This was my first post for Sally Cronin’s “Smorgasbord” blog this week, hence no Friday post here yesterday. Do visit her blog. It has a wealth of posts on a wide variety of subjects! Wherever you read this post, I welcome comments as always, and will be back here next week as usual.
Reading from the very start
Greetings to Smorgasbord readers! Some of you know me already from Sally’s reblogs. Now I’m invited to write a four weekly post on books and literature. It’s an honour for me to think what may attract a new audience as my own blog is verging on the niche… so let’s start at the very beginning!
What is the beginning?
Before I wrote fiction and blogged, I was a translator, teacher and teacher trainer, with students ranging from 3 – 80+. I learned if a child learns young enough to appreciate different points of view through reading stories, the habit ebbs and flows but is never quite lost, with huge repercussions for how their lives develop.
Non-fiction can be told as stories too. The beginnings are usually clear, the plotting goes all over the place, the ends may be murky, but there’s always a story in…
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Excellent article as ever Jessica. I don’t recall reading any of these books as a child. I remember reading Jennings and Derbyshire school days type books. So much kinder that John Brown which I loathed for it’s cruelty. My parents tried to get me to read better books in their eyes. Treasure Island ( I was about 10) and The Master of Ballantrae. I thought they were silly. But at least my folks were encouraging me to read and that was a true gift from them.
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Fossilized fish hooks! How could I forget Jennings and Darbyshire? But you’re right about the generation gap, what parents think is good may not work for their children. But mine read Jennings nad I heard them laugh out loud, so that’s nice.
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I had no idea they were still publishing Jennings and D. I wonder how they’d read now. Great to hear your kids read them too
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I spelt Darbishire wrong! What a clodpoll! Old Wilkie will…will…well I don’t know what he’ll do but I wouldn’t be in your shoes, Norrie, when he finds out! Anyway here’s the link if you want to revisit their childhood and yours. I’ve found it excellent in-bed-with-a-cold reading. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jennings-Darbishire-Anthony-Buckeridge/dp/0755101537
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Jessica, this is wonderful. You know that I commented over at Sally’s. 🙂
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Thank you!
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You’re welcome!
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