Into the Past with Rebecca Fjelland Davis
Today I’m happy to welcome Rebecca Fjelland Davis, author of Chasing Alliecat, to my blog! I’m loving her dog!
Anyway Rebecca is here to share her book picks for the ages with us in a game of, Into the Past. My favorite part of this game is that I get to see if we agree!
Age 3: Poky Little Puppy , Nurse Nancy , and Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel were my favorites from our huge collection of Little Golden Books. I asked to have those three read to me over and over and over and over. I had them memorized, but I still wanted to hear them.
Age 6: Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder–well, actually the whole series would have been my favorites. My mom started reading the series aloud when I was four (the age at which I decided I wanted to be an author). I also wanted to be a “Pioneer” for the rest of my childhood because I wanted to be like Laura. We went to the Wilder Museum in Mansfield, Missouri, and I still have the Charlotte rag doll I bought there.
Age 8: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren: Need I say more? I still have the copy I got from Scholastic Book Club. It’s tattered and torn, but mostly in one piece.
Age 10: Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. I loved horses, and rode my own pony daily. (I attribute my current love of bicycling to a similar need to move in the outdoors). I read everything I could find that Marguerite Henry wrote. I loved Brighty of the Grand Canyon so much that when I finally stood on the brink of the Grand Canyon, years later, I burst into tears for love of Brighty, and the fact I’d been there before—only inside that book. I also read every book our school and public library had by Lois Lensky.
Age 11: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (did I read it eleven times, maybe?) Another story about a tomboy, a pioneer girl who practically lived on horseback. I was heartbroken at the end, when Caddie was forced to become more of a lady and sit still to learn stitchery. The concept was terrifying and depressing.
Age 16: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. This was the first dark romance I ever read. I was enthralled by Catherine and Heathcliffe. My high school literature teacher (Rhea Barron Mulhall, wherever you are) did a fanatastic job helping everybody appreciate the depth of this book.
Age 20: Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough. I was enthralled by the illicit love affair—and with a priest! It might be the most prominent and passionate love story in my memory. I remember reading all night long without any sleep whatsoever.
All ages: To Kill a Mockingbird will probably remain my favorite book of all times. I don’t know how many times I’ve read it. My favorite from adulthood so far is Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
