My parents have recently moved into a new house in the foothills with plenty of room to spread out. Between that and their first grandchild, my daughter, starting to show an interest in “big kid” things, in the past few weeks I’ve seen boxes come out of storage, filled with things I’d long since packed away–physically and metaphorically speaking.
I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you that many of these items are part of my rather massive childhood book collection. My mother pulled the box open the last time I was at their house and I literally squealed, remembering being curled up in my bean bag chair, right next to the bookshelf, pulling book after book down to read, even long after I was “too old” to really enjoy the childish stories.
Some of them I had to take back to my own home, just to have them near to me. The rest now span the shelfs in my daughter’s “play nook” at my parents’ house. Just looking at the covers of these books floods me with outrageous feelings of nostalgia, remembering cramming in with my siblings around my dad’s feet every night before bed, just dying for the next chapter in the story. I can’t help but wonder if it’s just me? What were your favorite childhood stories?
Topping the list of my all-time childhood must-reads, here are the books that I couldn’t leave behind at my parents’ house and now sit on the shelves in Iris’ nursery. Hopefully one days she’ll pull them off one-by-one and flip through them herself!
1. Chronicles of Narnia, Collector’s Edition Set
2. The Hobbit
3. Peter Pan
5. The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear (Iris already loves this one!)
Sarah Ann Noel is a freelance writer, blogger, and public relations professional. She blogs “Read Alert” every week and covers other Denver-related events and thoughts on writing and motherhood on her personal blog. Check back every week for reviews, literary events, and other bookish finds.