Nursery Rhymes And Childhood Books
I caught the end of a debate on the radio, a couple of days ago.
The main focus seemed to be, that modern parents could see little,
if any, relevance of Nursery rhymes in today's society. The basis
of their argument seems to be that children today are much more
advanced and knowledgeable, and much prefer to be read to from a
story book, which the parents thought had much more meaning and
content. It was astounding to hear that nearly all of the adults
interviewed didn't even know the complete first verse of Jack and
Jill. I seem to remember that reciting Nursery Rhymes was a social
classroom event, where everyone participated, which made it a fun
thing to do.
I do agree that we need to keep children reading, it's just a shame that they all seem to abandon the idea in teenage years, and keeping abreast of current affairs and events is very hit and miss. I was always a bookaholic as a child and still am today. I always had a bookcase full of books, although you only ever got to have a new one when it was your birthday or Xmas. My bookcase was made by my father, as a welcome home present, when I had to go into hospital to have my tonsils removed, aged about 6 or 7. I can remember being quite willing to go to bed early, so that I could read until the designated "lights out" time. Annuals were some of my favourites; Girl's Crystal, Princess Tina and Judy are a few that I can remember. Books included, just about every Enid Blyton book I could get my hands on; The Famous Five; The Secret Seven; Malory Towers etc. There was also Black Beauty by Anna Sewell; The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley and Kenneth Grahame's The Wind In The Willows.
Saturday afternoon was always my favourite time of the week, as we all went as a family to the town library. I can remember there was a central lobby, with 3 separate doors leading from it; to the reference library, adults library and children's library. It was great the first time I was allowed into the children's library on my own, whilst my parents went into the adults library. That was in the days before library cards, when each book had it's own ticket, which was removed and filed ready to be replaced when you returned the book, then the book was stamped with the return date. Seeing the date being stamped inside the cover was always great fun and right up until I left school, I always harboured a secret yearning to become a Librarian. Although I think I would have spent too long reading the books, to actually let people borrow them and woe betide anyone who would dare to damage or deface the books !!
I do agree that we need to keep children reading, it's just a shame that they all seem to abandon the idea in teenage years, and keeping abreast of current affairs and events is very hit and miss. I was always a bookaholic as a child and still am today. I always had a bookcase full of books, although you only ever got to have a new one when it was your birthday or Xmas. My bookcase was made by my father, as a welcome home present, when I had to go into hospital to have my tonsils removed, aged about 6 or 7. I can remember being quite willing to go to bed early, so that I could read until the designated "lights out" time. Annuals were some of my favourites; Girl's Crystal, Princess Tina and Judy are a few that I can remember. Books included, just about every Enid Blyton book I could get my hands on; The Famous Five; The Secret Seven; Malory Towers etc. There was also Black Beauty by Anna Sewell; The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley and Kenneth Grahame's The Wind In The Willows.
Saturday afternoon was always my favourite time of the week, as we all went as a family to the town library. I can remember there was a central lobby, with 3 separate doors leading from it; to the reference library, adults library and children's library. It was great the first time I was allowed into the children's library on my own, whilst my parents went into the adults library. That was in the days before library cards, when each book had it's own ticket, which was removed and filed ready to be replaced when you returned the book, then the book was stamped with the return date. Seeing the date being stamped inside the cover was always great fun and right up until I left school, I always harboured a secret yearning to become a Librarian. Although I think I would have spent too long reading the books, to actually let people borrow them and woe betide anyone who would dare to damage or deface the books !!
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