Children’s Lit

I love children’s literature! Lately I’ve been re-reading some of the books I enjoyed as a child. I don’t know if it’s the nostalgia factor or if books written back then just really were better than most of the newer stuff. Actually, a lot of the stuff I read when I was growing up (in the ’70s) was written in the ’40s and ’50s.

I didn’t start school till I was nearly 7. (The school where I started didn’t offer kindergarten at the time.) I learned to read that year and just devoured books! I was reading full-length chapter books by the end of 1st grade. I remember that summer between first and second grade our tiny little library couldn’t keep me in books. They would send off for books for me from a larger library in the county. The only books I was really familiar with at the time were the Little House on the Prairie books. I read that whole series that summer, and the librarian picked other books for me.

One book I remember reading was about a little girl who could read minds. I didn’t remember the title of the book or much about the plot other than her brothers helping her win a spelling bee by sitting in the audience looking up words in the dictionary so she could read their minds and spell the words correctly. For some reason, I just really enjoyed that story. We moved away before too long and I never had a chance to read that book again, and I never could look for it in other libraries because I didn’t remember the title, much less the author.

Imagine my delight last week when this book, The Trouble with Jenny’s Ear, just jumped out at me at my favorite local book thrift store. The minute I saw it I just knew it was that book I have been looking for since 1973! And for a quarter! I finally got to re-read it, and guess what? The plot was exactly as I remembered it. Fun!

I also came across a copy of an out-of-print Lois Lenski book, Judy’s Journey. I remember reading all of Lois Lenski’s books (at least all that I found in the libraries over the years), but these days only a couple are available, even at the library. After I re-read Judy’s Journey, I realized why. They wouldn’t be considered politically correct any more. Such a shame.

I found a list of Lois Lenski titles and added them to my wish list on www.paperbackswap.com. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find some more. I’m also looking for Betsy-Tacy books.

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