When I was little, my favourite thing was going to the library (okay, so not much has changed). We would go without fail every 3 weeks to take back the books we'd read and take out a whole pile of new ones. Sometimes, we'd even stop for a chocolate bar on the way home. Now that was an evening out!
I read all kinds of books as a kid. I liked classics by Lucy Maud Montgomery and Laura Ingalls Wilder, but I also read Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins/Sweet Valley High (probably when I was a little older.). I also read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy - my tastes are still the same today. I was surprised when I was looking at my library's holdings for Monica Hughes (one of my favourite Canadian sci-fi authors) - they were missing a substantial part of her works. This made me sad. I have always counted on the public library to have copies of the books I don't own. If they're not going to maintain a collection of Hughes' works, I am going to have to find the copies I want to read. I suspect I will have to get out in the second hand bookstores to find some!
When I was working on the gardening post a few posts back, I was reminded of one of my favourite books as a child. The protagonist is a girl named Gertie. She finds a wishbone and makes a wish - that her house would turn into a garden. Little does she know that this is a magic wishbone and that her wish comes true! First, there is grass growing in the hallway. Then plants and flowers begin to sprout in other corners of the house. Finally, her house turns into a beautiful forest/jungle. I loved the book and wished that the same thing would happen to my house. Sadly, I had no magic wishbone.
Armed only with the knowledge that the protagonist's name was Gertie, I searched the internet for the book. Voila, I soon found it. It's called Gertie's Green Thumb and it's by Catherine Dexter, illustrations by Ellen Eagle. I quickly went to the electronic catalog of my local library. I was devastated to find that they didn't have it. I do realize the library can't have a copy of every book in the world in it, but this is an excellent book for kids. Well, not just for kids - I would like to read it again! I guess it means another trip to the used bookstore for me. Or maybe e-bay?
So, faithful readers, what books did you read as a child that you can no longer find? If you could read it again, would you? And do you think the book would be as good now as it was back then? I'm curious to find out your lost favourites so we can find them together.
[Postscript: According to all the publishing information I can find about the book it was published in 1996, which would make me definitely no longer a child when I read the book. However, some books are good for all ages! Also, it may be a second edition or republishing, because I'm pretty sure I remember reading this when a kid. Although I did read lots of kids books still when I got into my teens and beyond.]
You're lucky at least that the books you loved are in English and (conceivably) possible to locate here. Coming from a different country makes things more difficult. Last time my parents were overseas, I got them to find a list of books I read as a child, ostensibly so I would have them for my kids one day (but, really, because I wanted them for myself). However, in some cases, I had almost no information to go on, except a vague recollection of certain illustrations and concepts like "it's about a woodland creature who lives in a tree and has adventures with his woodland friends." I also remember fondly a book about a bee hive. sadly, my parents were not able to find it ...
ReplyDeletegood luck with your quest!
p.s. you can find gertie's green thumb on Amazon.ca (used).
Yes, that does make it easier that the books are in English and generally published here (or in the US or UK) and can at least be found. I was lucky with this one in that I remember the name of the main character and so could locate the book. Most of my recollections are more like yours - there was a guy in the forest with a thing....or I remember what the cover of the book looked like, or where it was located in the library. None of these are helpful when actually attempting to locate the book! I never remember the author or title. This is just a good lesson to buy lots of book for my kids and never let them get rid of any because they may want to read them some day!
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