Stories and life

"Once upon a time," began my mother's soft voice .  I knew something wonderful was coming. It could be new, but more often than not is was familiar and beloved.  It might be "The 3 bears" teaching me that it is very bad manners to go into someone's house and use their things without asking, not to mention that horrifying moment when one is caught in the act.  Or maybe it would be "Rumplestiltskin" bringing home the lesson that one should never put on airs and pretend to be something they're not, and all promises need to be kept unless it has to do with losing your first-born child in which case there might be escape through a miracle.  "The 3 little pigs" taught me to be wise and put the time into a job well done.  Build for the future.  And in my mother's story the wolf didn't boil in a pot, that would be mean.  He ran away, never to be seen again.

My Dad delivered an excellent version of the "Brave little tailor"  much better than the Disney version.  His story could last through 3 bedtimes and fill the days in-between with rapt anticipation.  When he was done I felt confident that I was clever enough to outwit any giant  His "Wind and the Sun" telling clearly demonstrated that smiling warmth was much more influential than threatening, bitter cold.  (One can never review that lesson too much.)  And "Town Mouse and Country Mouse"  always reminded me to be thankful for the blessings I had and not to trade my country grain for a city cat.

The memories of these voices telling these stories have become dear treasures.  I'm sad to report that I did not do as much story telling to my own children, but I did read them books.  My favorite books were of course from my childhood.  "Harry the Dirty Dog" taught my children that if they didn't take a bath their own family wouldn't recognize them. Wait, maybe that's only if you're a dog.   "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes" is a personal favorite as the devoted mother of 21 little cottontail bunnies is chosen to be one of the Easter Bunnies because of the skills she developed through raising a family, which I'm pretty sure is  true. Thanks to E-Bay I was able to procure "Brenda Brave Helps Grandmother" written by Astrid Lundgren, copyright 1961.  My mother read this special story to me when I was a little girl of Christmas sacrifice and love.

I'm bringing this up because speaking of cherished memories, my husband finally found the book, "Woah Joey." on e-bay.  This was a little book that he read a million times to our first little boys, the book that Daniel learned to read by.  Of course, upon arrival, Paul sat down and read it to Gabe, our 13 yr. old last-born, who seemed a little confused as to what all the fuss was about.  When he read the words, a flood of sweet memories came rushing to my mind of bedtimes and babies and a countless readings of stories, and I realized the power of  pictures and words and laps and and loved ones.  With that in mind, I'd like to share a list of some of my favorite books that we (Paul and I) read to some of my favorite people on the planet:

"Saint George and the Dragon" retold by Margaret Hodges- The moral of this story is that with discipline and diligence you can slay the dragon and get the girl.  Paul was the best reader of this tale.  I have been accused of skipping pages to make the story shorter.  I will neither confirm nor deny, but it's a favorite with the boys.

"Grumpets in Trumpet Land"  by Peter Cross was an intricately designed tale of communities (war) who's study could take the whole evening.  A perfect choice for a child hoping for a later bedtime.

"The King with Six Friends" by Jay Williams is a book on leadership where we combine talents for greater success.

"Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" by William Steig teaches us to be careful and wise with power and don't forget there's nothing more important than the love of family.

"Yertle the Turtle and other stories was another favorite read by Paul that teaches us not to be power hungry, vain, or boastful.

"Tikki Tikki Tembo" by Arlene Mosel reassures us that being regular has its benefits.

I loved reading "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn. " Mommy loves you," is the very important message.

Another favorite of mine was "The Mystery of the Boy Next Door" by Elizabeth Rider Montgomery which teaches us to be kind and not judge when we don't know a person's circumstance.

I got a lot of requests for "A Fox Jumped Up One Winter's Night" mostly because my parents had the record so I could sing the words.

But, the most requested  book for me was "Mommy, Do I Have to Serve a Mission?" by Toni Sorenson Brown.  The boys liked to see how long it would take me to cry as I read about the little boy who grew up to be a missionary.  I usually got to "Once there was a little boy who loved his mommy." before my voice started to crack.

Now I read to my grandchildren.  When I'm at their house I read their books.  One time Caleb asked me to come into his room and watch him play.  He had a pretty extensive Star Wars Battle in the works.  He asked me to read him a book.  The book he chose was the Clone Wars Encyclopedia.  The moral of this book is ..um... it's good to have cool weapons.  As I read a million profiles of a million characters I wondered if it mattered that I was reading.  Then came these sweet words, "I like it when you read to me Grandma.  I like the sound of your voice."  And then my heart melted.