How many times have you had the pleasure of picking up a book which will transport you from your ordinary concerns to somewhere unknown ?
I thank my mother for fostering our love of books.
One of my earliest book memories is the children’s book ” The Way of the Whirlwind” by Mary and Elizabeth Durack published around 1940. So different – a bit scary – and such unforgettable illustrations!
More than 50 years later I was able to see the original manuscript and illustrations when we visited the old homestead of the Duracks at Lake Argyle.
More children’s classics we enjoyed were May Gibbs “Snugglepot and Cuddlepie ” with the wicked Banksia men and all sorts of animated native animals – “Blinky Bill” the naughty little koala, along with stories about gremlins who kept the pilots safe during the war and oh so many others. “Moon Magic ” comes to mind, which my aunt brought to me in hospital when I had my tonsils out. I guess the books were passed on to cousins or friends as we outgrew them. How I would love to browse through them all again. We do , however have republished copies of the original ” Blinky Bill” and the “Gumnut Babies”
The grandchildren and great grandchildren have their favourites now . “Who Sank the Boat”, Berenstein’s “The Bears Holiday ” – you know them all – Even “Biggles” captured them!
Then, of course, there’s the “Harry Potter ” series which burst onto the world . Even the adults were hooked.
The weird thing about books is that without illustrations we each have our own strong vision of the setting and even feel we know what the author would look like. For example, I read “In Falling Snow ” by Mary Rose McColl. A great read which I picked up randomly from the Library shelf knowing nothing of the author. Then I saw her column and photo in the week- end paper and she looked nothing like the image I had conjured up.
The thing about a good book is that it is hard to focus on the myriad of things waiting to be done when you know it is sitting there on the table luring you to steal time for just a few more pages as the story reaches an exciting point. Surely it’s morning coffee time ? !
Memories of us in our pajamas, freshly bathed in the evening, grouped around while Mum read us a story so long ago. And Mothers Day is coming up soon .
Thanks Mum
(Editors note: Thanks Freda. x I thank my Mum too for sharing her love of books with me. Happy Mothers Day Mumsy xx
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