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[CCBC-Net] Missing parents and the safety of books
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From: Meg Rothstein <megrothstein>
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 15:48:57 -0500
I absolutely understand what Suzanne Fondrie's daughter meant when she mentioned that books allowed us a *safe* way to think about what things would be like if we lost our parents.
I remember when we were in elementary school, my big brother and I concocted several plans in case our dear parents suddenly died or vanished. I was sure it would be by tornado. My brother was worried about a fire. I vividly recall sitting on our stairs together and coming up with plans-- all of them colored by the books we'd read. Of course, we had very different ideas of how we would do this, but we knew this: We were *not* going to be separated.
Josh's plan: We would hitchike (The_Outsiders) across the country taking a Northern route so we could hit the Catskills (My_Side_of_the_Mountain) until we reached New York, where we'd head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sleep in a fancy bed on display
(From_the_Mixed-up_Files_of_Ms._Basil_E._Frankweiler). We'd open a shoe shine stand (Shoe_Shine_Girl) and make a little spending cash while befriending some kindly person who'd help us out and give us a ride to the sea. We'd jump aboard a ship and find an island where we'd clad ourselves in otter skins and avoid wild dogs while surviving on seafood and luck
(Island_of_the_Blue_Dolphins).
My plan (I was younger): We would walk into town (36 miles) and then live in Gimbles Department Store and sleep in the mattress section. We would eat candy from the candy counter and take baths in the fountain in the mall. Eventually a little girl who had her own room and a talking bear, who lived in a walk-up, would find us and take us home with her. Her mother would think it was okay, of course. (Courduroy.)
Although our plans were extremely unrealistic, our determination that we would stay together (and have an adventure) was very real to us! Books truly gave us plot lines and ideas about how to take charge and survive in the face of change. I don't recall our thinking about the *emotional* impact of losing our parents, however. Some things were too scary for even our worst-case-scenario fantasies, I suppose.
Meg Rothstein Madison, Wisconsin
_________________________________________________________________ Don?t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/
Received on Fri 19 Aug 2005 03:48:57 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 15:48:57 -0500
I absolutely understand what Suzanne Fondrie's daughter meant when she mentioned that books allowed us a *safe* way to think about what things would be like if we lost our parents.
I remember when we were in elementary school, my big brother and I concocted several plans in case our dear parents suddenly died or vanished. I was sure it would be by tornado. My brother was worried about a fire. I vividly recall sitting on our stairs together and coming up with plans-- all of them colored by the books we'd read. Of course, we had very different ideas of how we would do this, but we knew this: We were *not* going to be separated.
Josh's plan: We would hitchike (The_Outsiders) across the country taking a Northern route so we could hit the Catskills (My_Side_of_the_Mountain) until we reached New York, where we'd head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sleep in a fancy bed on display
(From_the_Mixed-up_Files_of_Ms._Basil_E._Frankweiler). We'd open a shoe shine stand (Shoe_Shine_Girl) and make a little spending cash while befriending some kindly person who'd help us out and give us a ride to the sea. We'd jump aboard a ship and find an island where we'd clad ourselves in otter skins and avoid wild dogs while surviving on seafood and luck
(Island_of_the_Blue_Dolphins).
My plan (I was younger): We would walk into town (36 miles) and then live in Gimbles Department Store and sleep in the mattress section. We would eat candy from the candy counter and take baths in the fountain in the mall. Eventually a little girl who had her own room and a talking bear, who lived in a walk-up, would find us and take us home with her. Her mother would think it was okay, of course. (Courduroy.)
Although our plans were extremely unrealistic, our determination that we would stay together (and have an adventure) was very real to us! Books truly gave us plot lines and ideas about how to take charge and survive in the face of change. I don't recall our thinking about the *emotional* impact of losing our parents, however. Some things were too scary for even our worst-case-scenario fantasies, I suppose.
Meg Rothstein Madison, Wisconsin
_________________________________________________________________ Don?t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/
Received on Fri 19 Aug 2005 03:48:57 PM CDT
