I learned to read when I was four, since K-4 was offered at my Christian school. I have clear memories of sitting in our basement, reading slightly mildewy books as if they were my best friends. One of my favorites was the book above, The Innkeeper’s Daughter. I remember the little girl, Abigail, was a wild child who liked to run around upsetting carts and generally making messes. Naughty, naughty Abigail was a recurring line throughout the book. But then her father, the innkeeper, decided to house a pregnant lady and her husband overnight…and of course it was Mary and Joseph. Once naughty Abigail looked in baby Jesus’ face, she knew she was looking at something spectacular, and wanted to turn her life around.
I’ve since lost that copy of the book, but I’ll never forget it. It was the story of the prodigal son, before I even understood that story from the Bible.
My kids have loved different books. Richard Scarry was probably my son’s favorite, as he loved looking at all the trucks/cars in the pictures, and the stories were hilarious.
My daughter loved Dr. Seuss’ One Fish Two Fish, Hop on Pop and just about anything Dr. Seuss. I love the fact that he wrote those books as early readers, but broke the Dick and Jane traditions with his semi-surreal pictures and storylines.
My other daughter loved her kindergarten readers, a set of books called Fun Tales.
There are so many other wonderful children’s books, I know I haven’t begun to scratch the surface. I also loved Arnold Lobel’s Mouse Tales and Owl at Home. Not to mention all those Little Golden Books, Little Bear books…the list is endless.
Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane!
******Which books do you still remember from your childhood? Can you explain why they still stick with you?******
AND PS–As of 5:15 pm on Jan. 16th, the comments aren’t posting right on here. Please leave one as a reply, I think that will work. And let me know if you still have trouble! Thanks!
The Story of Ferdinand the Bull is still a favorite, not only for the story, but the pictures as well, which are delightful!
You're so right! Ferdinand is a great book!
My daughter and I had a tradition of reading Dr. Seuss's "The Sleep Book" in the evenings before bed. We pretty much had it memorized. Such great memories that book brings back. Thanks for swinging by Swagger!
I'd forgotten all about Richard Scarry, my kids loved him. For some reason, the Meg and Mog books stick in my memory the most from my own childhood.
My favorite book was The Cow that Fell in the Canal. It's about a fat Dutch cow that [guess what] . . . falls [guess where] . . . in a canal. But she can't get out. She somehow winds up miles away at a farmer's market in the city. She is in luck, however, for this market happens to be the one where her owner sells his cheese. He finds her there and brings her home.The story is okay, but what I liked best was the fact that it was a story about a COW. When I asked for books about cows, that was the only book the librarians could find for me. This is pretty remarkable when you consider the fact that, at that time, dairy farming was THE main industry in my small town. Perhaps it's not so remarkable, then, that 30+ years later that same town has lost most of its dairy farms.
omg! Arch books!!! I have several of these left over from my childhood. My favorite–and my daughters' now, too, is "Donkey Daniel in Bethlehem." But we also love "Conrad the Cobbler." Such fun little stories. Yay! Thanks for the reminder~ <3
The Pokey Little Puppy! My mom read that book to my brother & I over and over and over until we had it memorized and we'd then 'read it' to each other. My mother was very busy with five kids and an everchanging array of foster children, living in a very old house in the country with one bathroom. She still found the time to read to us, though. Great post – brings back wonderful memories. 🙂
I loved the Frances books by the Hobans. And I love reading them to my daughters, now! (By the way, I'm homeschooling them, too. 🙂
I love all these comments, bring back many memories! I kind of remember Donkey Daniel, LTM. And we read The Poky Little Puppy many times to the kids! I loved the Frances books (wanted to buy more, but never got around to it!) Glad to meet another homeschooler, Faith!I can attest that The Cow that Fell in the Canal was an awesome book, b/c it was my hubby's favorite (and his comment too). We loved reading that to our kids–it was set in Holland, I believe.
I remember all of the Dr. Seuss books. The book that sticks most in my memory was The Mouse and the Motorcycle.
Ah, yes, my fam loved the Mouse on the Motorcycle books, too. Did you ever watch the TV movie version w/the kid from The Wonder Years as the boy who visits the hotel?