Black Beauty and Heidi

Growing up around the corner from the old Carnegie Library in Manitowoc made me feel like the luckiest kid in the world. 

Joe and Mike terrorized me daily. The rest of the neighborhood kids went to public school (egads!) and every year, on the last day of school, we private school learners were warned about playing with them, and so I didn't. No big deal. I had the library. Clearly it had been built around the corner just for me.

I was a frequent visitor - more like a daily pest, I fear.  I can still picture the elegant dark woodwork, and the dual staircase leading up to the children's department. (Deep inhale with eyes closed...) ... smell the rich wood polish used to keep those rails gleaming and slippery.  Choosing left stairs or right made all the difference, you know.  The steps were marble. Veiny, shiny, slick.  Heavy wood tables crammed into the children's department remained mostly empty and quiet, so different from sounds of eager readers treasure hunting in the tight rows between shelves.

That room is also were I met Perdita (Dete) my best friend librarian, who, by the way, was not a shusher. I can only imagine how she tired of me constantly asking "What's a good book?'.  Dete did her best to turn me on to horse stories, The Black Stallion, and all the popular horsey clones.  Not right for me then, but now, since I have chosen "forgotten books" from my childhood" as my reading theme for 2022, I decided to honor my friend Dete, and begin with Black Beauty.

Still, weeks after finishing, I continue to shake my head and wonder how many nine-year-olds have been traumatized, or at least greatly saddened by this book.  Beauty shares his story with us, lots of sad sad stories about being sold, traded, abused, mishandled, and often lonely. Still, this strong animal found inner fortitude and muscled through the bad to get to the good; we are left with hope at the end. Animals have an inner life that we need to examine and respect.  I am convinced of that after reading this book.

Next up: Heidi.  So far, So good. So happy.  Remember the Shirley Temple movie version of this book? I watched it so many times that I can hear her voice as I read, as well as the voices of Clara, the Alm Uncle, and Peter.  Heidi's insightfulness, and jolly temperament changes the lives of all she meets.  Happiness abounds in this playful book

Both of these books give us a clear protagonist to side with - a personality we root for, lean into, and cross our fingers that things will work out for them in the end.  I often miss that in contemporary fiction.  Too often books are laden with grief, insurmountable challenges, or powerful darkness.  These two books have been a much-needed break from all that for me.  Oh, I managed to slip in Fried Green Tomatoes as well, which zigs and zags emotionally, providing a nice path back to weightier stuff.

Winter is nearly done. Really. But if the days have gotten too long to bear, and you need color in your life other than the sloppy, melting grey snow, try a middle grade novel.  Fast plots. Honest characters, and just the right amount of silly.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Be silly.