children’s literature

It was quiet in the Children’s Room. The preschool crowd had gone home for lunch and the after school crowd had not yet arrived. As I wandered around, picking up books to reshelve, I spotted a copy of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.

How I loved (and still love) that book! It was one of my favorite’s from childhood. I wanted to be Meg Murry and travel to other worlds. I still know the story by heart.

This got me to thinking about the books my daughter loved as a child. Yes, A Wrinkle in Time was one, but she also loved The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, featuring Cimorene, the princess who ran away to live with the dragons. Like my love for Meg, my daughter wanted to be Cimorene.

When it came to historical fiction, I loved Laura Ingalls in the Little House on the Prairie series. My daughter also enjoyed the tales but had new heroines such as Patience Goodspeed (The Education of Patience Goodspeed) and Jacky Faber (Bloody Jack).

Same thing for mysteries. Nancy Drew was my detective. My daughter had Enola Homes, Sherlock Holmes’s younger sister in the Enola Holmes mystery series.

As I put A Wrinkle in Time back on the shelf, I wondered what my future grandchildren would be reading and who their favorites would be.

I am often the first one into the library on Monday mornings. The lights are off and I have to walk through the darkened Children’s Room to get to the light switches. Normally, not a big deal, but lately… Well, there is a tiger in the library.

It is quite startling to see him sitting there in the dark. He is often perched on one of the sofas, watching me as I enter the room. The first time I encountered him, I jumped because I had not expected to see him there. He did not even blink.

He wanders all over the room. Sometimes he can be seen lounging in front of the picture book shelves. Other times, he will be sharing one of the two sofas in the room with the alligator. And once, I saw him hiding beneath the Lego table, as if waiting for prey, or, perhaps, getting out of the bright overhead lights.

He is well-loved. He endures hugs and wrestling with equanimity. He hides inside the block forts that eager children build around him and he listens with attention as those same kids read him books. Often, I will see him at the back of a group of children, listening, as Mom or Dad reads a story. The kids snuggle in close during the exciting parts of the story and then pat him affectionately when it all turns out okay. For his part, he seems to enjoy both the stories and the pats.

If you would like to see our tiger, he hangs out in the preschool area of our Children’s Room. Stop by and read him a story. He likes all kinds but is especially fond of books about tigers.