For the Love of Books

When I was growing up, books were in abundance.  Both of my parents loved to read.  We frequently visited our public libraries on the weekends.  On Wednesday nights, we would visit our church's tiny library before church.  I read and re-read the adventures of Encyclopedia Brown, and as I grew older those of Janette Oke.  I attended a small Christian school with an equally small library where I tackled every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery.  For Christmas when I was in seventh grade, I received the entire Anne of Green Gables book series and read them immediately.  When I began my public school education, the library of my middle school overwhelmed me!  I would check out the maximum amount of books allowed each week, and I was a library helper (nerd alert, but I'm ok with it).  Expanding from the Christian book genre of my childhood, I was exposed to stories of romance and intrigue.  I read everything from Sweet Valley High to The Hobbit (even though that was to impress a boy).  In high school, I read everything that my teachers would throw at me.  I developed a deep love for allegory and satire.  I loved historical fiction.  Even now, when I have the opportunity, I will lose myself in a book for days at a time.

The books I read when I was quite young were mostly faith-based.  With the growing availability of literary styles in middle school, these different aspects of writing would captivate my imagination.  One such poem was Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.  I remember reading the fanciful and nonsensical language and wondering what in the world was going on?  I read it again.  I knew the story of Alice in Wonderland, but I had never read the novel.  I had watched the Disney adaptation back in the day when the Disney Channel showed classic movies on Friday nights.  The form of writing was so unique to me, that I wanted to read more.  I checked out Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and my love for fantasy writing began.  I appreciated the literal representation of creatures like the dragon fly, rocking horse fly and bread-and-butterfly.  I remember thinking, "that sounds exactly like how I pictured things in my head when I was little". 

As I grew older, I kept learning about the different types of literature.  When I was in college, I took a British Literature class where we discussed the interesting life and works of Lewis Carroll.  I learned that the writing of Alice's Adventures is Wonderland is what started children's literature, and that Carroll was the pioneer who made the way for stories written for children. At the same time, I was working as an after-school teacher for elementary school-aged kiddos and was a tutor at the local elementary school.  I knew stories and poems and plays and books would speak to my little friends.  I began my own collection of children's books while in college.  My Mama gifted my an entire box of Robert Munsch, Arthur, and Jan Brett books to have on-hand.  This collection grew as I became a Nanny, a teacher's assistant, a babysitter, a Mama, and an Aunt.  I love that the kiddos in my life associate me with reading.

My love for Alice grew, too.  While I do have an extensive Mickey Mouse collection ('cause I'm all about that Disney), I realized recently that my oldest and most intentional Disney collection is that of Alice's world.  I have several copies of different adaptations of the books.  I enjoy the various film versions of the story.  My sister gave me my first Alice coffee mug when I lived in Florida.  She and I purchased tea sets together in Virginia, and mine was modeled after the Red Queen.  A sweet friend gave me an exquisite tea pot on theme.  My children have found me little trinkets or drawn me pictures from the silly, sweet realm.  When I had to downsize from a big house to a tiny apartment, many Mickey items had to fall by the wayside, but all the Alice memorabilia stayed with me. 

I was so excited to learn that the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville, SC was housing a Wonderland exhibit.  My family and I visited this past weekend, and it was such a treat.  On display, there are illustrations on loan from the Smithsonian.  There are "new" pieces of art as Alice has been reimagined by artist, Charles Santore.  There is information about Lewis Carroll.  The highlight for us was seeing the costumes and models from Tim Burton's interpretation of Alice in Wonderland.  If you live locally, I would definitely recommend going to check this out whether you are a fan of Alice or not.  If you enjoy the written word, you will find this exhibit to be a treat!

Is there a book, story, poem, play that you loved as a child?   Can you remember the first thing you read that made you think?  That engaged your imagination?  I would love to hear from you!