There Was a Book
By John Kass
July 30, 2025
What was the name of that book?
You know the one. You can see yourself as a child stretching for it on a high shelf at the library.
You began reading in that soft afternoon sunlight as you sat at one of those polished wooden tables, the librarian keeping order, peering through the glasses on her nose.
Or perhaps you didn’t read it at a library. It could have been in your bedroom where you first opened that book.
Or maybe it was on a blanket in the park with your brothers and mom. There we were at Sherman Park lagoon, at 55th and Racine in our neighborhood on that heavy woolen green blanket Yia-Yia’ had woven on her hand loom back in the village.
The lagoon was a couple of miles from the Union Stockyards, near the Sherman Park Library. The air around us wafted the scent of tens of thousands of livestock, when I was a boy and Chicago was still the butcher for America.
“What’s widdershins?” asked my brother Peter as our mom read to us from Childe Roland and the Goblin King, one of the books in the great My Book House collection we had as children.
Widdershins was an olde English word, squeezed out of Middle Low German and Middle High German, perhaps through Wales or Scotland, meaning to go counterclockwise around the tower. At least that’s where all the trouble started with the Goblin King. It started running widdershins around the tower. And there was much lopping of heads.
There on the blanket, or there in the library I’m reaching to find that book. Not the book title exactly, but the feeling of a book as your friend. One you didn’t want to leave as your parents called you for dinner in the late summer, as the afternoon got darker until you could hardly see the words on the page.
A book you’d reach out to for comfort. It might be the Bible, the New Testament, and the gospel. Or, what of the story of Odysseus horrified that his men were turned into pigs by the beautiful witch Circe.
You might know it.
Don’t forget those “We Were There” historical books such as “We Were There at Gettysburg” or “We Were There at the Boston Tea Party,” or “We Were There at the Battle for Bataan” or the Crusades, usually involving boys back in those days of yore, before boys became a threat, before being a boy meant they might actually mature into toxic male adults, the kind of creature that ruined everything and should be shunned if not gentled. Or worse. Unless there was a war to fight.
One that I suppose I’ll never find is a book I found at the Gage Park Library down the street from our family supermarket, Gage Park Grocerland. The story involved a group of children, the eldest, a bookish girl named Meg who wore glasses and bulky sweaters. All the smartest girls in books were named Meg, weren’t they?
The kids lived on a farm that was surrounded by water, including a lake and a spring fed pond, and two little creeks. It was technically an islanx. I spent summer morning at the store, puttering around the butcher shop in what I would later call Greek Day Care, later hiding from the summer heat in the meat cooler, eating sauerkraut straight from the barrel, later heading out into the alley where Ernie the photographer kept a vicious pink-nosed fat spaniel named Scaramouche. And then to the library where I found that book on the kids of the farm. Their island was a certified paradise. There were dogs on the farm and they had an understanding father. They all were well mannered, not the stuffy manners of a prissy Little Lord Fauntleroy, but high-spirited good manners and they were literate or hoped to be.
And their sister Meg. I wondered about her.
All that was a universe from today’s world, and the mid-town frenzy of New York, where a lunatic fiend slaughtered innocents with a long gun just the other day, a madman with a concealed carry permit blaming his killing spree on football concussions; or of Cincinnati and that race riot with that woman beaten unconscious by a man, hit by a sucker-punch and all the other barbarians hooting it up, gleefully ecstatic that white people were being smashed to the ground. The media–that praises itself for “speaking truth to power”–did what it does best now. They ignored the story, pretended it didn’t happen.
The human animal is an animal. I know this to be true. I just wanted to step away from it for today, just for the moment, away from those barking political dogs feeding fears that young people must turn to Mamdani the Magician for communist magic to protect their jobs from AI reality. He’s not that powerful. His kind of sentimental mindless magic can only lead to horrors such as the Killing Fields.
But that is not a proper subject for children. And neither was that left-wing segment on public television (Wilmette Talking to Winnetka) bemoaning the loss of hospitals providing “gender affirming care” to children. That is not care. It is castration, something only a Dr. Mengele would support.
And that is not a subject appropriate for kids.
This subject though is appropriate.
Even that drunken peg-legged pirate with the filthy parrot.
Years ago, when I was writing a daily column for “the paper,” I asked readers for recommendations for books for kids. I expected a few letters and e-mail messages. What I didn’t expect were the overwhelming numbers of responses from Illinois and across the country, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them.
They were the people who loved books. The letters came from girls and boys and teachers and parents and uncles and aunts and grandparents and many librarians. They know what it is like to lose yourself in a good book under a tree in the afternoon, or in bed with a flashlight, after your parents thought you’d gone to sleep.
Some came from computer experts who don’t want their kids anywhere near a computer screen. And some were from people who don’t have children of their own, but who give books to kids as presents, only after reading them first before deciding what is appropriate for the child. It sounds like good common sense to me.
And there was this from John Downey, a dad from Geneva who sums it up perfectly:
“The most important book is the book a parent reads to and with their child.”
Many years ago, the youngest correspondent on the topic of books was 9-year-old Stanton Simms. He recommended “The Twenty-One Balloons” and other books by William Dubois, the Winnie-the-Pooh stories by A.A. Milne “and any book that doesn’t have pictures.”
Young Master Stanton Simms was referring to the original Pooh books, not the cheap bastardizations of great stories by Disney. Stanton understood the distinction, so I expected he would do well in the world and steer his own children clear of everything infected by the Disney woke world.
Some suggested “Treasure Island,” the great pirate story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson also wrote the novel about friendship, “Kidnapped,” and “Captains Courageous,” the tale of a young boy who learns how to become a man.
Also suggested were “The Just So” stories by Rudyard Kipling and his “Jungle Books.” I’d also throw in “Kim.”
Fred and almost everyone else recommended the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, the great Christian moralist whose books for children are necessary. Also, “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien and his other related books, and “Children’s Stories” by the brilliant and mischievous Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Here are some other recommendations. “Have Space Suit Will Travel” was one of my favorites by Robert A. Heinlein. As were the King Arthur books by T.E. White, including “The Once and Future King.”
Also “Rascal” and other nature books by Sterling North; “My Side of the Mountain” by Jean Craighead George, about a boy who lives alone in the wilderness; “Rifles for Waitie,” the Civil War story by Harold Keith; “Drums Along the Mohawk” by Walter Edmonds; the Revolutionary War tale “Johnny Tremain” by Esther Forbes; and “Call it Courage” by Armstrong Sperry about a young boy marooned on an island of cannibals.
And don’t forget “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe and “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift. Children also should read “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas; the stories of Jules Verne; and “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle, and Charlott’s Web by E. B. White. No children’s library would be complete without them.
Other good writers of children’s books include Robert McCloskey; Donald J. Sobol, who wrote the Encyclopedia Brown books; and Roald Dahl, who wrote “James and the Giant Peach” and “Big Red” by Jim Kjelgaard, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell and other classics.
There are two I’d recommend. The first is the Odyssey of Homer, the greatest adventure story ever told and my favorite book of all time. A wonderful children’s version, “Odysseus the Wanderer” by the scholar Aubrey De Selincourt is out of print, but there are two copies available at the Chicago Public Library.
Another author I’d recommend to children 12 and older is the great Polish novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, who wrote what is commonly called The Trilogy. It’s like reading The Three Musketeers, only it is written by a Nobel Prize winner, which was awarded to Sienkiewicz for “Quo Vadis.”
The Trilogy is a story known by all Polish people and has been retranslated and published by the Hippocrene Book company of New York. It is a story of friendship and honor and love and patriotism and revenge, during a terrible, long forgotten civil war.
The first volume “With Fire and Sword” takes place during the Cossack uprising of the 1600s, when a young Polish noble rescues a powerful Cossack hetman from lariat-wielding Tartar slavers during a raid on a cold moonless night on the wild Steppe.
Trust me on this one.
I once would have said you should definitely trust your librarians too, but that was before the time—at least in Illinois and other deep blue states—where librarians began supporting corrosive nonsense like “Drag Queen Story Hour.”
Not on my taxpayer’s dime, thank you very much.
You really can’t trust anyone with the mind of your child. You must be involved. Read what they read. Read to them. Have them read to you also.
You know they’re sponges, modelling everything you do.
There will be time enough later to introduce other approaches to rigorous, serious reading on politics, economics, history, but right now summer is about to turn, the tomatoes in the backyard garden will ripen and demand bacon and the days will get shorter. And kids will go back to school.
Time to sit on the porch in the shade with a tall glass of lemonade and just read.
There was a book.
What was the name of that book, again?
Let me know right here, in the comments section below. We’d love to read your great books list.
-30-
About the author: John Kass spent decades as a political writer and news columnist in Chicago working at a major metropolitan newspaper. He is co-host of The Chicago Way podcast. And he just loves his “No Chumbolone” hat, because johnkassnews.com is a “No Chumbolone” Zone where you can always get a cup of common sense.
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Comments 89
Two riveting books:
The Nightingale. War, intrigue, bravery. Kristin Hanna
All the Light We Cannot See. Beautiful, scary story. Anthony Doeer
Try a canticle for liebowitz…….recommended by our parish priest when I was in high school
Riveting and apropos for today
Author: Walter miller jr
I just recommended that wonderful book on another site; and gave a copy to my oldest grandchild now headed into high school. I’m going to hound him until he reads it.
The author wrote a sequel of sorts but I couldn’t get into it….
Our parish priest had discussion group on the canticle book
Very interesting with today’s headlines
The Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper, particularly The Deerslayer and The Last of the Mohicans, kept me occupied for many afternoons as I was growing up. I recently recommended them to my oldest grandson.
Lovely stuff John.
What a wonderful way to start the day; getting lost in a book. Thank you, John.
“The most important book is the book a parent reads to and with their child.”
Ah, yes….what was that book?
Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. I grew up not far from Ray’s Waukegan and that book changed my world as a child. Then came Fahrenheit 451 of course and the Martian Chronicles that got me into science fiction and Asimov later.
My childhood favorites:
Lassie Come Home (reading it as an adult still makes me cry)
A dog of Flanders
Mrs. Piggle-wiggle
Empires of all maladies by siddhartha mukherjee, tuesdays with morie-by Mitch albom,Patterson’s detective cross series – a modern day hardie boys – lost world by m Crichton (or any book by Crichton) Martian chronicle by Bradbury
I fondly remember my side of the mountain read in third grade
Sir:
I am now thinking how grateful I am for my Korean War Veteran father that regularly took me and my brothers to the Chicago Public library branch in Brighton Park during the sixties. Overdue fines, two cents a day. Thank you for the great list of books above.
John, sounds like you are ready to be a grandparent
” Your nose outta that book and get the sidewalk shoveled!”
“Dave Dawson on Convoy Patrol ” took a break and the walks and porches at 1755 W. 75th Place had my full attention and my young litany and scatological and pornographic arsenal, gleaned from Dad and his six brothers.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7678073-dave-dawson-on-convoy-patrol
Thus, my journey into literature.
How Green Was My Valley
by Richard Llewellyn
I could never get enough of “The Hardy Boys”.
I also loved the Hardy Boys, also Nancy Drew, Ann of Green Gables and The secret garden.
Your list is a little short on autobiographies, I’d recommend those by Ben Franklin [there’s a Children’s version] Frederick Douglas [so much better and more accurate than “Diary of a Slave Girl], Theodore Roosevelt [including his Hunting and Ranching books], and Booker T Washington. Herodotus and Livy’s Histories are readable by the young and Samuel E Morison’s multivolume History of US Naval Operations in World War Two [the blue books] or his Biographies [2] of Columbus, plus Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” and Prescot’s Histories. Introduce them to Cooper not with “the Last of the Mohicans’ but rather his history of the US Navy and most anything by Twain, London, Steinbeck, Poe, Stevenson, Kipling, A C Doyle. The brothers Grimm, Anderson, and the 1001 Nights have there place. When in doubt: if it was in one of the little hardcover editions of the Modern Library, Everyman’s Library, or the Viking Portable Library [usually filling the discards bins at library sales these days] it’s probable worth the pennies.
PS: Believe it or not, the dreaded ‘inner city minority youth’ I teach [and like] can actually get very interested in the Greco-Roman classics, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, and the enlightenment writers; as long as it’s not presented in a bland, boring way. My proof? All of the works cited [except Morison] and others are on the Great Books shelves in my classroom and are taken and browsed or read every year, sometimes by the ones you’d least expect. Requests to keep them come every June. This year the answer will be YES.
Thank you for an encouraging, refreshing column!
I had taken my grandsons to the library to get some books when they were in Junior High. I was talking with a librarian and told her I was trying to get them to read my copy of “Watership Down” by Richard Adams. She suggested that it might be over their heads. I was disappointed that a librarian would discourage reading a book that might be over one’s head. That’s the only way to learn.
Our first CPL was a double storefront near the corner of North Avenue and Humboldt Park Blvd (sure about the North Avenue, but Humboldt Park may be iffy, but it sounds right). Later it was replaced by the Logan Square Library (probably about 1954), it was big and shiny and had lots of books and more librarians, but I was never as comfortable with all the shiny stuff and missed the librarian who knew my name and was always helpful and ready with a suggestion. Bless that woman, she fostered a loved of reading begun by my parents.
What got me hooked as a boy who barely read comic books let alone a book. Was Ernest Hemingway. the old man and the sea. The rest for me is history.
Wonderful column John. And thank you for mentioning Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy and Quo Vadis. You are correct that all Poles know these works and treasure them (my immigrant father, Józef, owned these four volumes in Polish which I now possess). Nice to know that you have read the translations and treasure them as well.
John, delightful to have you prompt thoughts of the literature that impacted our younger days! There are so many I devoured (wonderful having a Mom who loved to read and encouraged us to do so. Two I fondly remember from a list too long to put in a reply: “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London and Helen Hoover’s “A Place In The Woods.” And regarding reading to your children, my wife and I can still recite dozens of key portions from books we read to our children to this day, sparking humorous comments at holiday gatherings with them!
Great column John! When I was young I had a real affection for Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. They’re great good fun and help teach something important about tolerance.
Th, John. I was partial to Suess. McElligots Pool was my favorite.
“The Wind in the Willows” by Kennthe Grahame was my favorite as a young child. The adventures of Toad, Mole and Rat in the English countyside opened an amazing world to me. I enjoyed having it read to me, as well as reading it myself (once I could read). My first purchases from the Scholastic Book Club as were “Jim Thorpe All American”, “Old Ironsides”, and “Remember the Alamo”. While in grade school I always looked forward to the offerings from the Scholasti Book Club!
Great topic. I’m glad you mentioned The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. Then there is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham, which influenced Lewis. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare and The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsberg. Those last two are Newbery Medal winners. (I have a collection of them.) Number the Stars by Lois Lowry which won the Newbery Medal and is a Holocaust novel. (I collect them too) And the Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt. Every time I go by my bookshelf I want to add more, so I’ll stop there.
Great column. I remember vividly:
Shane
The Outsiders
The Grapes of Wrath
Go figure. More columns on those summer days of your youth, Mr. Kass.
Thank you John once again. I am rereading “Studs Lonnigan,”(James Farrell) but this time I am aided by a map of the Southside area of Washington Park and Southshore to follow Studs comings and goings. I love to read. When you mentioned Sherman Park, my late wife(51st and Peoria) leaned to sew there and when she later became a doctor, she was miles ahead of her male counterparts when sewing up wounds. Studs girl he was sweet on was Lucy, but could have been a Meg. Keep reading!
Our family once had a cat for an erstwhile pet, but never any dogs. Old Yeller partially ameliorated that.
Follow My Leader by James Garfield. A story about a boy blinded by a firecracker thrown by his friend. A story of resilience and forgiveness
My 2 favorites in grade school were: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and Sink the Bismarck. Must of read each 10 times.
Here are 3, unknown by most people I’ve recommended them to – but then seriously enjoyed. All by Kate Seredy, who also did the incredible occasional illustrations. All take place primarily in Hungary, the first two set during WWI, and the third (unrelated to the first two) during WWII.
The Good Master and The Singing Tree take place as WWI begins, and two cousins, Kate and Jansci must deal with growing up and taking responsibility for their family horse farm, and then finding peace as the war changes their lives and that of their nation.
The Chestry Oak takes place as a young Hungarian noble must manage to stay alive when the Nacis take over his family home, and eventually makes his way as a refugee to America.
All are appropriate for those 9-16 year olds who sometimes fall between the cracks of child books and YA books that focus on romance.
And yes – as adults, our daughter and I still reread them to remind ourselves that maturing is hard, and it can be done with grace and grow to a beautiful life.
Finally, an earlier poster brought up Newberry Medal winners. Every year, for Christmas, we purchased our daughter a Caldecott Medal winner or finalist. That is the illustration medal, and the beauty of them along with inerently good stories means they are suitable for all ages. I already have the first book for our soon-to-arrive first grandchild, and will be adding every year to that collection as well.
All the “ Little House” books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I discovered them when I was about 10 years old in the little library of St. Rene school.
I couldn’t get enough & was thrilled when I found out there were several of them.
Being transported to the wild pioneer days on the American prairie from the SW side of Chicago was magical.
Yes enjoyed these as well!
I agree with the “little House” books. I remember the “Boxcar Children” at least I think that was the name. I was so intrigued by the boxcar children.
Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I spent all summer reading books from the South Chicago Library. I also took the IC train in my late teens downtown to Kroch’s and Brentano’s to browse and buy one book.
I found this series of 8 books iabout two cousins fighting on opposit sides in the Civil War n the Manchester, Iowa, public library when a kid. It is available on Kindle. Here is a review. I highly recommend!
“Joseph Alexander Altsheler’s ‘The Civil War: Complete Series’ is a comprehensive and meticulously researched collection of historical novels that transport readers to the tumultuous era of the American Civil War. Altsheler’s literary style seamlessly blends factual events with fictional characters, creating a vivid and immersive depiction of this pivotal period in American history. The series delves into the lives of soldiers, civilians, and political figures, offering a multifaceted view of the war’s impact on society. Altsheler’s attention to detail and vivid descriptions bring the era to life, making this series a valuable resource for history enthusiasts and fiction lovers alike. Joseph Alexander Altsheler, a prolific writer and historian, drew on his deep knowledge of American history to craft ‘The Civil War: Complete Series’. His passion for bringing the past to life through engaging storytelling shines through in each novel, showcasing his dedication to preserving and sharing the rich tapestry of the Civil War era. Altsheler’s background in history and literature makes him uniquely qualified to explore the complexities of this turbulent period. I highly recommend ‘The Civil War: Complete Series’ to readers seeking an engaging and enlightening exploration of the American Civil War. Altsheler’s blend of historical accuracy and narrative prowess makes this series a captivating read that will appeal to both history buffs and fans of historical fiction.”
Thank you Dr. Ganske. I’ll take a peek at this one. Next to impossible for me to believe that there is any balanced story of what was never a “Civil War”, but I’ll give it a whack and thank you!
My recommendation are all the books written by Joel Chandler Harris – Uncle Remus. But you MUST read out loud. I did to my sons, because I could understand and speak Black English as taught to me from my Mother and Grandfather. You have to read these aloud – even to yourself and it will help you see the multi cultural. multi ethnic “middle ground” origins of the United States. One of my primary sources.
Read Remus – aloud, often
Now John, don’t be such a fuddy duddy. We know that we need to engage our youth into subjects that are actually interesting to millennials. I suggest ” How I Woke Up a Broke Bartender And Went To Bed a Rich Communist ” from renowned children’s author Alexandra Ocasio Cortez. How about ” The Art of The Grift” by Barack Obama. It would instruct your child on how to grift millions by starting your very own “nonprofit ” and working your way through local politics as a “community organizer” all the way into billionairehood. Oh, the journey you’ll take! There are many, many more sure to be on your local leftist librarians recommended reading list like Karl Marx ” Bedtime Tales for Forced Labor Camps”. If you need a quick fix I heartily recommend either Chicago periodicals, The Chicago Fibune or Chicago Slum Times. At least while they’re still being published…both full of helpful and timely information like how to avoid ICE raids and the locations of planned “mini riots” of the day. And where to get a lawyer to get you out of jail. As I said earlier, oh the journey you’ll take!
I like the 2 books you suggested. And I would like to add a preface to The Art of the Grift with something like ” he’s the first black kid to get into the White House voted into by a nation of stupid white people and awarded the Noble Prize just for such an achievement!
Very good comments and very accurate appraisals of two woke grifters.
James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Leatherstocking Tales” was my favorite in my early teens.
When I was a kid, at the beginning of summer the local library would give us a mimeographed (am I old or what?) sheet of paper with a map outline of the United States. For every book you read you got a stamp on one of the states. The goal was to fill all 48 states in, and even in the summer, away from St. Luke’s School, I loved to read and always got that map filled in.
My favorites were anything from Jack London- “The call of the Wild”, “White Fang”, and a short story that he wrote, “To Build a Fire”. I envisioned myself in the Yukon, living the adventures that he described. I still love reading, even though it has been a long time since there were only 48 states.
To Build a Fire . I was once on a winter expedition in the Tetons , single digit daytime highs and -40 at night , I was tuning a MSR stove to run clean and hot and just as I had the flame a clear blue , a snow clod fell from a branch above and put the stove out . I fell back in shock and awe: Life imitating Art .
I still have the mimeographed exam sheets (thanks to that graduate student at the University of Minnesota who invented that) that I got from the graduate schools at the School of Mines, SD and U of I at the Chicago Circle. We are not that “old”, yet.
From early childhood The Blind Connemara by C.W. Anderson, Little Vic by Doris Gates, Sundust Devil Horse by Eva Zumwalt (I’m sensing a theme here!), Little House on the Prairie series, Wrinkle in Time, and on and on. As an adult I read anything and everything but love Margaret George’s Memoirs of Cleopatra, Where the Crawdads Sing, The Oldest Enigma of Humanity by Betrand David and Jean-Jacques Lefrere, L’ Etranger by Camus, and of course, the Laptop from Hell and The Big Guy by Miranda Devine. Reading is an important part of my life and I feel made me the person I am today. I love this column! Thank you John, great stuff.
I forgot Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann.
Here’s a wonderful recommendation from my 8th grade granddaughter (that I read)—Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys an excellent historical fiction novel, and it’s especially powerful because it’s based on real events during World War II that many people don’t know much about.
My grandmother would take my siblings and me to the Chicago Lawn Library a lot over the summer months. I vividly recall checking out All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor on more than one occasion. The story tranported me to turn of the century New York. I so enjoyed reading and re-reading the telling of life growing up in a working class neighborhood in the early 1900’s through a young girl’s eyes. And now, it warms my heart just thinking back on this memory.
Thanks John, what a balm for Baby Boomers! Loved Charlotte’s Web and Johnny Tremaine
The best for very young children is The Cat In The Hat by Dr Seuss. Not only is it fun but every word in the story is of one syllable. It will help them learn to read.
I loved this column. I’m still an old fashioned reader. I want a book in my hand. I want to smell that book. And I never no never dog ear a page. Books are precious.
I remember being a young girl of about ten years old going to the library to find a book for a book report. I found a book that made me cry. I think it was the first book that did so. I remember going to my dad and saying I can’t read this anymore. He told me I must continue to find out what happened. I did finish the book and was glad I did.
I always gift my granddaughters books. Last year I bought my then ten year old granddaughter the book I read at her age. She loved it. She told me it made her cry also. It’s become one of her favorites and she has recommended it to her friends. The book was Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell.
Books are timeless.
I started by going to the Maywood, Illinois Library as a kid around 12, then taking my Hardy Boys adventure and sitting under a tree with my brown bag lunch and getting lost in the story with “The Guys from Bayport.” Moved on as I grew and loved John D MacDonald, Tolkein, Bradbury, Stephen King, Asimov, and so many others. Thanks for the trip down reading’s memory lane and the great list of books from you and other KassNewsers. Loved John Downey’s on the money addition – “The most important book is the book a parent reads to and with their child.” Read on!
For me, it was ‘Adlai Stevenson: Young Ambassador (Childhood of Famous Americans)’
Adlai (2) grew up in Bloomington, and had a house in my Grandma and Grandpa’s neighborhood. He was rarely there in adulthood, but the streets and the place names from his childhood still were when we would visit from our farm.
Loved reading about a world famous guy who lived right down the street from Grandma.
Oh, for the summer days my chores were done, and I could pack a lunch and head for the Bezazian Branch of the Chicago Public Library! It didn’t hurt that it was air conditioned, but the books were the draw. The librarians were friendly, and recognized that my sisters and I could read well beyond the limits of the Children’s Library Card. I was once allowed to read a collection of Neil Simon plays. When we moved to Lake View, I remember the librarian at that branch looked at my card with “ADULT” stamped on it and called over. I got to keep the card.
I read to my children well beyond the expected years parents read to their children. As they got older, particularly in the winter, we read aloud books and watched matching videos. Some of the books that sparked conversations were the Caine Mutiny, the Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio, the Secret Life of Bees, Waiting for Normal, Saving CC Honeycutt, Centennial, Winds of War, Catherine Also Called Birdy (video on Prime STANK with woke, book was excellent), Anna of Byzantium. Yep, they were eager accelerated readers too. One hits the library once a week with her boyfriend.
Anything that will jumpstart the imagination . The Sea is a good thing for that . Treasure Island and Mutiny on the Bounty and then Mr Midshipman Hornblower and, as tastes mature, Patrick O’brien and the Aubrey / Maturin stories . Or if you prefer the Red Rag to the White Ensign , Conrad “Youth” and Lord Jim and the best sea tale ever, The ‘N’ of the Narcissus . If The Great Game is your pleasure, start with Kipling’s Kim and then the Flashman novels , all 12 of them . …… And then some guy says to me ” You can read about Life , or you can live it ” and I followed him first into the Mountains and then down to the Sea . But always with Books …. and the You Were There books were great for the 12 yo boys
Bill Harris
Great column John. Impossible to add to the above recommendations plus your suggestions. So happy that my childhood was not contaminated with TV, cell phone etc. and the only escape were books.
Dick Nathan
Thanks John. So many books noted by others were old friends. Two of mine, as an eighty-two year old, are “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Night” by Elie Wiesel. Not light reading, but enlightening.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, is my favorite novel. Thank you for such a refreshing article during such a bitter time.
“Where the Red Fern Grows” ~ Rawls
“Old Yeller” ~ Gipson
any of the ‘Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
“My Dogs and guns” ~ Graves
“Hard Scrabble” ~ Graves
I recall when I was in elementary school, 1960’s. My dad often took me to the local “branch” public library in Ft Worth. I could check out 3 books as I recall. Sometimes I got one that was over my head and I did not finish but most times I would get lost in the book and keep reading until my eyes grew heavy. Great memories and a simpler time, IMHO, than today’s electronic everything and “entertain me” attitude. We were not “rich” by today’s standards but I felt “rich” in so many ways. 🙂
I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in my elementary school days and couldn’t put the books down. My oldest daughter did the same.
Both my daughters devoured all the Harry Potter books. Prior, I read many, many books with them when they were little.
Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian
Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury
And for some spicy historical dramas: Flashman series by George McDonald Fraser.
PS: Thank you Mr. Hoenemeyer for bringing up good ol’ Flashy!
For my 1954 Christmas present, my parents gave me:
Robinson Crusoe
Tom Sawyer
Huckleberry Finn
Treasure Island
I enjoyed them as a kid.
These books have been with me all along. I re-read each one of them this year and each one took me on a nice memory trip. I even found a book marker in Tom Sawyer that was a Davey Crockett sticker that used to be on the bread loaf as a seal.
Wonderful column. I was lucky to have Mrs. Birchby in eighth grade at Queen of All Saints. She introduced me to the great Charles Dickens and many of his great novels. “Great Expectations,” “Tale of Two Cities,” and “A Christmas Carol” were my favorites. To be well rounded one must read books. In high school at Notre Dame College Prep, I was able to read the complete “Sherlock Holmes Adventures” by Arthur Conan Doyle.
I bought my daughter the complete set of Nancy Drew mysteries and read them to her. Once she learned to read, we went back to #1 and she read them to me.
To this day, 30+ years later, she can quote scenarios from those books that match something happening on a TV show we’re watching.
She is an avid reader to this day, which helped as she earned a PhD from NYU.
And it all started with Nancy Drew.
The first book I read was Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, when I was in my professional engineering school in India. I was stuck by her line ” There is a Rule for Life ” which is an equivalent for the Indian Philosophical term “Dharma” meaning the righteous order of life. Then I could read only 3 more of her books ending with Persuasion which I have been currently reading after 60 years! Then I also read the Diary of Anne Frank before dwelling into books of Philosophy written by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, first vice president and then President of India.
Once in this country, the first books I read were Five Smooth Stones and To kill a Mocking Bird – both given to me by my best friend at my 1st summer job in 1970, that reminds me of the 2 best quotes by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, viz, 1. Books are the means by which we build bridges between cultures and 2. Teachers should be the best minds in the country! – that applies more to the teachers of today than ever!!
Honestly I don’t remember a particular book. I know I was fascinated by the “classics” when I was young. Read them constantly. I do remember a series of Betsy, Taco and Bibb. Not sure what age but I remember enjoying them a lot. Many of my favorite classics have been documented above. The important thing is……READ….and not only “junk” or comic books. When you are older there is plenty of time to read occasional junk as escapism. (I do like the occasional romance novel now!!)
Sorry…spell check….Betsy Tacie and Tibb
Great trip down memory lane. For me, it was “Kidnapped,” by Robert Louis Stevenson with illustrations by N.C. Wyeth. Years later, I wound up working in an office not far from Wyeth’s studio in Delaware.
The Wizard of Oz – I was shocked at how different the book was from the movie! Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Little House Books, and Anne of Green Gables kept me up with the flashlight. As a preteen I loved The Outsiders and The Pigman. This summer I started buying and re-reading some of the classics because I want to have them around for the grandkids. I am deep into The Grapes of Wrath at the moment. I love buying books for my little grandchildren and I’m grateful that their parents are avid readers. I have a small library set up at my house for them.
I loved the historical novels of Kenneth Roberts. Great views of historical events during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, with a personal, or real person view. My favorites, and I think still in print, Northwest Passage, Arundel, Rabble in Arms.
Thanks John for refreshing all our memories of great books read both as a youngster and also later in life. One of the most gripping books which I could not put down was the novel “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair. Growing up in the “Back of the Yards” neighborhood and having a father and mother who both also grew up there made the book so personal to me. My parents were married there and also had their 4 boys living less that a mile from the actual stockyards. My father worked in the stockyards for Armour & Co., before being laid off when they moved their company out of Chicago.
The Jungle is about how the meat packing industry and it’s company owners used up and spit out it’s employees when they could not work anymore due to injuries they received in the stockyards. Also about the super unsanitary conditions in food processing and working conditions within the stockyards. Eventually the book,and the outrage by consumers, led to the enactment of the Pure Food Act, as well as some social services such as Hull House and others who rendered aid to these legal immigrants who wanted a better future for the families.
Started with Nancy Drew mysteries, Emil the detective, Pippi Longstocking, Charlottes Web, Little Women, and autobiographies of the presidents. Continued my love for reading to this day. For early readers: Magic Tree House series is great. Actually just read The first Harry Potter book to my oldest granddaughter this summer. (She’s 8)
Thank you for a wonderful column that took me back to my days growing up in Garfield Ridge 52nd and Normandy. We did not even have a library when I was young, but we had the Book Mobile that come on Saturday mornings right outside the Jewel store between Normandy and Natoma on Archer Ave. I would be so excited when my parents and I went to the Bookmobile. A few years later we got a permanent library not real big but, a storefront on Archer Ave next to John’s barber at Archer and Oak Park. Many a day was spent simply perusing the shelves.. My recommendation would be Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London.
John,
Two more books I found inspirational and thoughtful while at St Louis de Montfort grade school…..The Other Side of the Mountain, and Beau Geste.
The Odyssey, of course, was the nits tipples.
To the many great books recommended above, I would add “The Long Ships” (1954) by Frans G. Bengsston. A truly great adventure novel that should be read by all young people, especially boys.
James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans” (1826) is not only the first real American novel, but also a ripping yarn. It’s great despite some pretty bad plotting, as highlighted by Mark Twain in his essay “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” (1895). Twain, of course, was insanely jealous of Fenimore Cooper having penned the first American novel. Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (1884) contends with Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” (1851) for Greatest American Novel honors. Both can and should be read by young people — and then re-read with an adult perspective.
The King Must Die, Mary Renault
The Clan of the Cave Bear, Jean Auel
Three favorites growing up. I still have the books:
Stormy, Misty’s Foal, by Marguerite Jenkins. 1963.
Yogi: The Autobiography of a Professional Baseball Player. 1961.
The Hunters, by James Salter. 1956.
My all time favorite book as a youth: Call of the Wild by Jack London.
Three books which had a profound impact on me as a young reader are “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, and “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. I have read each of these books multiple times. The first two have fallen into disfavor of late because of liberal use of the n-word, which I too find offensive, but these stories must be put in the context of their time and setting. Huck Finn was a young foundling whose estranged father was the town drunk in a Missouri riverfront town in the antebellum South. He befriends an escaped slave named Jim, and they embark on a raft trip down the Mississippi River toward Cairo, Illinois, where Jim can attain his freedom. Jim is portrayed as a kind, thoughtful, intelligent man in spite of his lack of formal education, who becomes a sort of father figure to Huck. “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place in the Jim Crow South, and is narrated by the character Scout, a young girl whose father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man facing a trumped up rape charge in court. In spite of his apparent innocence, Tom is found guilty by the biased jury. “The Grapes of Wrath” is about an extended Oklahoma farm family losing their farm and escaping the Depression era “dust bowl” for the promise of a better life in California. In spite of many challenges and setbacks in their journey, they arrive in California, only to become victims of exploitation and poverty once again. Through their travail, the characters face their adversity with courage and tenacity. These three books may seem like obvious choices, but I was inspired by each of them.
Stranger in a Strange Land
Novel by Robert A. Heinlein
Precious in my memory are the times I spent reading to my children when they were young. No better way to send them off to sleep.
I remember discovering Henry Felsen YA novels in the Oak Lawn library when I was about twelve. Early 50s greaser lit, like Hot Rod, Street Rod, etc. Classics.
I remember Sherman Park well, living about 4-5 blocks from there. One of my favorite books that no one listed was The Good Earth by Pearl Buck which opened up a whole new world for me. A real fan of the Nancy Drew books, Black Beauty and recently I re-read The Secret Garden because I wanted to gift a young girl, who is Polish American, with a copy.
I was lucky that my Mom had the full set of Nancy Drew, and even luckier that a girlfriend down the street had an older sister who owned the Misty of Chincoteague series that she let me borrow. I was in heaven the day my Dad took me to 95th and Kean and put me up on a horse!
My library was at 67th and Ashland, and I could ride my bike (with the wire basket on the handlebars) there whenever I wanted. Summer days were never boring so long as I had a book.
Hi John,
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. Story of Lewis and Clarks expedition in 1803. The book comes straight from the men’s journals.
The hardships they went through and the difficulty of their journey. Its a fantastic read.
Bart
John,
Wonderful column, wonderful replies with great suggestions. I’m going to check out some of those books.
I’d like to add Haunt Fox, by Jim Kjelgaard, a story about a young boy & his foxhound determined to catch a fox that has eluded all the adult farmers in his town.
Also, Cotton In My Sack, by Lois Lenski. It is the story of a young girl growing up in a sharecropper family, in Arkansas in the 1940’s. The ups & downs of their lives.
Happy reading everyone!