Summer Reading
July 1st, 2010
The arrival of summer brings back so many wonderful childhood memories: long days of playing in the yard with friends, playing games inside the house with friends, swimming, roller skating, jump rope, hopscotch, jacks,walking to the movies, and reading! I read all year, but there was even more time for books in the summer. My whole family read in our respective beds every night – I remember calling out to my parents’ bedroom and spelling a word so they would tell me what it was.
When I was very young, there was no library in Affton, then a relatively young suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. My parents took my sister Janet and me into the city to libraries to check out as many books as we could. My sister recalls that there was a limit and since she was an ardent reader, my parents had to take her to more than one branch to get enough books to last the week. I really wasn’t reading then, but I do remember the books I checked out, many of them time and time again.
But by the time I was in full reading mode, a miracle occurred. Every two weeks, the Bookmobile chugged down Gravois Road in Affton, where I lived, parked next to Affton Drugs and opened its doors! The photos above are exactly the bookmobile I remember. I can still hear the thump of my feet on the wooden steps. In the summer, Janet and I would walk to the bookmobile, arms filled with books both coming and going. It was a long walk by today’s standards but well worthwhile. (We walked everywhere back then by ourselves.)
Oh, what delicious books there were! And the librarians did a good job of stocking the books. So if I read and loved a Little House or Betsy-Tacy or Dr. Doolittle book, another one would appear in a few weeks and a librarian would nudge me in its direction. I took it for granted back then but I now I am so grateful to those angels of the library, looking out for two book-loving girls.
I’m mentioning this for two reasons. One, I believe about 100 librarians were laid off in the Los Angeles Public Library system today (despite a last minute effort at a reprieve), which is a tragedy. The hours are being cut as well. When I go to my local Studio City branch at opening time, there’s always a line of people waiting for the doors to open. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the City Council or Mayor ever go to the library as ordinary citizens to see what really goes on there.
Secondly, I’m going to attempt to go back to my childhood (the 1950s-1960s) and blog about my favorite books from those days, especially those which had a great influence on me as a person and a writer. I’ve not been blogging for a while for several reasons, but I’m going to give it a go … so if you are reading the blog, please take a moment to post a comment! 
Facebook
Twitter
Kathleen Armstrong says:
I live in St. Louis County and was used to seeing and using the Bookmobiles as a child. I think we still have them here, just not where I live. One of my favorite books from the Bookmobile was The Secret of the Rosewood Box. I don’t remember the author anymore though. I loved that story and I can still smell the book and the bookmobile. Reading was and still is my favorite pasttime all year. I teach and pass along titles to my students all year long.
July 1, 2010, 1:05 pmCynthia Friedlob says:
I have fond childhood memories of weekly trips with my mother to our neighborhood library. I think those of us who came from families who enjoy reading are fortunate.
So sad about the reduction in staff at our LA libraries. Also sad about library closures in smaller towns like those in Siskiyou County in northern CA, partial closures in Stanislaus County, other areas around the state, too. This reduction in services has been going on for several years and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
I’m off to finish reading a library book right now — due tomorrow!
July 1, 2010, 1:26 pmBetty says:
It used to be that when I was in the library and I saw all those people of every age, ethnicity, class checking out stacks of books and working on the computers, I always felt hope for the future. You can imagine what I fee now!
July 1, 2010, 2:09 pmBetty says:
They do still have bookmobiles because I used to see them at the retirement home where my parents lived. A little snazzier (and bigger) than the ones I remember. And I can solve the mystery of the author of The Secret of the Rosewood Box – it was Helen Fuller Orton and I’ll be blogging about another of her books which was a favorite. I’ll bet the St. Louis County library has a copy of the Rosewood Box somewhere. Thank you for passing along your love of reading to others, Kathleen!
July 1, 2010, 2:13 pmVicki Winslow says:
Mrs. Shelton, the librarian at my elementary school in NC, introduced me to the books of E. L. Konigsburg: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was a favorite. Another dearly loved book was one my dad owned as a youngster–Gene Stratton Porter’s A Girl of the Limberlost. His copy was abridged, but over the years I bought two unabridged versions. I reread it often. The story is dated in some ways, but I love the appreciation for nature that underscores all of Porter’s books (Freckles, Laddie, and The Harvester are wonderful, too). Just this morning I downloaded copies of all four books on my husband’s Kindle–they’re available at no charge. That made me really happy. Oh, and I have to mention one more: The Secret Garden, with Tasha Tudor’s illustrations!
July 11, 2010, 9:09 amBetty says:
Girl of the Limberlost was my mother’s favorite book of all time! There are many classic children’s books that have fallen into public domain and can be read or downloaded online. Also, I found on the Kindle you can download public domain books for free or around a dollar. So I have the complete Charles Dickens, Sherlock Holmes, Thoreau, etc. for pennies. And who wouldn’t love the Mixed-Up Files and The Secret Garden. Thanks for sharing, Vicki.
July 11, 2010, 9:26 amSandy Krshul Robine says:
OH… MY… GOODNESS!! (In the words of Shirley Temple)
February 22, 2011, 5:00 pmBetty, I can’t believe you have pictures of the Bookmobile!
I loved when it came to the Bayless Grade School in Affton, MO. In fact, on the interior view, the biggest girl there with the brunette hair on the left side (white blouse) actually looks like me! Except that I do not recognize any of the other children. It seemed almost like a sacred place when you stepped inside. Thanks for the memories.
Betty says:
I’ll bet it is you,Sandy! A sacred space indeed!
February 26, 2011, 8:16 pmJulie Andrew Brown says:
My mother (Anna Louise Andrew, your father’s cousin) took all 8 of her children to the library every week. I loved it! I fondly remember the books you write about: Flicka, Ricka, Dicka, Snip, Snap Snurr, The Five Chinese Brothers and of course, Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes. I followed in my mother’s footsteps and became a school librarian (now called library media specialist). I do share fairy tales and nursery rhymes with my students. They absolutely love them. It is sad that I am often the first person introducing them to these stories.
October 2, 2011, 10:57 amBetty says:
Hi, cousin Julie … we certainly come from a reading family! I am concerned, as you are, that parents aren’t passing along fairy tales and nursery rhymes. After so many generations, suddenly the thread is broken and I think it’s a definite loss. Thanks for doing your part. In the next Humphrey book, coming out in 2012, I’m introducing the readers to Sherlock Holmes in hopes he’ll catch hold with some readers.
October 2, 2011, 11:42 amGary Riedy says:
Thanks for reviving my memories of the Affton Book Mobile. I have been an avid reader all my life, and just LOVED getting on the Book Mobile in the summer so I could read while school was out. I used to hide up in a tree, in my neighborhood, and spend HOURS reading while all the people of the neighborhood passed underneath me not realizing, for the longest time, that I was up above reading. Many, many fond memories. Thanks so much!
October 11, 2011, 11:03 am