Show and Tell # 7

I hope all of you have been having a good week!

We have been constantly going, going, going lately, but overall, our days have been good.
And just when we thought our nice weather was over and done with, we have gotten some last minute gorgeous fall weather. We even were able to shed our coats this week! :)
Here's a little glimpse of our neighborhood this afternoon...


But now... It's time for Show and Tell Friday! Kelli from There is no place like Home is our gracious host. For more show and tell participants and rules how to join in, just hop on over to her place!

Some of you may remember that I've mentioned that the "keep" gene runs in my family. I come by it naturally, and I always say that it was nurtured along by the fact that I grew up as an only child.
Toys and stuffed animals were more than inanimate objects. They were my friends!

It should come as no surprise, then, that books also held a special place in my heart growing up. I could not let go of these lightly...so, for the most part, I didn't! They were such an intrigal part of my early childhood memories that I simply could not let most of them leave. I rationalized that someday I hoped to have children of my own and I'd pass them down to them.

Well, it took a while, but this has finally come to pass.
And though some of them are a little fragile, most of them stayed in very good shape over the years.

Here is a sampling of books that I read...some of them over and over...which now are enjoyed my by own girls:


Actually, this isn't even all of them!
I also have several of The Little series, a Nancy Drew, Little Women and some large Bible books, just to name a few. But these are what I swiftly gathered off my children's bookshelves to share with you.

And I'll show you a couple of my favorites...


Just like my mom before me, this was one of my favorite chapter books as a child. I love this particular edition and the sweet cover!


As well as my having my own mom read this book to me over and over, I can't tell you how many times I also read this little one to myself, pouring over the photos, feeling sorry for Rudolph, and rejoicing at the end!
The storyline is a little different than the televised version (which I also loved SO much and still do!) and it was interesting to see the differences.

Here's one more of my favorites...


Who didn't love Raggedy Ann as a child? But I simply fell in love with this particular story and the illustrations.
In it, little Marcella leaves the nursery for her first day of school. She returns to try to do her one little homework problem...1 plus 1, but falls asleep trying. Raggedy Ann and all of the dolls come to her aid to try to solve it while she sleeps.
Here's a peek inside the pages...


Now, both of my girls (ages 5 and 8) are loving these very special books. The actual books their mommy held, read and poured over when she was their ages!
Not only do they love most of these stories, but even at their young ages, they seem the grasp the significance that they were once one, and are excited about that- which does my heart good. ;)

And if I remember so vividly reading and loving these books, it's kind of a reminder to us adults just how important childhood books- and reading to our children- really is.
The books that our children now love are treasures that will stay with them always...maybe not always literally, as in my case ;)...but in those special places of their memories and hearts.