Books: An escape for Adults; an Adventure for Kids

If someone were to ask you the types of books you read as a kid, could you remember?  Generally, you probably could…but could you remember the exact titles of some of your favorites or which books you held dear because they were a special gift?

For those of us who might not remember that far back, here’s where a little thing called keepsakes comes into play.  While I am not a hoarder, I will admit to being somewhat of a packrat but I have a better title for what I am…I am a collector of memories.  I keep anything and everything that will generate some sort of memory for me, good or bad.  It’s probably one of the reasons I got into scrapbooking. 

So the other night I was going through some old keepsakes and I found a bunch of books I kept from when I was a kid.  I won’t deny it made me extremely nostalgic.  Not just for how exciting it was to be a young reader always on the lookout for a new and exciting story but also for the days when I used to read books to my boys when they were small children.  Books are a wonderful escape as an adult.  For children, books are not an escape so much as they are an adventure.  Children get lost in the story because of the wonder and the possibilities and just because the story excites them and makes them feel good.  

Some books are simple, such as these hard bound books I had when I was a very young reader…

Other books are for beginning readers but offer fun as well, such as Peggy & Me, which let me turn the pages to dress both girls in the book differently.  Or my Lolly Elephant book which, if you could actually feel through the computer, you’d discover Lolly is covered with a soft, fuzzy material. 

 

 



At one point, I moved on to Disney stories and a favorite of mine included read-along books with records.  I even had two 45’s!

 

 

 

 

Eventually, I moved up from read-along records to actual paperbacks of some of my favorite Disney stories…

 

Except Run Wild, I don't believe that's Disney.  I even remember when I was really into animals – well, I’m always into animals but there was a time when I adored books about animals and these are a few favorites I kept:

 

Another change in my reading habits began when I loved comics and one I got a kick out of was Spy vs. Spy.  Think of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner…but not as cute and a bit more devilish.

Of course, my first favorite series was Little House on the Prairie, before I moved on to the Nancy Drew mysteries. 

It wasn’t long before I realized that mysteries were my favorite.  I have no doubt my early interests in mysteries led to my later interests in investigating and now my interest in writing mysteries.

These are just some of the books I grew up with.  It may be hard to believe I still have them after all this time but really, if you know me even a little, you know it’s not very hard to believe at all.  These books are very important to me.  Not only are they a part of my past and how I became an avid reader at such an early age, but they are also a part of my future as the love I found for books back then has only continued to increase as I grow older. 

How about you?  Are you a collector of memories?  Do you still have books from when you were a kid and if so, what types of books hold the fondest memories for you?