Treasured Books

What’s one thing you own that holds deep sentimental value?

Several books from my childhood sit on one particular bookcase, and they all have sentimental value. One of my most valued treasures is the The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrations by Tasha Tudor. The book itself is falling apart in places, but not so much that I can’t page through the chapters and remember what first enchanted me about the story. It’s those wonderful illustrations that bring back the memories, those along with a poem or two uttered by the characters in the book. I memorized one of those poems and still can recite it today.

Another book that sits on the same bookcase is Riley Love-Lyrics. Published in 1905, my great-grandfather gave it as a wedding gift to my great-grandmother. He’d rewritten one of the poems on the front inside cover. The ink has faded, of course, but I still can read the love in what he wrote. I have no idea if the poems are any good and frankly, they probably aren’t classics, but the book means a lot to me.

And of course, I have my collection of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Garth Williams, in hardcover. They’re only available in paperback today, which you’d think might make what I have worth something, but I doubt that it is. But again, they mean a lot to me. I read and re-read each of these books time and again. What do I think of the TV show? Never saw the original, and haven’t watched anything of the new episodes (assuming they’re still available). Some things, in my mind, are best left to the imagination.

Image Credits: Header © Wit_Photo–stock.adobe.com; all pictures of the books and illustrations are from my own collection.