7/12/11

Howdy, Hiram



When I was a preschooler, my family lived overseas. We lived on a hill and as a result there was no television reception. Not only that, but there were no DVRs, no streaming HD, and no television monitors strapped to the back of the car seat in front of me. The phone had a rotary dial and a cord. No, it was not Little House on the Prairie, but it was a time that was a lot less "plugged in". So without data being constantly pumped into our consciousness, we only had one way to explore the world. BOOKS! I got new books almost every week. Library books and bookstore books. Picture books and story books. My mother read me books every night before bed. She is a much better story reader that I am - she would read more than 1 book a night and I'm pretty sure she never took a literary license to shorten the story for the sake of bedtime as I have done more than once. One of my favorite books was Hiram's Red Shirt. I have no idea what made it so fascinating to a 4 year old, but it was great. Now I can admire the "make it work" spirit that Hiram shows as he continually transforms his beloved red shirt into useful creations rather than part with it. Where is Hiram when I need my window coverings completed?!

Do you remember any of your favorite books from childhood . . . or last week if they are still the same?


2 comments:

S. Russell said...

Charlie is typically our nighttime reader. I put babies to bed, he puts big kids to bed. (-: I don't remember being read to, but I read like crazy - The Boxcar Children was my absolute favorite. I remember being glued to the teacher when she read it out loud and then hoarding the libraries copy for much of that school year. Charlotte is getting to the point where she wants to hear a bedtime story too, so tonight it was Cars...yeah, a true classic, lol!

ahoak said...

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel