Friday Fives

Friday Fives

1. What were your favorite childhood stories?
Cowboy Sam and his Airplane, a series of children’s chapter books where Sam and his Indian friend would fly around the American West and help people. I remember there being a strong conservation theme to the stories.

2. What books from your childhood would you like to share with [your] children?
Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and McKloskey’s Make way for Ducklings – the images from these two books have stayed with me all my life. Second tier choices would be Encylopedia Brown, the young adult biography series and Curious George.

3. Have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything?
Where the Wild Things Are. What a funny, fabulous book. It has such an uplifting message about the power of imagination. “Let the wild rumpus start!” I appreciate this more now, as a supposed grownup then I did as a child. Max is inspired.

4. How old were you when you first learned to read?
We didn’t have the most progressive school system and heck it was the early 70s before a lot of education reform. I didn’t learn to read until the first grade, which is what, six years old? That is years behind in today’s world.

5. Do you remember the first ‘grown-up’ book you read? How old were you?
Dune by Frank Herbert. Probably seventh grade so I would say 12 years old, maybe. In the meantime, I read almost all of the encylcopedia and have always loved reading short stories. I read a few collections very early on as well as read some Reader’s Digest Condensed Books that my Grandmother collected, but I can’t remember the stories. I really think I just carried the books around to look important. I am sure I wasn’t allowed to read Harold Robbins as a fifth or sixth grader.