National Young Reader's Day: Some of My Favorite Childhood Books

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Today is National Young Reader's Day--"... a special day to recognize the joys and benefits of reading."

I've been a voracious reader since I was able to string words together. Interestingly, I don't have much of a memory of the books that were read to me before I could read myself, but I vividly remember the books I loved as a child.

Here is a nod to some of them.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, is the first full-length book I remember reading. I was eight years old.

This is a picture of the actual version I read. It was an abridged version, but I loved the illustrations. In my mind, that is still what Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy look like.

My Aunt Jean (sadly no longer with us) had recommended it to me, saying "You'll cry your eyes out and back in again!"

This was just before my family went to Beirut, Lebanon as missionaries. We were in New York City for several days before our ship sailed, and my parents bought me beautiful hardbound copies of "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys." I was in heaven.

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This book laid the foundation for my lifelong love of The Chronicles of Narnia. I saw British friends reading it at Manor House School in Beirut, and that sparked my interest.

Even as a child, I was able to see the spiritual parallels. Years later, I made sure my own children read them.


I received this book as a Christmas gift when I was a little girl, and it was a treasure trove for me! I also loved Blyton's "Mallory Towers" series.

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This was the first Noel Streatfield book I read, but I think I probably ended up reading all of them. They were all about children who were very talented, either as skaters, dancers or actors. I enjoyed them immensely.

I was delighted when the books were actually mentioned in the movie, "You've Got Mail."

Those are just a few. You can read here about my other favorites, Auntie Robbo and Red Knights from Hy Brasil...and here about what my love of a childhood book has to do with a murder in an English village!

Reading enriched my childhood and continues to do so today!

What were YOUR favorite books as a child?

Saturday Review of Books: C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters

"We want cattle who can finally become food," says the demon, "He wants servants who can finally become sons."

I originally posted this on my other blog, Notes in the Key of Life, on January 29, 2004.

I read "The Screwtape Letters" yesterday, and was once again struck by the wit and wisdom of C. S. Lewis.

Yes, I read the entire book...it's actually a pretty slim volume...and no, I had never read it before. I was home sick from work, fighting this bronchial/sinus/icky thing that has been making me feel rotten for the past few days. And there was nothing to read. So I breached the haven of my daughter's bedroom and found the book, which had been one of her Christmas presents. (She had read a library copy before and loved it.)

In case you're unfamiliar with it, the book is in the form of letters from a mentor demon (Screwtape) to a less experienced one (Wormwood.) Screwtape gives Wormwood advice on how to handle his "patient," the human to whom he has been assigned. His advice on methods to use to keep this man away from "the Enemy"...which is how he refers to God...is not only entertaining in a macabre sort of way, but convicting, as we see how often we as Christians cooperate with the real enemy's agenda.

A couple of things really stood out for me. One is how frustrated and bewildered the demons are by God's love for humans. "He actually likes the little vermin," Screwtape writes disgustedly at one point. That sentiment was repeated often.

Screwtape also talks about the fact that God wants to people the universe with little replicas of Himself...yet in making them more like Him, he also gives them back their own distinctness, making them more themselves than they ever were. "We want cattle who can finally become food," says the demon, "He wants servants who can finally become sons."

Another was (and this is a spoiler if you haven't read it) Screwtape's reaction to the patient's death. While furious that Wormwood has allowed a soul to slip through his clutches, he resignedly describes what the human must have been experiencing when his soul left his body. Screwtape is appalled that this "creature of slime" is now able to stand up and converse with spirit beings whose light the demons are unable to bear.

He also observes that, when meeting these spirit beings, the human instantly feels recognition...not asking "Who are you?" but saying, "So it was you..."

Wonderful book, with a lot of food for thought. Some people criticize Lewis' theology, but when I read one of his books, I'm usually inspired anew by the wonder of being a child of God...and that moves me to love Him more. And that's a good thing.

Participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books:

Another fun book quiz!

This one's quick and easy...take it in my comments section or on your own blog!

You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?--I guess I don't know enough about the book...I've never read it or seen the movie, although I know it's about book burning and a group of people who memorize books. If the question is what book would I memorize, I think it would be Psalms or Isaiah from the Bible.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?--Oh, yeah, many. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was probably the first. The original "bad boy"!

The last book you bought is: I honestly don't remember. Probably something at the airport to read on a flight.

The last book you read: Summer's End, by Irish author Mary Ryan. Got it at the library. I can't recommend it to everyone, but it was very compelling.




What are you currently reading?--Nothing at the moment, believe it or not, because I'm supposed to be getting ready for my Texas trip! I WILL have to have something to read on the plane,though...preferably something very suspenseful and page-turning.


Five books you would take to a deserted island:

The Bible
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis

(Although it might be prudent to have The SAS Survival Handbook on hand!)


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