My sister and I turn 52 today. It makes me giggle to say this because, although my body has given me some trouble lately, my mind feels young. Maybe that is because I work with you people. Who knows. I don’t have a ton of pictures of myself as a tiny tot, but this is one of my sister and I with Mamère, our maternal French-Canadian grandmother.
She passed away not long after this and I have no memory of ever meeting her. There are very few shots of me smiling as little person.
It surprises people to learn that I didn’t grow up surrounded by books. We went to the library and we had books in the house, but I wasn’t obsessed as a child the way I am now. I blame that on Mrs. Lew, the New Hamburg Children’s Librarian.
The year I was born, 1964, saw the publication of a few children’s books now considered classics.
Believe it or not, Flat Stanley, who is still being sent and photographed around the world, first appeared in 1964. He’s had many incarnations, but the story remains well-loved.
Charlie and the Chocolate factory also appeared in 1964. It, too has seen many covers.
Harriet the Spy has also evolved.
Other books came out that year:
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
booksandbassets 