Summer Reads

By Mary Anne Donovan and company

A heartfelt and hearty thanks to all our readers who responded to my request to share your childhood reading memories with us! The response was overwhelming, and I only wish I could thank each of you individually.

So here you go for some lovely stories and great read ideas:

*****

Does anyone remember Janet Lambert books? I loved them as an older child—junior high, I think. They were slightly romantic yet always a good story.  Star Spangled Summer" is one title I remember reading several times. How I loved long summer days when I could read as long as I wanted without having to stop to do homework.  

Sunnye Tiedemann,  Overland Park KS

*****

Dear Mary Anne,

As a child, The Secret Seven and The Famous Five by Enid Blyton were my greatest favourites. The enterprising children who peopled these books found mysteries during their school holidays and solved them.  I devoured these stories, reading during every available moment.

And how little has changed! I'm still reading mysteries and crime fiction, and chiefly those written by women. Last summer I discovered  Donna Leon. Her main character is Commissario Brunetti, who lives and works in the beautiful city of Venice. He is a great character, and the stories are wonderfully told. I can't omit my other favourite detective though, Detective Inspector Lynley, who is the creation of Elizabeth George.  Ms.

George has set her mysteries in England, and so authentically, that I was amazed when I found that she was actually Californian.

Best wishes,
Ria McMahon

*****

Hello!

Fortunately for me as the "oldest" of eight grandchildren, my grandparents were voracious readers of hard cover books, and members of a Book of the Month Club.  A  few favourites, which by proximity and familiarity, became my own, every time I'd visit from 2 blocks away, which was almost daily, I'd read from their personal library, from Shakespeare to Frank Yerby. The original orange, hard-covered series by Zane Grey, then Jack London of course. The Call of the Wild, Trail of '98, a Collection of  Verses, and more by Robert Service, and much later, Pierre Burton.  Little Women, by Elizabeth Maude Montgomery, and her sequels.  And Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and others by Canadian writers, such as Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea.  

And then came  Pearl Buck.   I never new at the time--as an early teen, that the "Love of My Life" who I'd meet in my late 30's, was at that time "living in a Consulate in Shanghai" and soon would be moving to Vancouver, Canada.   I must have read all of Pearl Buck's stories three times oer by age 15!  I'd never SEEN TOFU!

And then there was Thomas B. Costain.  I loved his  Silver Chalice.  And then Love is Eternal the story of Abe Lincoln and his wife, and that fabulous inscription in her wedding ring--inspiration for one of the first screenplays I wrote that's gathering dust in this computer! 

My grandparents story?  I've got that  in development.  They were pioneers of  BC's Pacific Northwest at the turn of the Century and they, fortunately for myself and my cousin Margo, encouraged us in self-expression, told us a lot of stories, and we are  both busy writing in every spare moment, each in our own venue.    And Margo's dad, my uncle Art, age "mid-80's" is busy writing and his aunt Frankie's memoirs--from 1921 to date!   History becomes clarity in the mid-80's, or so we're told! Thousands of pages of what two people in love can overcome and the hurdles to happiness along that bumpy journey!   As Matriarch of a generation, hopefully Frankie will get to see her parents story and her own story made into film and print.

Vera A. Holman

*****

Cheryl Jackson writes:
I loved Joy In the Morning, by Betty Smith.  It was such a fresh, uplifting story of love unfolding like a rose...I also loved the book Christy, by Catherine Marshall.  Both books are over 35 years old and still in print—that says something!

*****

And from Kim:

Hello,
I remember reading "The Boxcar Children" series during my summers as a child. Full of mystery and family, I always wanted to be as clever as they were. Thanks.

*****

Yes! I DO remember "the Scholastic Book Club"! – I'm "dating" myself, as well, aren't I?

I was an "only child". . . Reading is one of the very FEW things that a kid can do to entertain themselves that doesn't require OTHER participants (I guess the people that gave me "board games" for Christmas and birthday presents – like "CandyLand" and such – had good INTENTIONS, anyway. . . **sigh**), so, when I made one of my weekly summer trips to the library as a kid, I was barely even able to LIFT and CARRY all the books that I brought back home with me to read . . . )

But, reading my very favorite books, I remember like YESTERDAY (and, in my case, it was over 40 years ago!):

Carbonel, King of Cats and The Kingdom of Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh influenced me SO MUCH that I haven't been without a pet black cat by my side, since. . . (this one's named "Plunkett")

I read and RE-read ALL of the "Mary Poppins" books by P. L. Travers over and over again—didn't care so much for the movie when it came out . . . just shows you how vividly we "see" characters from books in our "mind's eye" – Julie Andrews was simply NOT at ALL like how I imagined Mary Poppins would be! 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis was another series that transported me to a faraway, magical place . . . **sigh**

The City Under the Back Steps by Evelyn Sibley Lampman (where some children shrink down to the size of ants and go on an adventure) was another of my favorites . . .

SIDE NOTE: If you had a favorite book as a child (or even as an adult) but you can't remember the title of it or the author's name, a site called "Abebooks.co.uk" runs a message board called "Booksleuth" where you can post what you DO remember about the book (part of the plot, the characters' names, an illustration, etc.), and the members of that community are simply AMAZING at being able to – 9 times out of ten –  come up with the info you're looking for! Check 'em out! It's pretty fascinating just reading the requests that other people made and the answers they got – even if you're NOT looking for info on a book right now . . . ) 

*****

Growing up in Florida, summers were white-hot, steamy and looonng.  So, it was a great relief when, as a preteen, I discovered the bookmobile.  Inside the fat cigar-shaped bus, it was cool and dark.  And the smell . . . all that old polished wood and hundreds of books.  What could be better.  The librarian (whom I can only remember as a voice) always tried to steer me toward the juvenile books about horses and the adolescent girls who loved them.  But somehow I managed to leave each time with something from the YA section.  My favorite was The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread by Don Robertson.  Of course, I went on to read the rest of the trilogy.  And cried like Niagara Falls at the end.

Gloria Slater, Conesus, NY.

*****

Two of my favorite Summer reads were The Wind In The Willows and The Red Badge Of Courage. As a kid growing up in the world's original dysfunctional family one of

my escapes was the library. The librarian, whose name I can't remember, pointed me to various genres of reading. Before I was in High School I had read The Illiad, The Odyssey, Moby Dick, Robinson Crusoe and most of the great novels and stories. Bless her for her insight and willingness to invest herself in me.

Ray Newman, 1SGT USA (Ret)

*****

Dear Editor:

You are not alone in your recollections of the Scholastic Book Club.  It was a favorite of mine as well.

As for summer reads, I spend most summers at the local library reading biographies.  I have always been fascinated by the life experiences of successful people (and any biography of a person means success-right?).  Anyhow, the summer I discovered Little Women was exceptional.  Having been born in 1950's to a working class family, a large emphasis was not placed on empowering women or reading women's literature.  When I discovered the Marche family, I felt as if the book had been written for me as I identified so much with its main character, Jo.  I affectionately recalled those images thirty years later when I introduced the book and the film (1994) to my children.  I was amazed to see what type of life I had created for myself and my family as I compared them to the Marches and the images etched into my mind so many summers ago.   

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!

*****

My favourite book to read in the summer and any time for years and years was Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Books. It had a green linen cover and looked already like jungle before I even opened it. I could have sworn that I was able to smell the musky exotic odours I associated with the idea of jungle and my favourite animals, big cats. One summer I lent it to my very best girlfriend who would not return it.  After much prompting she made an effort, but dropped it into a deep rain puddle as she was bringing it over to my house.

I was devastated! The best of all fathers had it cleaned, dried and professionally bound new to dry my tears. I will never forget that!

*****

My favorite summer reading was the Nancy Drew series . . . they would take me far away into an adventure and out of the cotton fields where I worked on the family farm.  Her roadster, circle of friends, hair-raising escapades were survival devices in an otherwise dreary summer of work!

Geneva Rodgers, Throckmorton, Texas

*****

Hi—my favorite summer read as a kid was Catcher in the Rye—I guess it's because my Dad gave it to me for my August birthday (15) and I loved it so much—it always reminded me of summer and baseball.  I am a published poet, author and humorist—and wish every day that I could write like Salinger.

*****

Dear Ms Donovan,

When I was growing up, the local library was one of few air conditioned places. How my sister and I looked forward to our weekly trip, hauling home as many books as our bicycle baskets would hold. While my sister devoured the NANCY DREW SERIES, I, seven years younger, went for THE BOBSEY TWINS. Later, I read everything horse-related by Marguerite Henry I could get my hands on. A special treat was to curl up on our screened back porch during a summer storm; the wind picking up and occasional bolts of lightning added a bit of drama to whatever we were reading and we’d lower the canvas awnings just a bit and settle in for the afternoon. Whenever I’m asked about popular children’s TV in the 50’s I have to admit, my memory comes up short. I was busy reading.