My children cut their teeth on books like Pat the Bunny (Dorothy Kunhardt), The Little Engine That Could (Watty Piper), Goodnight Moon, The Golden Egg Book and Home for a Bunny (all by Margaret Wise Brown) and various nursery rhyme board books.
It all started when I received a lovely book basket overflowing with these
colorful childhood treasures from my sister-in-law as a baby shower gift. I
poured over every illustration and devoured every word like I’d never seen the
likes of such playfulness. And, I hadn’t.
Growing up just as
television became a household item books went to the wayside in our home. Rather
than a bedtime story every night, my sisters and I were sent off to bed after
watching our favorite week night after-dinner sitcom or weekend variety show.
On special occasions we stayed up past our bedtime to watch the latest Sunday
night Wonderful World of Disney movie or holiday animated specials.
I loved listening to
stories: in school, during the flannel graph Bible stories at Sunday school and
listening to family stories as we gathered around the dinner table. But,
books just weren’t a priority in our house.
(Amazed that a children's author and writer didn't grow up loving books? Yeah, me too. Click here and join me at Christian Children's Authors blog for the rest of the story, won't you?)