, Mixed up Files, and my all time favorite Daddy Long Legs. I swear... ask my boyfriend, I read that book AT LEAST twice a year. But notice how they're all orphans or runaways? What's up with that?
Posted by: Ann Marie at January 16, 2004 7:20 PMYou LIKED Anne of Green Gables??? WHY??? Anne Shirley is one of the most hated literary characters in my mind! In fact, most Canadians HATE Anne of Green Gables...especially the kids I knew from the Maritimes...every time they'd hear that hated name, they'd roll their eyes and groan...stupid Anne Shirley!! And yes, the possibility of being over-exposed is always a reason for such hatred..but, it really is just a HORRIBLE book!! I haven't met many kids that actually *liked* it let alone *loved* it!!
and btw...it's Quebecois, not Quebec-ian...
:-)
Posted by: Cat at January 16, 2004 7:31 PMCat -
whatEVER. Jesus Christ. This is a post about the books that touched my heart as a child. If it doesn't please Canadians, I literally could not give a shit.
And I don't care what people from Quebec call themselves. It was an emotional post, written from the heart, about books that moved me as a child.
I do not judge my childhood choices from this standard: "Oh, do Canadians like this character?"
I love Anne Shirley. End of story. It's an opinion. Or - not just an opinion - it's an emotional response to a character. Nationalism doesn't come into it.
Make your own list if you don't like mine.
Posted by: red at January 17, 2004 1:20 AMAnn Marie -
I think why I loved books that starred orphans or runaways - or why that is such a popular theme - is that little kids don't feel that they have much 'say' in their lives. Their lives and destinies are controlled to some extent by parents and teachers. (Thank God) But the concept of ... being FREE of that ... of having to surive by your wits ... or NOT having to deal with 'society' - of being beyond the pale - is very appealing to a 9 or 10 year old.
Pissy Canadian opinions notwithstanding.
Posted by: red at January 17, 2004 1:22 AMOh and Ann - how could I forget the importance of Daddy Long Legs??
Member when we walked out of the Wrigleyside our last night out in Chicago and saw that a band called Daddy Long Legs was playing at the Cubby Bear?
I still have that picture.
Posted by: red at January 17, 2004 1:37 AMJust for the record--it's Ohiocois, not Ohioan.
Posted by: David at January 17, 2004 3:37 PMwow. didn't realise my opinion would generate such a bitchy response...i was only asking WHY you liked the character Anne, i did not intend to insult your choice of childhood books...relax!
and i don't think many kids do (nor should they) care about what others think about the books they love... I WAS ASKING YOU TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU LOVED ANNE SHIRLEY...ok? are we clear here? you can now remove the spoon.
and I am sure you don't care what people from Quebec call themselves, i was making the point because i thought it might be of interest...(N.B. you will sound like less of a dork) but, if you don't care then you don't care. god knows americans know more about anything then anyone else...
Posted by: Cat at January 17, 2004 4:58 PMCat -
If you go back and read your comment and look at your word choices, maybe you will understand why you generated a bitchy response. Multiple capital letters and many exclamation points. If someone screams at you, in a cyber way, "WHY DID YOU LIKE SUCH AND SUCH?" it is not the same thing as, "Wow. I don't like that book at all. What drew you to it?"
If you can't tell the difference between the two, then I don't know what to tell you.
And yes, I am a dork. I don't know if you read my site much, you've never commented before, so I have no idea if you are familiar with my tone. I am a dork. I am a huge dork. And no, I don't care if I sound like one.
I mean no disrespect towards people from Quebec. I wrote the post very quickly, I wanted to make sure I remembered all of my favorites. And no, I don't know everything. Uh ... did I ever say I did? That's your own bitchy filter for Americans.
I loved the Anne Shirley books because I fell in love with that character. I fell in love with how Lucy Maud Montgomery tells a tale. I was completely entranced by everybody I met in those pages. To my taste, she created a living and breathing world, full, and rich, and funny, and tragic. I learned a lot reading those books, but they also transported me and were vehicles for complete escape. By the end of the series, I truly felt like I knew some of those characters just as well as I knew my own friends. She also wrote about the beauties of nature in a way which I found completely exhilarating. I grew up on the ocean as well, and her descriptions of that kind of life - the sensory details - all of it - I guess she made me open my eyes, look at my own surroundings, and see the beauty there. I can't describe HOW she did it, but I know that she did. I looked at sunsets differently, snow falling, birch trees. Montgomery's words were magical to me.
"god knows americans know more about anything then anyone else..."
Not necessarily true, but in this case, most of us know that the word you were looking for was "than anyone else".
I mean, speaking of dorks and all.
Posted by: Emily at January 18, 2004 10:33 AMYes! I remember the Daddy Long Legs band night!
As for Cat in Canada, I'll chime in and say that I have MANY friends who cite the Anne series as one of their favorites... for me, it was the depth of detail... the fact that LM would mention a character in one book and there they'd be again in the 3rd book after that. Of course, the orphan thing helped. I can't really say why that book (series) meant more to me than, say, Trixie Belden (though I read all those, too), but there was a richness to it... maybe it had to do with the descriptions you mention... it felt more, oh, I don't know... meat-y, literature-like (whatever that means). It's too bad that Cat doesn't see it that way, but life is too short to wonder why someone would get so *angry* about people who loved it...
Posted by: Ann Marie at January 18, 2004 4:59 PMTrixie Belden!
Did I ever tell you, Ann, (and now I will just tell the whole damn world) that when I was 12 years old I read all the Trixie Beldens and loved them but one element was missing: sex. I was 12 - so what the hell did I know - but it was hinted at the Trixie had crushes on people, etc., but I always wanted MORE. i wanted Trixie to have some Judy Blume-esque chapter.
So I wrote them myself. They are X-rated (or a 12 year old's version of X-rated, with many inaccuracies about the mechanics of sex) - and they involve Trixie stealing away for sexual liaisons at the "boathouse".
And I was friends with a freak-girl at the time (junior high days - didn't have many friends yet) - and her parents were fundamentalist Christians - and the two of us absolutely LOVED Trixie and would read them together. Unfortunately, I leant her my X-rated extra Trixie chapters, and her parents found them.
She called me, embarrassed, to tell me that I was never allowed to come over to her house again.
Sad to say, I was RELIEVED. I never really liked her anyway.
But still, I was mortified that I was the sex-pot Catholic girl her parents didn't want to cross their doorstep. And I was such a freakin' INNOCENT! If they only knew!!
Posted by: red at January 18, 2004 5:29 PMI didn't know that all capital letters meant (in cyberspace) that I was yelling...my many sorries...i did actually want to know why you liked Anne Shirley seeing as most people I know HATE her...but again, it is probably due to too much Anne...most Canadian girls and boys are force-fed Anne Shirley throughout school and the natural response is to HATE Anne Shirley forever after that...that and I've never been a fan of the "spunky female character" that eventually grows out of that "spunk"...but that's just me...
Posted by: Cat at January 19, 2004 1:35 PMCat -
I can totally understand how being force-fed something would make you hate it!! I hate Billy Budd by Melville for that very reason. It may be a good book, but I'll never see it!
I came to the Anne books completely on my own, tripping over them in my local library.
Posted by: red at January 19, 2004 6:56 PMI thought that I was the only one who loves and remembers the Betsy books and other childhood classics.
it was great to read everyone's comments.
Posted by: Mona Roy at May 6, 2004 8:02 PM