Saffy's Angel... and other things

**I found this filed away in my draft folder from March 11th, 2011.....**

Last week I read a book.
In an entire day.

But, it was a children's book. (At least it was a chapter book, right?!)

Anyways, back to the point....
I like to read children's literature.
Not only because I work with children, like the stories, or because I like to read.
I simply love the simple stories, messages, and fantasy used in them.

Also,
my mom raised me right.
I am definitely a born & bred reader!

I would read anything when I was little. Seriously.
Labels on boxes/packages/food/receipts, signs, children's books, adult fiction & nonfiction, manuals.

When I was growing up, the thing I got in trouble for most often was reading.
I would read when I was supposed to be in bed, doing homework, doing chores, & basically any time I was supposed to be doing something, I would read.


Therefore, my main form of punishment for a good chunk of my childhood/adolescence, was to have my books taken away.

If my mom wanted to bribe me (which she rarely ever did- go mom!),
all she had to do was threaten to take my book away.

Aaand.... presto!

The trash was suddenly taken out!

or......

the dishes were scrubbed & magically put in the dishwasher

or.....

my room was cleaned

or......

(insert any chore here).


Yes, I was bad :)


If I just wasn't getting it, or the motivation to finish up fast to continue reading wasn't enough for me to stop & obey my mom, my book was taken away.
and hidden!
the horrors!

But, since I wasn't too awesome at obeying my parents, I eventually learned all my mom's hiding places for my books.

Soo, I would sneak to the hiding spot, take the book and go read in a hidden place.
(Which was usually the bathroom floor- the only room with a lock on the door- privacy was precious when you have two sisters!).

Then, since I still wasn't great at the whole obedience thing,
I would finish up the page/chapter/book, and put it back.

That is dedication.

And it is also sin.


Not only would I disobey my mom in the first place to earn the consequence of having my book taken away,
I would then go behind my mom's back, sneakily take the book, & then lie about the whole thing.
Later on, 'Oh! Thanks for my book back mom!'

Yes, she caught on, as did the rest of my family, & I was eventually given another consequence for disobeying and lying.
And she thought it was all pretty silly a few years after I outgrew my sneaky-ness.

_____________________________________________________________________

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to write down some of my favorite children's books.
In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:

The Chronicles of Narnia
Frog & Toad
George & the Purple Crayon
Madeline
The Poky Little Puppy
Beatrix Potter
Heather Whitestone's autobiography
Froggy Gets Dressed
Eloise (she lived in The Plaza in NY -learned about her through the Babysitter's Club)
Saffy's Angel (I now have Saffron on my list of baby names :)
Indigo's Star
Harold And The Purple Crayon
Shel Silverstein's: Where The Sidewalk Ends
The BFG
Stuart Little
Caps for Sale
Stone Soup
Indian In My Cupboard
The Snowman
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Are You My Mother?
Pipi Longstocking
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Homer Price
Henry Reid
Dandelion
Winnie The Pooh
Little Bear
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Babar
Harry The Dirty Dog
Strega Nona
Richard Scarry
The Five Chinese Brothers
Mercer Mayer
Arthur
Ballet Shoes
Imogene's Antlers
Zack's Alligator
Chrysanthemum
Frances
Miss Rumphius
The Hundred Dresses
Black Beauty
My Friend Flicka
Sarah, Plain And Tall
Number The Stars
A Wind In The Door
And since I read voraciously, I have many favorite series:
Amelia Bedelia
Berenstain Bears
The Littles
Betsy & Tacy  -Maud Hart Lovelace (from the 1940's!)
Encyclopedia Brown
Little House on The Prairie
Junie B. Jones
Nate The Great
Trixie Belden (an old, vintage series! The books are out of print & falling apart. eep!)
Saddle Club
Nancy Drew
Boxcar Children
Little Sister
Babysitter's Club  (anyone else??)
Dear America (a select few)
Christy Miller
American Girl (the originals: Felicity, Kirsten, Samantha, Molly, Abby)


And don't even get me started on Comics!
As one of the few things my Dad & I had in common, we loved to talk about & read the comics every day.
To this day, that's the first thing I turn to when reading a newspaper.

And if they don't have the comics, it spoils all the fun :)