The Warm Comfort of Rediscovering My Favorite Children's Books

My six-year-old daughter ("six-and-three-quarters" to her) has been home from school for the past two days with a low fever--one of those unforeseen interruptions to the regularly scheduled program. And, as much as I need to Get Things Done!, there's something quite liberating about getting time-off from the ever-growing to-do list.

True, there's still much to do with a sick child at home, but the tasks are things like "read stories while cuddling under a quilt" and "cook pastina with a pat of butter for lunch." Things I used to do with my mother and my grandmother when I was under the weather. They've long since passed away, so it's little things like these that connect me back to them, back to my childhood, back to a simpler time before Facebook and cell phones.

Yesterday, as I was reading to my daughter about Paddington's latest misadventure, I was struck by such a powerful wave of nostalgia. These are my old books, from my old house. It's bittersweet. We didn't have iPads or even cable TV when I was my daughter's age, so I always had my nose in a book. Thankfully, so does she. When I go to wake her up on school mornings, more often than not, she's already curled up in bed, reading to herself, with stuffed animals surrounding her. Her big brother is the same way. Maybe it's because these books are so rich, vivid, and timeless, and it's easy to get lost between their covers. Whatever the reason, I'm glad my old books are getting a new life.

Even if you don't have young children, try re-reading the books that were your favorites when you were a wee one. See if they don't flood you with warm memories. If you don't have your original copies, seek them out at the library, borrow them from friends, or buy them from a second-hand bookshop. Try to read the hardcover editions--nothing on e-readers--just to keep it "Old School."

Here's an abbreviated list of my favorite children's books, in no particular order, to give you a running start:

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
You're In Love, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz
Sam and the Firefly by P. D. Eastman
Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back by P. L. Travers
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Anything at all by Beatrix Potter (oh, those woodland critters in their bonnets and aprons, or trousers and waistcoats--love!!!)

Did you get the warm fuzzies reading any of those titles? I hope so! It's even better when you turn the first page and enter their magical worlds once again.

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How many of these classic children's books did you read when you were small? What favorite books of yours didn't make this list? Please share in the comments section below. If you're reading this post by email subscription, click on the title of the post to get to the comments section at the bottom.

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