Favorite Children's Stories

I learned to read in first grade with the Dick and Jane series. Teachers taught us to read by sight, rather than sounding out the words. The Dick and Jane series was great for that approach because words repeated so often it was easy for me to learn to read fluently. Each student took turns reading out loud. I so enjoyed reading out loud. I was always the first one to raise my hand. Therefore, after first grade, the stories became extremely repetitive, and thus boring. However, as a 5-year-old, I was enthralled. But, that’s not my favorite story, just an introduction to the printed word and how it could change my life.

My favorite story is Nancy Drew’s first book, The Secret of the Old Clock.

This is my favorite story because it was my very first introduction to a story where the girl was the central character. She wasn’t there as part of the background or someone for a boy to interact with. Nancy was the smart one. She was the one that could solve problems even when adults could not. I read several books and saw myself in Nancy. Like her, I was very good at solving puzzles. I was a quick learner and easily understood how things worked. I only needed to be shown once how to do something. For example, at 4, I taught myself how to read music and play the piano after my babysitter showed me the middle C key and how it looked on the music staff. Too bad my parents could not afford lessons.

Remembering any part of the story is difficult to do. However, I have a vivid recollection of the book, how it looked and felt, and how I felt reading the story; but the story itself is impossible to recall.

Other stories that I devoured as a child were The Bobbsey Twins. This is an enormous set of books about a family with two sets of fraternal twins. Each set of twins had a boy and a girl, and the sets were about 6-years apart in age. I know now that the original author, Edward Stratemeyer, used that setup to appeal to any gender or age. He created this series, and it was first published in the early 1900s, long before he created the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series. Again, remembering the stories is difficult. I read many of the books. They were mostly about the twins’ fascinating adventures. Each written in such a way as to propel me to want to read the next book to find out what was happening in their world. Without this Storyworth prompt, would never have found out that the series had several authors. As a child, books and stories were a way for me to escape. To become someone else and to have many adventures. The stories would envelope me. My world would slowly fade away as they lifted me out of my bedroom and carried to so many other places far more interesting, allowing me to be creative. I could become anyone, have fun and exciting experiences, visit faraway places, and escape everything simply by reading. We were not wealthy. So, I borrowed books from the school library at Lineweaver.

My daddy was sick for as long as I could remember and passed away when I was 10-years-old. Even now, thinking back to that time, I still miss him. My mother was the sole provider for our family and worked outside the home her entire adult life, even while pregnant with me. She was also the person who cooked all the meals and kept the house clean. When I became an adult working full-time with a family, I finally understood why she always seemed to be tired and sharp with me. She had too much to do. Books helped me fill the gaps of an absent mother and father.

Books also helped me to grow as a person and gave me a safe place to play.

As an adult, I realized several years ago that the stories from my childhood were severely lacking in diversity. Every child looked just like me and if there were any children of color, their portrayal was filled with racism and indignity that, as a child, I did not recognize. It was the norm of the time. It’s so good to know that my grandchildren are growing up in a world that is more open and accepting of people who differ from you and your family.

Norma Maynard, January 05, 2022, rev. November 18, 2023.