Monday, January 2, 2012

An Old Book, an Old Friend

IMG_0855

Feeling in a particularly nostalgic mood one day recently (as is the case more often as time passes), I was remembering my favorite book as a child. It was the first time I remember falling in love with a book. I always loved books (still do) and can remember the thrill of learning to read (from the Dick and Jane books) in the first grade (I did not go to kindergarten—who needs it!). But I didn’t fall in love with a book until I was in the 4th or 5th grade (I know the timeframe, because it was in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and those were my two grades when we lived there). The year would have been 1956 or 1957. I checked it out from the library at school, of course.

For YEARS after that, any time I was asked to list “favorite book,” I wrote, Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight. Sometimes I wonder if reading this book may be partially responsible for my love of dogs.         

I decided to see if I could find the book as I remembered it. There were actually several on eBay, and I was the only bidder on this one. I see the copyright was 1940 by the John C. Winston Company. On the flyleaf, eight printings are listed, the last in May 1942. I believe it has been reprinted many times since then.

Looking forward to reading it again, although I know it will evoke lots of emotions.

No comments: