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Bears on Hemlock Mountain, Blog, Children, childrens literature, Courage of Sarah Noble, Jon Scieszka, Julie Hedlund, Lost in a Drunken Banquet of Static, Tim L O'Brien
Time to play the Book that Made a Difference game.
Last Monday’s blog discussed the importance of parents reading to their children. The blog was a reminder to us all – whether we are a mom, dad, aunt, uncle, brother, sister or grandparent – that it is our job collectively, and not the school systems, to get children to read. I mentioned best-selling author James Paterson’s superb site: www.readkiddoread.com
Since last Monday’s blog, children’s book author, Julie Hedlund, brought another fantastic web site to my attention. I mentioned the difficulties of trying to get my son interested in books, and she recommended Jon Scieszka’s site: www.guysread.com. The web site is a wonderful resource to use and is full of book titles, broken into many categories, such as Classics that Actually Hold Up; Mysterious Occurrences; Dragons and of course, Sports.
Through Julie’s fabulous blog site – Write Up My Life – I also discovered two other terrific sites to use: www.bookdads.com and www.the childrensbookreview.com
While browsing through these websites, I thought back to the books I enjoyed reading as a child. There is no way to remember everything our parents read to us, but one book in particular, truly stands out in my memory – The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesch. Two of her works of historical fiction, The Courage of Sarah Noble (1954) and The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (1952) won Newberry honors. I have since bought the book several more times and have read it to my children. Despite its 1952 publishing date, the story still holds up well, and all my children have thoroughly enjoyed the tale.
Is there a book from your childhood that you can pinpoint as pivotal to opening the gates of reading joy? Have you passed that book on to your children, as well? Was there a particular book that your children read that opened the flood gates and brought your child into the world of words?
Tim L O'Brien's Blog - Static In The Airwaves 
I think when I was a child, most of the books that my parents read to me where probably the same that anyone close to my age may remember. Curious George, Dr. Seuss, etc. Even books from my parents generation like; The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and the like.
When I was in Elementary school there was a traveling “Book Mobile” that stopped at our school each week, (a travelling library) where you could check out, or purchase books. Remember the “Highlights” kid’s magazine? This is where I began reading biographies about my favorite sports heroes like; Roger Staubach, Bob Gibson, Johnny Bench, and others).
When I was 13, a friend recommended Louis L’Amour westerns and I jumped all over them. I saved them in a box and offered them to my son when he was about the same age. He loved them!
Now my son is an English Literature Graduate Student, and has written one novel, and working on a second. As for his old man? I read mostly fact based books to educate and improve myself during the “career years”, and I have recently re-discovered reading fiction for pleasure.
A love for reading, when developed and nurtured in children, is a key to the world where they can get lost in their imagination for enjoyment, or educate themselves on anything that they wish, for the rest of their lives.
In a strange way, I guess Dr. Seuss, Curious George, and “Highlights”, taught me a thing or two about selling, managing my time, writing a business plan, fatherhood, and just about everything else over the past 4 decades, but it was definitely Louis L’Amour that bridged the gap between being read to, and choosing books and reading on my own.
I loved the Misty books, but forgot all about them until another blogger mentioned them. I’ve since ordered the books and will definitely share them with my kids. I can’t believe I forgot about them! They were my best friends growing up and I even had a Breyer horse of Misty. Guess I’m getting old and forgetting things.
Thanks for the great links for book ideas!
Fabulous post, Tim. I’m a fan of Julie as well.
I don’t have children, but you’ve inspired me to share my childhood favorites with my nieces. Ordering THE STRANGER and possibly a few others today…and will probably revisit it myself! Thanks, Tim. Loving your posts!
First of all, thanks so much for mentioning my blog! I’m so glad you found some links and information that was helpful to you.
There are so many of those pivotal books, but I’d have to say that two of my “biggies” were Eloise and The Trumpet of the Swan. I know Charlotte’s Web is the more popular of E.B. White’s books, but I’ll always have a special place for Trumpet. My daughter has read it but not my son. Perhaps now that he’s five I can read it to him now. Of course, I also loved all of the Beverly Cleary books. I could go on and on.
Oh, and my daughter loves Eloise too! 🙂
Who is not a big fan of Julie Hedlund? I love her writing voice. Oh and yours too. Didn” I already say that? Well I meant to. Oops.
Okay Tim, you’re taking me back a bit here and the gears are slowly moving.
Humm. I remember reading the print off the page when it came to Dr. Seuss. Don’t ask me why, but I was given a set of the Hardy Boys. Weren’t they for boys? Although I did enjoy reading all of them. Then there was Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House on the Prairie series.
See, I still have a memory. And I thought I was losing it. Well there are days….(lol) 🙂
The Little House on the Prairie books, anything by Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume. Really there are so many–I have always loved to read! 🙂
Thanks for the links too!
I’m going to recommend the Richard Scary books. Although these weren’t around when I was a kid, this is the author and series that captured the attention of my children. We spent hours and hours entrhalled by every single one of his books. 🙂
My list is a lot like Coleen’s. LOVED Judy Blume. One of my all time favorite childhood books from when I was really little was The Giving Tree, Where the Wild Things Are and In The Night Kitchen. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Hi Tim. Thanks for a lovely post. Reading is so uber important and I hope books stay around for a long long time. It’s just not the same sharing a Kindle screen with a little one.
I still love to read Dr. Seuss books, but my favorite childhood memories are of my mom reading to me the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We read that series hundreds of times while I was growing up, first together, then when I was little older I read to he at night and eventually just read them by myself. Fictional biographies I call them.
I always love the blog posts that take me down memory lane.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
I feel as if I have always read books. My earliest memories of books are the Misty books, the Little House books and Blue Willow. But I also remember a book called the New Junior Classics: Fairy Tales and Fables which may have been read to me at a younger age.
I read lots of Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and Little Golden books to my son. Unfortunately, due to dyslexia he does not enjoy reading. Still he loves a good story, he just finds it easier to follow the visual media – art and movies.
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