From: Lauralyn Persson <lpersson>
Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 09:51:08 -0500

Hi - this thread certainly seems to have struck a chord. Here's a picture book I remember fondly from my childhood in the 50s: The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, by DuBose Heyward (author of Porgy, basis of the musical by the Gershwins) with illustrations by Marjorie Flack. Being surrounded by a lot of tougher, older kids (many of them boys), I loved this story of the smallest and the plainest winning out over all odds.

Like a lot of avid readers, I came to adult books early, and was always picking up books my parents were reading. The summer I was 11, I got through the first 100 pages or so of Lolita, mostly because I knew its reputation and was hoping for racy parts. What I found instead were characters who seemed incredibly more authentic than anyone I'd ever encountered in a book. Charlotte Haze, with her very real flaws, could have been a friend of my parents. This was the first time I realized that fiction could be sort of an expansion of reality, rather than an escape or a vicarious experience. (and to follow up - my mother rarely censored me, but did take this away when she found me with it. I've since read it through a number of times and it remains one of my all-time favorites.)

Thanks, everyone, for the interesting and thought-provoking posts. Lyn

Lyn Persson Head of Youth Services Wilmette Public Library 1242 Wilmette Ave. Wilmette, IL 60091 847/256-6940 lpersson at wilmette.lib.il.us
Received on Wed 24 May 2006 09:51:08 AM CDT