Childhood favourites in 2022 - which ones make the grade?
I remember being read to as a child really fondly, I’m sure lots of us do, and there are some books that I remember I really liked. But books do date, even books written for three-year-olds, and there was no guarantee that they would be a hit with Wanstead’s sternest literary critic…
A few weeks ago, my Mum gifted us a lot of books from when she was a child and I read a couple to Blake. He was quite taken with an Enid Blyton book, which strangely had the same plot as Toy Story, about a bear who finds himself abandoned at the back of the cupboard and is on the verge of being thrown away, before a visiting cousin takes a fancy to him. I liked it reading it with him, but I was aware the whole time that Joan, the very assertive child who abandoned the bear in the first place, not only has a nurse who looks after her, but also a cook and a maid…
Some books haven’t aged a day, they feel as vibrant and magical and easy to read as ever, and it’s those this email is dedicated to.
My other memory from childhood? I was an obsessive listener to stories and I’d apparently carry my Fisher Price tape recorder just about anywhere to listen to Just William. If you’ve got a kid whose a similar obsessive, or needs something to play while they go to sleep, then I’d heartily recommend getting a Tonie Box.
It’s a soft box, virtually indestructible, and it comes with little figurines who each hold a story on them. You stick the figure on top and the story plays. They’re a great gift for kids and they’re releasing new figures all the time. Really easy to use, really easy to travel with and the figures act as toys as well as stories.
But enough about that, let the wild rumpus start…
Where The Wild Things Are
We read this all the time, partly because I still find it totally captivating, but also because Blake loves it.
If you don’t know the story, it is rather hard to sum up. We meet Max, a bad-tempered boy in a wolf suit who has just been sent to bed without his tea. But, as soon as he’s in his room, he’s transported to a magical jungle populated only by wild things, where they quickly make him King, only for him to miss home eventually.
That doesn’t do the book justice. I’m not sure any plot summary could do. There is something magical about Sendak’s words and illustrations. It was first released in 1963 and it’s so other-worldly it’s utterly timeless. It might be a bit scary for some, but Blake was an instant devotee.
The Tiger Who Came To Tea
A total classic, one Blake has demanded be read to him over and over again.
The book follows Sophie, a little girl who is at home with her mum in rainy suburban England, when a very hungry tiger comes to visit and proceeds to eat them out of house and home.
First published in 1968, the language is a little mannered, but Kerr’s writing is magical and the illustrations are delightful.
It was animated beautifully by Channel 4 a couple of Christmases ago, with a voice cast that includes Tamsin Greig, Benedict Cumberbatch and David Oyelowo. It’s animated in the same style as Kerr’s book and carefully and tastefully extends the story. We watch it at least once a week.
The Giant Jam Sandwich
It’s summer. Wasps are everywhere. How do we deal with them? Well, if we take a leaf out of this 1972 book, then the residents of Itching Down took an extreme approach.
To get rid of their wasp problem, the townsfolk team up, they bake a giant load of bread and cover it with butter and strawberry jam and then wait for the wasps to come, with the other slice of bread poised high above.
Again, it’s mannered, but the rhymes are pitch-perfect, the language is playful and it’s a charming story. After he was gifted it from his Auntie Bella for Christmas, Blake spent a good week wandering round telling everybody “What can we do?” after our first reading…
Thank you very much for reading. Next week, a bit of a change of tack, I’ve just started to read to Blake’s little sister, so I’ll be recommending three books that got Blake’s love of reading kickstarted.
If you like this, please tell your friends, even the ones without kids…
And, if you want catch up on all the books I’ve recommended in previous weeks, here they are…