Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Oldies But Goodies

I recently bought this book for two of my grandchildren.  David and the Phoenix was written in 1957, and that is about the year I read it myself!  I marveled at the fantasy and travel in the book and loved reading it so much that I have never forgotten it.

So, while I was thinking about Summer reading for children, I remembered the joy I got from reading this book.  Some things never get old change.  Children still enjoy mystery, adventure and fantasy.  Tonight I climbed into the bed between Ashlyn and Liv and let Ashlyn begin reading Chapter I of the book.  Livie soon fell asleep, but Ashlyn fell in love with the book...the same book I fell in love with over 50 years ago.  It was fun to share this experience with her and to see her enjoy it in the same way I did so many, many years ago.

There are many new books out there for our children and grandchildren, but sometimes we need to reach back into the past and pull out some of the wonderful books that were written when we were children ourselves.  There was a sweetness and innocence fifty years ago that has all but disappeared today.  I am concerned that many children are reading books such as The Hunger Games, which seems like a very intense book for third and fourth graders to be reading (yet, many of them are!) I wonder if we are rushing them into adulthood with some of this reading material.

I have other books which I remember reading when I was just a bit older that I would also like to share with Ashlyn when she is older.  I read all of Dr. Tom Dooley's books, Deliver Us From Evil, The Edge of Tomorrow, and The Night They Burned the Mountain and he was an inspiration to me as I was growing up.  They were intense and difficult books with frightening images of terrible things in a far away country, but Dr. Dooley's self-sacrificing love and concern for others was inspiring.  I have never forgotten those stories.  But, for now at least, David and the Phoenix seems like appropriate reading material for a ten-year-old and I am thrilled that she is loving it as much as I did.  She has also told me she likes Nancy Drew books.  I find those an excellent choice too.

So, as you consider a gift for your child or grandchild, remember some of the books you read and loved as a child.  There is nothing greater than teaching a child about the gift of reading and how a book can take you anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes.  In this world full of technology, there is still nothing quite like escaping into a really great book.

Happy Reading.

God Bless - Peace, Love and Joy

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