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Wow. I am reading "Harriet the Spy" right now as one of my twelve novels for a librabry books challenge. The category is "Childhood Favorite."
I read about Harriet in third grade, and was amazed at myself because the book was so very long.
My vivid images were the notebook, the belt, and the dumbwaiter.
I wanted to be a spy, and in fact did spy quite a bit with notebook in hand. That was my main memory of the book.
But boy, was there more to it! Pretty deep stuff, like her friend who cares for his father and has to cash his paycheck so they can eat. The nanny who takes her to see her indigent mother.
Anyway, here is the experiment.
Think of a book you haven;t read since you were a child. It can even be a picture/story book. Write down your most vivd memories of it here. Read the book again, and see what you think now.
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In the fourth grade, I fell in love with a series of books about a science minded kid. It was basically a mystery novel where the hero would solve the problems using science. I want to say the kids name was Seymour Simmons, but I don't remember. I couldn't find it on-line.
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We read Harriet the Spy in 4th grade. For some reason, the teacher thought it would be a good idea to encourage everyone to keep a notebook, like Harriet did.
Of course, many people wrote nasty things about other people, and the notebooks were eventually seen by others, and many fights broke out. Crazy time!
Two of my favorite books in grade school were A Wrinkle in Time and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, both of which are on my list to read again. I hardly remember anything about the first, and I recently saw the movie for the second, so it's colored my memories quite a bit.
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quote:Originally posted by brojack17: In the fourth grade, I fell in love with a series of books about a science minded kid. It was basically a mystery novel where the hero would solve the problems using science. I want to say the kids name was Seymour Simmons, but I don't remember. I couldn't find it on-line.
Sounds like Encyclopedia Brown, but all his adventures were in short story form, and the collection of those stories formed the novels.
His real name in the books was Leeroy Brown. The villain in the books was almost always a bully names Bugs Meany, and I JUST now got why that name would make sense for a bully. I always had a slight crush on Sally Kimball Encyclopedia's bodyguard for being a cute girl who could handle herself.
As a child I wanted to think like Encyclopedia Brown, it was really hard for me to have the case solved by the end of the story, but occasionaly I figured out without help.
edit: As for favorite series, I really enjoyed reading many of Beverly Cleary's books. Ramona's books, and Otis Spofford. The First three books in James Howe's "Bunnicula" series were also favorites of mine. Pippy Longstocking books were definately enjoyable as well.
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I recently re-read the Narnia series and was gravely disappointed with The Silver Chair, which used to be my favorite (other than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The good news was that [I[The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe[/I] was still wonderful, although shorter and simpler than it was in my memory.
My favorite book as an adolescent was A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle. I re-read it shortly after my best friend's mother died, and it was still beautiful and amazing.
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Hmm, tough since I've already found and read most of my childhood favorites. There are a few left, though.
Little Hawk and the Free Horses, by Glenn Balch. My biggest memories from this book are the sequences where Little Hawk tries to catch and tame the mustangs. I also remember him making a leather rope while the leather was wet so that it would shrink and be very tight. Also, the Comanche=good/Apache=bad dichotomy.
Captain Ghost, by Thelma Bell. The process of shaping the fallen tree into a sailing ship. I vaguely recall there being some sort of crime that the children have to solve as well.
The Shades, by Betty Brock. A lonely boy discovers that all of the shadows of people who have ever entered a particular garden live their own lives when no people are around. None of the shades could leave the garden, and I remember there being a terrifying sequence when one attempts to do so.
Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, by Mary Nash. Mostly I remember The Toad (the youngest boy) hiding in his closet and learning magic from books he bought through mail-order. Also, this was my first introduction to tortoiseshell cats.
They're all out of print, alas, except for Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians. Ooh, but my library has all of them except for Little Hawk and the Free Horses. Cool. Present-day perceptions to follow soon.
quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: The Shades, by Betty Brock. A lonely boy discovers that all of the shadows of people who have ever entered a particular garden live their own lives when no people are around. None of the shades could leave the garden, and I remember there being a terrifying sequence when one attempts to do so.
Didn't Betty Brock write No Flying in the House? I tried forever to kiss my elbow after I read that book.
quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, by Mary Nash. Mostly I remember The Toad (the youngest boy) hiding in his closet and learning magic from books he bought through mail-order. Also, this was my first introduction to tortoiseshell cats.
And stale bread pudding. I wanted to make it from the recipe in the book, but my mom wouldn't let me.
[edit: though now that I think about it, the stale bread pudding was in While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away, the sequel. I'm not sure I ever read the first one.]
I also loved Escape to Witch Mountain (before the movie came out) and The Forgotten Door by the same author. And No Such Thing as a Witch and this book called Tomas Takes Charge about two homeless kids (a brother and sister) in Manhattan.
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Encyclopedia Brown was the first thing that came to mind. I may have to find one in the library.
Does anyone remember a series of books about some tripod aliens/ships that invade earth and take a boy along with a bunch of other as hostages/pets. I loved that series, but can't remember it now. I remember the aliens were green, shaped like pyramids and had three short legs.
They are making a live action/puppet version of "Where the Wild Things Are" due out next Nov. I always loved that one.
A while back they made a TV movie for "A Wrinkle in Time" the movie wasn’t' very good, I meant to read the book again to see if it was the book or the movie.
I have found this happens with TV shows I loved as a kid and then reappear on cable. Knight Rider, the Dukes of Hazzard, and The Hulk. No wonder my parents wouldn’t watch them with me. How can something be so good as a kid, but suck so bad 20-25 years later.
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I like to reread my childhood favorites as an adult, so this experiment probably wouldn't work for me. My favorites were probably Maniac Macgee, which I reread all the time, and I, Houdini.
Well, never mind, now that I think of it, I recall being a huge fan of the Indian in the Cupboard books. (I think there were two or three?) I haven't seen one of those in forever. I'll have to look it up. I don't really remember much, except the toy Indian came alive when it was left in the cupboard over night, so the kid put a whole bunch of other toys in the cupboard and all kinds of calamity broke loose the next morning. I remember the kid having to deal with the responsibility of creating life and taking life.
I also read the Encyclopedia Brown books, but I can't imagine they'd be as interesting now.
I was also a big fan of R.L. Stine, and more so of Christopher Pike. CP's Vampire series sticks out in my mind as being the best, but all I really remember was that the main character was a hot chick and a Vampire. That probably explains why I liked it so much.
Oh yeah! And pretty much everything by Roald Dahl. That guy is (was?) amazing. Especially BFG. I don't remember much besides a kid (a girl maybe?) going to the land of giants and being scared at first, but then realizing that the giant was nice and he carried her around in his pocket. But I remember loving it. I will have to find another copy.
Man, thanks for bringing up this topic. I'm remembering all kinds of books I haven't thought about in a long time.
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Ivanhoe and Huckleberry Finn were my two pre-pre-teen favorites. Then along came The Hobbit and the fantastic world of young adult fantasy (Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander) and I was captivated.
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I think I'll take your challenge and reread The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson. I don't even know if I'll be able to find it easily, but I remember loving it as a girl. My memories and impressions of it are as follows:
(1) The old man with the curly white beard as a soft, gentle, safe sort of person (Reflecting now, this could have been one reason I developed a childhood affection for grandfatherly types. I always stopped to talk to older gentleman, even when they would tease me mercilessly and make me blush.) (2) The reading and writing lessons with a bit of charcoal on the wall under the bridge (3) The gypsies with their copper toes and copper pots (4) The music (When music strikes you in a book, you know there's something good there...) (5) An open and hopeful ending
I'll let you all know my second impressions after I find the book...
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quote:Originally posted by SC Carver: Does anyone remember a series of books about some tripod aliens/ships that invade earth and take a boy along with a bunch of other as hostages/pets. I loved that series, but can't remember it now. I remember the aliens were green, shaped like pyramids and had three short legs.
. . .
How can something be so good as a kid, but suck so bad 20-25 years later.
The Tripods Trilogy -- The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire by John Christopher
That would be my, "loved as a child, found as an adult and they weren't what I remembered" choice. I was all excited to read them again, but the sexism was so very, very painful. As a child I didn't notice it because I identified with the main character, even though he was a boy. As an adult I noticed how the girls were treated by the author. A free and perfect society, in the book, can apparently be acheived by just boys and men. They have to keep recruiting new members, of course, but only boys. In a few generations, once they free the world, I suppose the women will be free too. Until then the aliens will continue to kill the girls and use their bodies as ornaments. Boys = useful slaves and should be recruited before they're "capped", girls = decoration and would only get in the way of the resistance. Yuck.
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quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: The Shades, by Betty Brock. A lonely boy discovers that all of the shadows of people who have ever entered a particular garden live their own lives when no people are around. None of the shades could leave the garden, and I remember there being a terrifying sequence when one attempts to do so.
Didn't Betty Brock write No Flying in the House? I tried forever to kiss my elbow after I read that book.
Yes, she wrote that too (and it has actually been reprinted). I remember liking The Shades better, but my copy disappeared long ago, so we'll see.
quote:Originally posted by Lisa:
quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, by Mary Nash. Mostly I remember The Toad (the youngest boy) hiding in his closet and learning magic from books he bought through mail-order. Also, this was my first introduction to tortoiseshell cats.
And stale bread pudding. I wanted to make it from the recipe in the book, but my mom wouldn't let me.
[edit: though now that I think about it, the stale bread pudding was in While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away, the sequel. I'm not sure I ever read the first one.]
This one wasn't actually the first (I believe Mrs. Coverlet's Detectives was first), but it's the only one I've read. I think my copy came from a library sale or something. Do you mean the flaming pudding? That's the other thing I remember from Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians: the bad nanny wouldn't let them have their traditional flaming pudding because a) it had alcohol and b) it was too dangerous.
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It definately was not Encyclopedia Brown, although I probably would have gotten into them if I had seen them.
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quote:Originally posted by SC Carver: Does anyone remember a series of books about some tripod aliens/ships that invade earth and take a boy along with a bunch of other as hostages/pets. I loved that series, but can't remember it now. I remember the aliens were green, shaped like pyramids and had three short legs.
. . .
How can something be so good as a kid, but suck so bad 20-25 years later.
The Tripods Trilogy -- The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire by John Christopher
That would be my, "loved as a child, found as an adult and they weren't what I remembered" choice. I was all excited to read them again, but the sexism was so very, very painful. As a child I didn't notice it because I identified with the main character, even though he was a boy. As an adult I noticed how the girls were treated by the author. A free and perfect society, in the book, can apparently be acheived by just boys and men. They have to keep recruiting new members, of course, but only boys. In a few generations, once they free the world, I suppose the women will be free too. Until then the aliens will continue to kill the girls and use their bodies as ornaments. Boys = useful slaves and should be recruited before they're "capped", girls = decoration and would only get in the way of the resistance. Yuck.
I am sure you are right, but also keep in mind they were written at least 30 years ago, when it was still common to write adventure books for boy about boys, and leave the girls out. Even in the early 80’s it wasn't uncommon to have girls as the helpless princess type. Just look at the Indiana Jones movies, especially the "temple of doom". Fortunately people were realizing that was a load.
Other than the blatant sexism where they any good or were they just bad?
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I read The Hobbit in seventh (eighth) grade, and the LOTR soon after. I have been wanting to read them again, though I found that the movie captured most of my most vivid memories. I think I had blocked out Saruman. I always hated him.
So, I have been wanting to reread especially The Hobbit. I have to wait until after this library book chellenge, though.
Thanks for playing, guys and gals!
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quote:Originally posted by theCrowsWife: Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, by Mary Nash. Mostly I remember The Toad (the youngest boy) hiding in his closet and learning magic from books he bought through mail-order. Also, this was my first introduction to tortoiseshell cats.
--Mel
I believe the Mrs. Coverlet books were a series. I remember laughing a lot while reading them. I wonder if they are still as funny now. hmmmm
(should have read the rest of the post on the thread before I posted.) While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away is the third book.
I liked the McGurk detective series by E.W. Hildick too.
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I recently read the tripod books, and while they may have been sexist, I still felt like they were pretty good YA adventure reading. Certainly still entertaining as an adult. I can see how they would appeal to the prepubescent boy who still thinks girls are yucky. Now I think a resistance without women would be super lame. Just let the aliens have the world if there are no ladies around. Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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I love Maniac Magee. It's one of my favourites ever. But it doesn't count since I read it in college. I recently reread the Pinballs by Besty Byars. I had first read it in Jr. high school. It's amazing how different it is after reading about foster children and foster care and thinking that the story might not have ended so happily in real life.
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quote:Originally posted by MightyCow: I recently read the tripod books, and while they may have been sexist, I still felt like they were pretty good YA adventure reading. Certainly still entertaining as an adult. I can see how they would appeal to the prepubescent boy who still thinks girls are yucky.
. . . and now I understand why my son likes them.
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I haven't read Matilda since I was younger. But I'm also not an adult, so I don't think this experiment really applies to me. I read it in second grade. In a single school day. I enjoyed it that much.
I loved Roald Dahl. James & the Giant Peach was another favorite. BFG. And, of course, the Chocolate Factory.
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Several years ago I got the original Winnie the Pooh books and reread them for the first time since childhood. They're far better, even, than I remember. They are so awesome!
I read all my childhood favorites to my nieces, other than those. So I can't really participate, sadly. Mine were Heidi, The Jungle Book, Little Women, and The Great Brain series. I'm sure there were many more, but those are all I can remember. When I was in sixth grade I started reading books like Faulkner, Tolstoy, and Hawthorne, but I don't suppose those can count as childhood favorites.
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Redwall made my day. By the time I was finished with Jacques, I must have re-read the first book at least six times.
My parents wouldn't let me read Goosebumps or Fear Street books, as (and I am ashamed to admit it) I got nightmares from them.
I discovered The Ear, the Eye and the Arm when I was twelve. Even though I was moving out of children's literature, that was a blast to read. Excellent SciFi/Fantasy novel, excellent exposure to a believable futuristic African culture.
I also have to admit that Madeline L'Engle's work is spectacular, and that The Golden Compass blew me away.
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I don't think I could do this experiment because all the books I considered my favorites when I was a child I read four or five times and thus have a very clear memory of. Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Brinestone: I don't think I could do this experiment because all the books I considered my favorites when I was a child I read four or five times and thus have a very clear memory of.
But you have not read them with the perspective of an adult. Just try one and see. Harriet was way more intense than I remember it. As an eight year-old, I just didn't pick up on things like psychotherapy, social class, and things like that.
When I read The Chronicles of Narnia, which I had vivid memories of, I was blown away by the allegorical nature of the books. Again, I did not pick up on that in third grade.
Just try one, Breyer.
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I recently read all my Laura Ingalls Wilder books, which had been stored in a box for 20 years (I last read them around age 9). I was first struck by how beautifully written they are, and then by what her family had to go through to survive, and I was surprised what details I remembered and what stories I'd forgotten, and how much of an impression the pictures made on me. From these books, I got much of my sense of what it means to be American.
Off-topic: I'd been enjoying the series for over a month when it suddenly occurred to me that two hundred years ago people weren't as particular about how they spelled their names, and I started to wonder whether my husband's family might be connected to Laura's. After some poking around online, my father (the genealogist in our family) found a connection, seven generations back (eleven on my husband's side).
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It might not count, but I first read lost boys in high school or college or something. Then I read it a couple of years ago and weeped my eyes out over the ending. I think it effected me that strongly because one day I will be a parent. I never thought I'd want to hae children when I was in high school, but now that I want to be a parent, all I could think about was how the parents lost their child and how they'd never be able tos ee him grow up into an awesome man and have children of his own. There's a line in it, every time I read it it just makes me bawl like crazy because I seem to have grown up and become mature enough to understand it...
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"It might not count, but I first read lost boys in high school or college or something."
I think it definitely counts, especially for the aged like me.
For example, I am reading "The Secret Life of Bees" right now. (my pick for "Southern" novel) and I would have been much more affected by it in high school and college. Now that I have my own children, the loss of my mother at an early age is different. Still painful, but different.
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I recently reread (well, not recently, about a year ago) Night of Wishes by Michael Ende. (Also comes with the English title The Satanarchaeolidealcohellish Notion Potion, the original German title was Der satanarchaolugenialkohollische Wunschpunsch.) Anyway, it used to be my favourite book when I was 9 or so and I remember just collapsing in laughter when reading it and driving my Mum crazy by quoting from it, I found it that funny.
Cut to today when I found it to bee trite, preachy, non-funny and just generally rather uninteresting.
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Snail, I've had a similar experience. I loved both Alcott and Montgomery's children's books as a kid, but loved Alcott more. When I read them now, I still like them both, but for the most part I notice the "preaching" in Alcott a lot more, and while her stories are still good, they're a little more trite, not that I don't still love them.
Montgomery, on the other hand, just gets better. I've read enough now to know what is really great writing, and she did some really great writing. Her characterization, the ideas she conveys, the pictures of everyday life she paints, all gorgeous.
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Most of the books I read and loved as a child and younger person I still read occaisionally (I'm not exaggerating. I am still twelve at heart.) so this won't work for me.
But as I go, I always pick up on things I don't remember, or things that puzzled me when I was little suddenly make sense or a different kind of sense to my older, more experienced self than they did.
For instance, I noticed upon rereading Anne McCaffrey that she has a (slightly squicky in some cases- Tirla in Pegasus in Flight) thing about younger women ending up with older men. This happens a lot. I didn't notice this as a young teenager.
quote:The Tripods Trilogy -- The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire by John Christopher
I did a project on these in grade eight. I've definately read them since. They are very good.
I can see what you mean by sexism but I think it's more of a simply very heavily skewed to the male point of view. I vaguely remember a female character being sort of weak and fluffy, but honestly, it never bothered me. Perhaps because I'd read books of all kinds, many of which are heavily skewed towards the prowess of boys. I just identified with the main character whatever gender he or she was.
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"-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of the books I read and loved as a child and younger person I still read occaisionally (I'm not exaggerating. I am still twelve at heart.) so this won't work for me.
But as I go, I always pick up on things I don't remember, or things that puzzled me when I was little suddenly make sense or a different kind of sense to my older, more experienced self than they did."
But Teshi, it just did work for you! The difference does not necessarily have to be earth-shattering, just a difference. I guess it just points to a difference in us, and how we are the same, but older. Wiser? Maybe just a bit more world-weary. Anyway, it worked, so there!
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Speaking of the Anne McCaffrey older man thing, I want to go back and read me some C. Bronte. I wonder what I would think of the Bronte now. She was my hero in college. And I did have a thing for older fellas at the time.
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quote:Bob, the saddest part of your joke is that there are so many youngsters here, many may not have thought it was a joke.
I'm not sure I count as a youngester at all anymore, sigh, but I think most people would know Tom Sawyer is a 19th century novel.
quote:But Teshi, it just did work for you!
Well, I was going from the narrow parametres of the experiment above, picking a book you've not read since you were very young, etc. But yes, every time I read a book again, see a movie again, it makes more and more sense (or less).
It's a dystopian, post-disaster, underground city book but I must have read it first when I was six or so, and it's still a book I can't read without being enchanted all over again.
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I am sorry if the parameters seemed narrow. I am 43, so the parameters of my childhood are not so narrow, I guess.
And I was joking about Bob and Tom, though, sadly, most kids I teach(they are fifth graders) would have totally believed Bob.
I would like to blame that on development/sense of time, but I have taught older kids who are just clueless about life as a timeline, and history in general. Time is a very strange thing. I have always had a timeline in my head. It shifts as I get older. There is no way I can explain it, because every time I try, it evaporates. It is like trying to explain a dream.
I should change it to "when you were younger" rather than "when you were a child."
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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quote:Originally posted by MightyCow: I recently read the tripod books, and while they may have been sexist, I still felt like they were pretty good YA adventure reading. Certainly still entertaining as an adult. I can see how they would appeal to the prepubescent boy who still thinks girls are yucky. Now I think a resistance without women would be super lame. Just let the aliens have the world if there are no ladies around.
I had to reread them after reading "When the Tripods Came" (the prequel). And sexist as they were, they were enjoyable. I couldn't even get through Sword of the Spirits, though.
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Most books I liked as a kid I still like as an adult. The exceptions are usually the chapter books/formulaic books: Hardy Boys, Danny Dunn, the Boxcar Children, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle...
Susan Cooper books I haven't been able to enjoy as an adult, I find them now to be too slow and bland. Thinking back, I remember liking them... but that they didn't make much of an impression on me.
Oz books are too silly now, though I remember them fondly. I liked Pippi Longstocking and Dr. Doolittle, but for whatever reason, I can't enjoy reading them now.
It's interesting to me that many of the books I enjoyed as a kid I liked in spite of more mature elements in the story that puzzled me or made me uneasy. "Charlotte's Web" has this -- some of Charlotte's philosophizing, or the talk between Fern's mother and the psychologist; "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" -- Mrs. Frankweiler's crankiness; "Huckleberry Finn" -- the "Royal Nonesuch" con artists. I think that even though I didn't understand such elements, that the books' depth and richness still appealed to me, and that the complexities I couldn't appreciate then are what make the books still enjoyable to me today.
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I reread Golden Island (published as Delfinensommer in Germany) by Katherine Allfrey last night. As a child, I always resented the Virgin Mary when she forbade the dolphin from taking Andrula to the magic island. I always wished that Andrula could stay on the island forever instead of moving away with her new family.
Now that I'm older, I realize that if Andrula had stayed on the island, eventually she would have grown and changed, while everyone on the island stayed the same. Either that, or she would have stopped growing and stayed a child forever, which would be even worse. It still tears at my heart, though, when she has to give it up.
The writing and storytelling were just as good as I remembered. This is one truly magical book.
quote:Originally posted by plaid: Most books I liked as a kid I still like as an adult. The exceptions are usually the chapter books/formulaic books: Hardy Boys, Danny Dunn, the Boxcar Children, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle...
Yes! I bought a Treasury of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Stories because I remember loving them as a kid. Oh my word are those things repetitive. I think that having them all in one book instead of spread out makes it worse, but even so . . . wow.
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quote: am sorry if the parameters seemed narrow. I am 43, so the parameters of my childhood are not so narrow, I guess.
That's not what I meant, I meant that at the top you outlined an experiment with a book that I hadn't read since then... and I didn't think what I said fitted your experiement .
[quote]I would like to blame that on development/sense of time, but I have taught older kids who are just clueless about life as a timeline, and history in general. Time is a very strange thing. I have always had a timeline in my head. It shifts as I get older. There is no way I can explain it, because every time I try, it evaporates. It is like trying to explain a dream.
I should change it to "when you were younger" rather than "when you were a child."[quote]
Well, I've certainly had experiences with people's troubles with time, but generally they seem to get a handle on things when they are about 13 or 14.
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I just recently re-read a book I read as a kid and liked it just as much (and it was far, far superior to the movie, which most people didn't even know was based on a book.)
Babe the Gallant Pig, by Dick King-Smith. He also wrote Ace the Very Important Pig, (a distant cousin of Babe's) and Harry's Mad.
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quote:Originally posted by plaid: [QB] Susan Cooper books I haven't been able to enjoy as an adult, I find them now to be too slow and bland. Thinking back, I remember liking them... but that they didn't make much of an impression on me.[QB]
I wouldn't say I dislike the Susan Cooper books these days, but they do definitely feel dated. So agreed on that.
Does anyone have books you think you would have liked more had you read them when younger? I remember I was 14 or so when I first read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and I really felt bored by it... I mean, the Narnia world itself was fascinating, but once they were through that wardrobe they didn't explore the world or do anything interesting, they just battled an evil witch. Which was not interesting, it was something they did in every other book I loved at the time... So I'm thinking maybe had I been younger and less educated in the ways of the fantasy I'd loved that book more, the way everybody else seems to.
Posts: 247 | Registered: Dec 2006
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Black Beauty Every single book by Walter Farley (the Black Stallion series) All the Marguerite (sp?) Henry books ( Misty of Chincoteague) anything by C.W. Anderson Smoky by Will James
sensing a theme here? (the SF/fantasy obsession began a bit later!)
My impressions of those horse books are all very vague. I don't really remember anything about the Henry books other than what the title conveys in Misty -- I think it was a brother and sister that ended up with a pony from Chincoteague? Smoky was about a western cowboy's horse and how spirited he was, and I'm thinking it was probably written in a folksy gritty tone. Black Beauty I think I may have re-read as an adult or teenager and found it was incredibly sappy and sentimental--I have a vague memory that it was written from the point of view of the horse/horses? Wait, it's coming back to me now, life started out on an idyllic farm with a Shetland pony and nice owners but then they were all sold and Black Beauty had to work as a cab horse in the city or something?
The main thing that stands out in my mind for all of them are the illustrations. The Farley books had wildly romantic, brightly colored covers with fantastically proportioned huge wild-eyed stallions on them. C.W. Anderson books contained photograph-like sketches of gorgeous horses with luminous eyes, gentle expressions, shiny coats and delineated musculature. And Will James (was he the illustrator as well as the author?) made vivid action sketches of bucking broncos and cowboy life.
But the real obsession was the Farley books. I'll have to re-read some of them to see what I think now. I read Seabiscuit as an adult and it brought back memories of my horse-lit fixation as a kid, and the thing that totally cracked me up was the sudden realization that as a child I'd read and re-read all those Black Stallion books and never did I get that the horse racing industry was all about gambling. Hello, head in the clouds much?
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