The Bukowski Family

1001 Books: or 1001 Reasons Why I Haven’t Lost My Mind.

I saw the book in Borders on one of my excursions there. Stacks upon stacks of books that are there for me. Some begging to come home with me, some wondering if they will ever see an owner or remain on the shelf to be dusted off by the staff another day.

When I saw this book – It presented me with an intriguing challenge. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow  Up. Hmm.  Children’s books I must read before I grow up. Interesting. I told David I wanted it and, in his usual way when I tell him I want something he thinks is completely ridiculous, he says “Yeah?”

So, defeated – I put the book back and proceed about my life.

Cut forward to September 2009 – I sign-up to be a volunteer for this program I found – In2Books – where I will be an “ePen-Pal” to a student and we will read a book that the student selects and then we will correspond through ”email” about the book. This is all done through the In2Books website so it’s safe for the student. So I am assigned my 4 grade student and she begins to pick these books that are incredibly cute and make me remember how much I loved reading picture books and chapter books when I was a kid. 

The most recent book - ”The Gingerbread Boy” – I wasn’t too excited to go out and read. After all, everyone knows the GingerBread Boy story. So reluctantly, I ordered it from Amazon and waited for it to arrive. Once it did – I read it and laughed out loud at the end. Not because it was funny but because I HAD forgotten how bleak the story ends. *SPOILER ALERT* He gets eaten!!!!! 

What a book for a child to read! Really the story  is basically telling them – “You disobey and act naughty – you DIE!” Wow! How did I miss this as kid?!

So then I started thinking – what other of my favorite children’s books have I overlooked or “missed”? Then my mind came back to the 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before you Die.  I needed to get this book – and I need to read these stories.

So with the book officially the property of Monica Bukowski : I decide that I am going to read every book listed in this mammoth. I need to re-discover these books. I need to read what I missed as a kid and hopefully now – appreciate as an adult – so that when I do have children I make sure I give them access to the greatest books of childhood.

So for now – I’ll start with 5 books a week.  However – I know to finish this, realistically, I need to substantially increase the number of books I read a week. Keep in mind though – these are not all picture books – Harry Potter books are in here…..Yikes – those books are about as thick as the 1001 book itself. However – it won’t be easy some of these books I haven’t been able to find – in fact many of them are not at the local library and even others are other language books – so I am not sure how I am going to accomplish this.  But it will be an adventure for sure. As such, it will be ever changing – speed will vary as time, books and life changes.  So theres no “self imposed deadline”. No rush. Just me reading the books and remembering and re-discovering them as well as my own youth.

Perhaps maybe I’ll learn a few things along the way that I have forgotten.

So the first 5:

1. Kipper by Mick Inkpen

2. Corduroy by Don Freeman

3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

4. Queen of the Caribbean by Emilio Salgari (completely in Spanish)

5. A Wrinkle in Time by Madalene L’Engle.