Seven on Twednesday

A drive-by post.  I tried to think of ten, but no.

1.  Black Beauty.  I loved horses. 

2.  Frog, The Horse That Knew No Master.  The horse always had fire in his eye.  He bucked everyone off and attacked them with his hooves until the handsome lieutenant loved him.  Boy, talk about transference.

3.  The Phantom Tollbooth.  This is nominally a children's book.  Jumping to the Island of Conclusions?  The disappearance of Princesses Rhyme and Reason?  Very fun. 

4.  Ditto Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Of course.

5.  LOTR/Hobbit.  I think I read it as a teen.  Total immersion. 

6.  The Lion, Witch, Wardrobe, and all sequels.  One of my teachers read all these aloud to us.  Magic.

7.  The Enchanted Castle.  E. Nesbit wrote this about a hundred years ago.  It is still in print.  Compelling when I stumbled across it in the middle school library, I ordered it from Amazon last month.  Very fun story.  Might be a touch scary for today's tender ears and eyes.  We were built stronger back then.

Leucojum aestivum, summer snowflake, from the garden several weeks ago.  Good green foliage that stays fresh, no pests, survives voles and deer.  (I have not finished my morning tea, so sentence structure is elusive.)  Snowdrops are a close relative.

Comments

[Caroline M]

I like the summer snowflake, I'll have to look for those. It wouldn't need to survive voles and deer here, just my usual lax gardening regime.

[margene]

Ah, Black Beauty, National Velvet, anything to do with horses brings fond memories. Or maybe they're not so fond as I really wanted a horse. The Enchanted Castle is knew to me. I'm going to look for it. Nice list, we have many in common.

[Manise]

James and the Giant Peach! Love the snowdrop relative.

[Anne]

No time to chit-chat. Must go find Frog. (I can't believe I hadn't read it! Obviously private school education can only go so far these days, eh?)

[Mary Lou]

Just went and ordered Frog. As a horse crazy kid who haunted the library, I can't believe I missed it.

[Rosemary]

I need to go find the Enchanted Castle, it's the only one on your list I haven't read.

Another of my favorite horse books was King of the Wind by Margueritte Henry.

[Carole]

I love those books on your list! And the flower is gorgeous and yes, very similar to snow drops.

[Guinifer]

Nothing wrong with being tougher! My kids and I loved the Enchanted Castle!

[sarah]

You are me, aren't you? You must be. You're the me who skis in my dreams.

[Adrienne]

I just re-read Phantom Tollbooth a couple weeks ago. Possibly my all time favorite book. =)

[Marcia]

Black Beauty, of course. My grandpa brought me back several Anne of Green Gables books back from a trip to Canada and I adored those. Also loved that maple sugar candy that came with them!

[thea]

The Enchanted Castle... must go find that one!

[Hillary]

Lovely flowers and a list full of stuff I'm not familiar with. Fabulous.

[gayle]

I missed Frog and the Enchanted Castle. Obviously my libraries were second-rate. I'll have to hunt them up now.
At some point in elementary school, I forsook horses for starships. Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke.

[Angie]

I love all the E.Nesbit books. So did Edward Eager--read Half Magic and Seven-Day Magic for a start. And the Keith Robertson Henry Reed books (Henry Reed, Inc. is the first one) still make me laugh, as well as Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Here is a link where you can find It's Like This, Cat and more Newbery Medal winners by women:

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/writers.html

[Teyani]

Phantom Tollbooth!!!! Yes! I also have that on an old VHS tape that my kids watched over and over.. must see if it comes on DVD now. (number and word nerds unite!)

[Etherknitter]

We did it as a fifth grade play. I was the princess rhyme. A local musician played piano. Composed songs with lyrics about the story that I still hear in my mind.
Three cheers for Milo and a hip hooray our Rhyme and Reason are back to stay!

L

[Melissa G]

Just what I need on a rainy day! Thanks for the book list.

[Charlene]

My perennial favourite: Alice in Wonderland. It gets funnier every year (and so I've read everything he wrote. Ever, as far as I know). And for really tender hilarity, Winnie The Pooh, and The House At Pooh Corner. The love in those books is palpable. Just because Disney did them (and by "did", I mean "in the Biblical sense", and no, not in a good way), people forget that the originals are utter delight. And how about The Little Prince (though I confess it has not had as lasting appeal for me)?

[juno]

Dude, was Frog a military polo horse? Or similar? I think I read that......

[Lucia]

Oh, I forgot The Enchanted Castle! It was a gift from an elderly relative (I wish I could remember which one), and I read it a hundred years ago. I wonder what became of the book.

[JessaLu]

I loved the Phantom Tollbooth and completely forgot about it in my list...ohwell. ;o)