A Child’s Library. Resurrected Post.
I���ve been thinking about what books to purchase for Victoria Valentina. With what titles shall I stock her library? Honestly I���ve been pondering this since before she was born. Look, that���s just how I am. Don���t judge me.
I���ve already picked up a paperback copy of��Tbe Wind in the Willows. She may be about a decade from appreciating that one. I read it aloud to my wife. It���s been more than thirty years since I���d last read it. It held up, though it is more ponderous and somewhat less whimsical than I remember.
A boxed set of of A.A. Milne is probably at the head of the list.��Winnie-the-Pooh,��When We Were Young, etc. Maybe Beatrix Potter. These are likely the foundations, the talking animals, stuffed or otherwise. We can move on to��Charlotte���s Web��later.
I���ll probably want a nice hardcover, illustrated fairy-tale collection. And a Hans Christian Anderson collection. I���ve already got��The Hobbit, copies in English and Spanish. But this might be an excuse to buy another edition.
Looking at this selection I see a decided predilection toward the fantastic. Is it any wonder I write fantasy and science-fiction? I suppose I���ll want to pick up a Laura Ingalls Wilder set as well. Establish some historical grounding. I���ve got editions of Robin Hood and King Arthur tales, but those hardly qualify as historical.
Some might say that the books I���ve selected are written for more advanced readers, that contemporary children���s books are more age-appropriate. Some would say that the concepts and vocabulary in my selections will prove challenging for little Victoria, that the language is outmoded, the morals old-fashioned, that I���m attempting to impose my own childhood on my daughter.
You know what? I don���t see a problem with any of that.
Of course, she won���t even turn one until November. So I���ve got some time.
