KIDDIE LIT

FAVORITE BOOKS WHEN I WAS A CHILD READER

1. Up and Away--This was our first grade primer in Mrs. Rankin's class at Mound School, circa 1955-56. It starred Dick and Jane, their cute little sister Sally, a black and white dog named Spot, and, my favorite, Puff, the ornery orange cat. There was a workbook with the series and Mrs. Rankin would stamp perfect papers with stars, pumpkins, turkeys, whatever was in season. "See Spot Run. Run, Spot, Run!" I was empowered to read!

2. Nurse Nancy and Dr. Dan the Bandage Man--These two were Little Golden Books that came complete with Band-Aid strips. How cool is that? Nancy and Dan were actually just efficient little kids providing emergency medical care to the neighborhood gang, including pets and dolls. I still have my original Nancy book, but its cover could use some major surgery.

3. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series--A magical old maid who lived in an upside-down house, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle came to the aid of distraught parents with brats on their hands. She cured the boy who wouldn't clean his ears by planting radish seeds in them; did he ever look goofy when they sprouted! The kid who never cleaned his room got stuck in so much clutter that he couldn't go outside to play. Back talkers, whiners, never-go-to-sleepers, she treated them all. I liked Mrs. P. even if she did trick kids into behaving.

4. Little House on the Prairie--I didn't actually read this book; Mrs. Hull read it aloud to her 3rd graders after lunch recess. It was likely her strategy to calm us down from our frenzied action on the playground. Good idea. She had a very soothing voice and just the right amount of expression. The Ingalls clan was always encountering some sort of dilemma, though, so I recall being anxious to get back to where Mrs. Hull left off the previous day. I was so excited, in fact, that I'd chew on strips of Big Chief tablet paper while she was reading.

5. Nancy Drew series--This dynamic girl detective was my favorite literary character when I was in 4th grade. Daughter of a judge and best friend to a girl oddly named George, Nancy would have been my top dog even if we didn't share the same first name. She was inquisitive, brave, and smarter than all the adults around her. Better yet, she didn't have any lousy brothers hanging around bugging her!

Long live reading!!