Thursday, March 01, 2007

World Book Day

1st of March is World Book Day. The local primary school celebrated by letting the little ones come to school dressed as their favourite character from a book.

When George was still in primary school, he went dressed as Oor Wullie.
He had the blonde hair already, all he needed was a pair of overalls, a white shirt and a bucket.

There are always a couple of Harry Potters, a Dumbledore or two, princesses, Robin Hood and the like. I would have dressed up as Nancy Drew. It was her tales of cleverness that hooked me years ago. I used to walk to the library and check out the limit of books that I was allowed to check out on my junior library card. I think I made it through all the Nancy Drew books that the small library near us had in stock. I remember clearly being annoyed that they hadn't put the series in numerical order. It always took longer to work through the titles. Sometimes, I had to read a page or two to make sure I hadn't already read it.
I also loved The Secret Garden. I was annoyed that when I finished that book, that was it. It wasn't a series. I had to search for books like The Secret Garden to transport me to new places. It was the only way I could travel at that age.
With my nose almost permanently in a book in my pre-teen years, I was called Book Worm and The Professor. I didn't actually care. I liked the feeling of superiority it gave me. I used to use my advanced vocabulary to taunt those who weren't as widely read as I. I remember making my sister Sally mad by calling her a homo sapien. She didn't know what that was and went running to our mother thinking that I had used some nasty word and I was going to get it.
I have mentioned that Pride and Prejudice is now my favourite book of all time. To mark the 10th anniversary of World Book Day, a poll was conducted. Over 2000 people voted on line. The Nation's favourite book is: Pride and Prejudice! I feel validated.
I've got a couple of paperbacks that The Man of The Place brought home for me earlier in the week. He has perfect timing, I have just finished a book and was trawling through our own bookshelves in search of something to re-read.
So, in honour of World Book Day, I have turned off "the idiot box" as my Uncle Bob calls it, got my favourite blue jammies on and as soon as I hit the little orange publish button on this blog entry, I'm going to curl up with a fresh new book.

7 comments:

Kell said...

I loved Nancy Drew and The Secret Garden, too. I was also a big Little Women fan.

I read the article about World Book Day in the Scotsman and saw the list of books. I agree with many of them--especially Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird. But I've never been able to get through Jane Eyre. Maybe I should try it again.

Jay said...

I had no idea today was World Book Day. But I totally support it.

gawilli said...

The Secret Garden was a really good book. I was tickled when my daughter liked it, too. My favorite when I was younger was Little House on the Prairie. I must have read it a dozen times over the years. I did not know it was World Book Day either!

Joy Des Jardins said...

I loved The Secret Garden too Peggy. I honestly don't sit and read many books anymore....I get sleepy pretty quickly. Yet, I can sit for hours on the computer....late into the night....and not get as tired. It's just as tiring for one's eyes...I'll never understand that. My husband absorbed books...a voracious reader; and my kids followed in his footsteps. We have always had lots and lots of books in our home...and reading was a priority to all of my kids. Two of them have gone on to write books and have passed their love of books to my grandchildren. It's a wonderful cycle.

Hope you had a delightful reading session in your jammies.

Shammickite said...

My favourite childhood reading included all Enid Blyton books, e.g. The Famous Five, and the Adventure books... Mountain of Adventure, Circus of Andventure, Island of Adventure etc. But when I read them to my own children, I had to make a few adjustments. The girls in the stories were such wimps, and let the boys do all the exciting and dangerous things... except of course for George (Georgina) who was a tomboy. How perceptions of the differences between boys and girls have changed!

Betty said...

I read the Nancy Drew books over and over. And, I also loved the Cherry Ames, Student Nurse series. See? I started reading series's a looooooooong time ago.

Anonymous said...

I left a comment here yesterday, but for some reason, I see that it didn't work!
I love the idea of a World Book Day, even if I don't read as much as I did when I was a kid.
Had I been in George's school, I would have dressed as Jo March in Little Women, or maybe as Sarah in The Little Princess.