What Books Defined Your Childhood?

The Question

What books defined your childhood?

For me, the following titles come to my mind:

Invincible Summer, by Jean Ferris. This is a lovely, quiet, sad love story about two teens going through treatment for Leukemia. I think I checked this book out from the library every time I visited. The love between the two main characters spoke to me in an important way. I think this was the first book that made me really start thinking about the power of falling in love.

All the Betsy books by Maude Hart Lovelace — especially those when Betsy is in high school and beyond. Unlike me, Betsy Ray is an extrovert, but she is also a writer and a dreamer—things I very much related to as I was growing up. I also think that Betsy is a character who struggles to be who she really is, and that is definitely something I can understand.

Strawberry Girl, by Lois Lenski This is the story of 10-year-old Birdie Boyer and her family as they cultivate a new strawberry farm in rural Florida. I loved the descriptions of family and farming in this book, and the drawings—also by Lois Lenski—are memorable. I think—as with most of the female protagonists that drew me in as a young girl—that there was something familiar to me about Birdie Boyer. She is quiet but eager. She is also a character very much connected to the earth.

Fifteen, by Beverly Cleary. “The humiliation that Jane had felt turned to something else--grief perhaps, or regret. Regret that she had not known how to act with a boy, regret that she had not been wiser.” I still love to re-read about Jane Purdy. Jane is awkward and innocent and a daydreamer. She does brave things in this book and she makes mistakes. Jane is a character who is not really remarkable in any way, and in that way, she is extremely relatable.

There are so many more, of course, but these came to my mind first. What would you say? What books did you visit over and over again as you were growing up? What about them kept drawing you in?

The Joyful Note

This week, The Joyful Note is an invitation: Go to the library (or to your bookshelf), and find a book that you loved when you were growing up. Skim back through the pages, taking in the familiar smell. If you have the time, re-read that book. Just for fun. Just because it reminds you of some core piece of who you are.

The Brave Soul

Since I’ve been talking about classic children’s literature, I have to give a nod here to Beverly Cleary. Cleary passed away this March at the age of 104. When she was in grade school, Cleary was placed in the ‘low-skill’ reading group, but this only ignited her passion for reading and helping readers later in her life. Cleary wanted to write books about everyday boys and girls. Famously, Cleary once said, “If you don't see the book you want on the shelves, write it.” And write them, she did.