I hope I can remember them all.
1. Yertle the Turtle. I wish Opie would try to make a film based on this book.
2. Harold and the Purple Crayon. When I was between 4th and 5th grade, I dropped out of a summer school art class when the teacher didn't like what I drew. We had to draw using only black and white crayons, plus one primary color crayon chosen for each student by her. First, I drew a picture of Hades riding down into Hell with his newly kidnapped bride Proserpine. She said that the characters should be bigger. So I drew another picture that zoomed in on the happy couple. Then she said that I should draw something a little more cheerful. I reminded her that I was working with black, white, and f***ing blue. I didn't actually say "f***ing." This has little to do with Harold and the Purple Crayon, but clearly I still have issues.
3. Make Way for Ducklings. There, I feel better now.
4. Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I loved mythology, so I struggled through this when I was about 10.
5. This book about Japanese mythology by Miriam Cox. Later, as a college student, I took her Children's Lit class and she gave me a "C." Bitch.
6. Some book about King Arthur with really cool illustrations. Got it at the library. Thanks for taking me, Mom.
7. A Donald Duck comic book. My first grade teacher said that I had a reading problem. My mom got me some comic books to read to increase my interest in reading and see for herself if I was having problems. Turned out that I only had a first grade teacher problem. Thanks again, Mom.
8. This book or Norse mythology. I liked this stuff more than the Greek stuff.
9. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish. I think this is self-explanatory.
10. Horton Hatches an Egg. Hey, anything is possible.
6 comments:
Since ya put a comic book on yer list, I gotta say that probably the reading material that most shaped and affected me more than any was Mad Magazine. Seriously. Like "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" Example: An old lady shopping at the fish mart says "Are these fish really fresh?" and the fish salesman says "No. They're very well mannered." I can still see the panel to this day.
I'm glad I have you to remind me about what influenced me as a kid. I remember the Holiday Issue that took Christmas Carols and rewrote the lyrics to fit other holidays. Mom got so sick of it that she made us throw all of our Mad Mafizines away. A couple of years later, of course, she got me a subscription for Christmas.
McElligot's Pool- Dig those fish illustrations!
A Wrinkle In Time
Oops, gotta go. The child needs a ride.
I'm ashamed to say I'm not that well-read. But in junior high a bunch of us kids discovered the sex books that their parents had stashed in their underwear drawers. My parents, of course, had nothing but I benefitted from the dirty minds of my friend's moms and dads.
Fanny Hill- Actually, this one I found at my great aunt Lucy'shouse when we visited Whidby Island. I spent much of that time locked in the bathroom reading on the floor.
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask- An eye opener.
The Sensuous Man
The Sensuous Woman- I don't remember much about these except one exercise where you stick your tongue in a shot glass and try to lick the bottom.
And THEN my MOM gave me a book on sexuality for Christian teenagers. One chapter was titled Masturbation- A Gift From God.
Cool! Written permission!
qqnpxa- Ok, I need a cigarette now
Billy reminds me of how big an influence Mad magazine was for me as well.
Books...
the "Man from U.N.C.L.E." novelizations were the first things that really got me interested in reading. I followed those with the Tom Swift Jr. series.
Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" showed me possibilities for society beyond the mainstream.
Stanislaw Lem's wonderful singularity "Cyberiad" showed me how much fun words can be (okay, I know, english teachers and other literate types may think of this as a lowbrow example, but I don't care, it had a big effect on me).
I read a lot of sci-fi as a kid...
rxvvjcl- Prescriptive Vaxen Job Control Language; an early computer operator's language.
Nerd alert!!
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