Daily Challenge 17: My Favorite Childhood Book

Anyone who says they are not a fan of Dr. Seuss is lying, but my favorite childhood book is not that of a Seuss creation, although I love The Lorax very much. My favorite childhood book is none other than "Where The Wild Things Are." Not only is the art amazing but I love the story.

The story is of a little boy being punished and sent to his room and then escaping to a world of his own where he finds worse things to deal with then his present circumstance I think is quite a tale. Imagination is underrated anymore and I always loved Max's ability to create and entire realm and walk you through it. I also love any story where so-called monsters are actually gentle creatures who just want some company.

I think my favorite line is "Let the wild rumpus START!" But I also love when he commands the wild things to, "Be still!" I read this book to my little one in a very animated way and often say "I'll eat you up I love you so!" My mom also had a coffee table book of Maurice Sendak art that I used to thumb through.

In other childhood literature I will tell you an amusing story. I always loved any of the works by Shel Silverstein. As part of my fear of snakes my dad used to read me Silverstein's "Boa Constrictor" to make me even more afraid it seemed. I loved Where The Sidewalk Ends as well. My dad used to preach a sermon from "The Giving Tree" and that book was always around. I loved it so much when I was little.

When I was 18 and a full time nanny I remember getting a copy of it for the little girl I watched and I read it out loud to her and had this cloud of realization come over me..."This book is terrible! That boy abused the tree and just used him! Humans are garbage!"

I remember calling my dad, half in tears saying "Why did you read us that? That is a horrible story about how people just use things and are selfish!" He told me that it was a good lesson in humans versus nature. He reasoned that we need to be nicer to nature but also remember there is good in the world with human nature too. He had a point.

I still read it from time to time but still think it is mostly depressing. Most kids books are slightly sad or "off" if you think about it, but that one about killed my spirit in adulthood. It's funny how when we read these stories to our children, they now mean something completely different but these were the literary building blocks of our beginnings.  I think I'll go to "Where The Wild Things Are" and report back.