Recipe for a Magic Childhood

I found the sweetest little book on the shelf next to Mary Ellen Chase's Windswept last week.  I had meant to write about it on Friday, but I ran out of steam.  So it seems the perfect Sunday book (all 24 pages of it!) to curl up with on the sofa, particularly as it is nearing 95F outside and the essay begins in a January snowstorm some 60 years ago in a farmhouse in Connecticut where she sits in her kitchen trying to write a review of an intolerably dull book. 

It's strange to think that so many of us (me included, lately) like to think back to better days--days that were less confusing and less problematic.  Even in 1952 Chase was thinking back to her own days growing up in Maine in other kitchens and other snowstorms.  At the turn of the century in Maine country villages the kitchen was the heart of the house.  Certainly it was the warmest in January and February when schoolchildren in these rural areas had a 'Long Vacation' and stayed home during these frigid months.  It was the place that was easiest for mothers to keep track of their children and the place that became their temporary schoolroom.

Chase recollects sitting atop a heavy wooden secretary with her younger siblings each with their books to keep out of their mother's way.

"It is always with books that the old secretary associates itself in my mind, for we read for hours there, sometimes the older of us aloud to the younger while they were still unable to read, sometimes after we had all learned the magic of words, by ourselves.  And we learned this magic very early, not waiting to be taught at school.  Without a doubt, since we possessed a father who when at home was almost never without a book in his hand, and a mother who somehow found time to read as well as to darn and cook, fashion clothes and refashion them, clean and wash and iron, we absorbed while still very young the wholesome truth that books held manifold riches which we must discover for ourselves."

It may have been cold and snowy outside, but Chase and her brother and sisters would be swept far away into another place and time, a wholly different world than her own.  Although she, as a child, didn't have the distractions of TV and radio--no Hopalong Cassidy or Superman--there were various other claimants to their attention.  Her parents were young, still in their twenties, and had a full social life, albeit one that was specific to living in the country.  But her parents made sure books were always within reach and a particular part of their lives.

"In my childhood and young girlhood I was never forbidden to read any book in our relatively small bookcases.  I assume that my parents saw to it that none which might be unwise for my eyes and mind was there; but I was never once told that any book was 'bad' for me or 'too old' for me.  I read most of those we owned, novels, poems, biographies, in a 'first fine careless rapture'; and once I had done and there was nothing new that I could find, I read them again with almost equal excitement."

Parents who make reading important in the life of the family will have children who love books as well.   Chase was friends with a young couple who sent their children, aged eight and ten, to bed each night at eight o'clock to read for an hour, a plan Chase felt would instill in the children a love of books and dependence on them.

I mentioned that Chase was a professor at Smith College, but she also taught grade and high school aged children for the better part of her adult life.

"I know that, if they have been nurtured and nourished by an early love of books, they have far finer and more sensitive minds and imaginations; and I know, too, that girls (and boys, as well) who possess books will live far richer lives and will contribute that richness to the communities in which they will become the successful parents of children.  I am even convinced that many of the girls whom I teach, or try to teach, have received a better preparation for college in their homes--yes, even in their mother's kitchens--than they have received at school, provided always that their parents have, even without a massive old secretary as an aid, known how to lift them above what Wordsworth calls 'the dreary intercourse of daily life' by leading them early into the paths of books."

This is a charming little book with lots of wonderful thoughts on reading.  It first appeared in the Ladies' Home Journal in May 1952.

Comments

[Eva]

This sounds adorable. :) I was hoping I could get it at my library or track down a copy online but no such luck.

[Penny]

Oh, this sounds absolutely delightful and the illustration is charming. Mary Ellen Chase's sentiments on reading mirror my own. I've often recalled how fortunate I was to grow up in a house where reading was fostered and how I learned to love hearing stories from a book on my grandmother's lap - even though she couldn't read or write!

I know for sure now I'll be on the lookout for Chase's work.

[Caroline]

Lovely. I would love to read it. I'm reading Jo Walton's Among Others at the moment and it captures this spirit too. The happiness of childhood reading. Don't be fooled by the label fantasy (it isn't). I hope to review it soon.

[litlove]

This sounds so sweet! I wish it were true that parents who love reading would naturally install a love of books in their children. My son doesn't read despite all those years of reading to him! Ah well, I guess I enjoyed the reading out loud when I did it, so that will have to have been my compensation.

[Liz F]

I love the sound of Mary Ellen Chase so she is another author on my list - many thanks Danielle.
Maine is high on my list of places I am determined to go (and not just because of my much missed Maine Coon!)but I would love to visit the Pacific Northwest too! Oh so many places and so little money!
I loved reading aloud to my children but thought I had failed with my two sons because neither of them seemed to be keen readers (readers of any sort actually!)while the two girls read quite a lot.
However both my sons now 27 and rising 20 have now become readers - partly because their wife and girlfriend respectively are keen readers too.
Not sure what made the break through with senior son but I think I can thank George Pelecanos for junior son's conversion - I gave him The Way Home to read on a journey last year and he has been reading steadily ever since - so there is still hope!

[jenclair]

Both of my children were readers, and so far, the grandkids love reading, too--or being read to. I love books about reading and children, and this one sounds very good!

[Stefanie]

This book sounds so charming that when I just looked to see if my library has it and discovered that they do I had to put a request in for it!

[catharina]

I remember sitting with a book like the rest of the family but not being able to read yet and
your review reminded me of the moment I realised I finally could really read. The joy I felt...
Lovely review, lovely book!

[Danielle]

Eva--Too bad your library doesn't have a copy--it's a very short little book--just an essay really, but I think it's one reader's would enjoy.
Penny--There are several more illustrations--this was my favorite. It's really nice when parents/grandparents share stories with children--books were always in my house, too--even if they were mostly library books.
Caroline--I will have to look it up--I'm not familiar with Jo Walton. I've failed miserably with my fantasy reading--maybe I can still finish my lone book for Carl's challenge before the end of the month?
Litlove--It seems blasphemous that your son doesn't love reading. Maybe it's something he will come back to as an adult, as I am sure he must have appreciated the books you read together!
Liz--I'm with you on that desire to travel but not having the cash! I hope we both get to visit both places!! It's nice when couples both love reading--I think they must have enjoyed it when they were younger but with so many other distractions in life it is easy to get away from if you don't feel sort of passionately about it. And you're right--sometimes it's just finding the right author to draw a reader in. I've never tried George Pelecanos myself--I must try him, too! :)
Jenclair--I think when a parent/grandparent sets an example of reading it really helps make a kid want to read, too. I know people who don't own a single book and don't make a point of buying or borrowing from the library, books for their kids. It's just ignored, which is a pity!
Stefanie--It's a tiny book that you'll be able to read on your break--but I think you'll enjoy it!
Catharina--Unfortunately I don't remember just when I learned to read, but I remember certain books from when I was really little--one of them I ordered in just the last year or so--it's all rhyming and I remember loving to hear it! It's funny how kids will mimic their parents, which makes it nice when it's reading they're imitating.

[Caroline]

Walton would not work for the Challenge. I saw the review on Gavin's blog and she did contribute quite a lot to the challenge but didn't include this one and now that I'm reading it I know why. It's a coming of age story and a love letter to reading and a few ingredients of magic but you could just overread them as the vivid imagination of a young girl.Definitely not fantasy. I am sure you would like it.

[Caroline]

I should have added that it is compared (and does mention) "I Capture the Castle".

[Liz F]

Sadly the county library in North Yorkshire have no books by Mary Ellen Chase at all and when I looked on Amazon, any copies available are all way beyond my budget!
Do try George Pelecanos, Danielle, he is a great writer.
His books worked for James because of the connection with The Wire which is James's all-time favourite programme,(he was one of the scriptwriters) and I knew that once he started to read he would be hooked as I was when I read it!

[Danielle]

Caroline--I came across another mention of Jo Walton on another blog today, too, so I have gone and added her to my library wishlist. I love coming of age stories (even though so many people think they are cliched). And any comparison to I Capture the Castle means I will likely enjoy it very much!
Liz--Too bad about Mary Ellen Chase--I'm almost not surprised she is not readily available in the UK since most of her books are out of print. I will add George Pelecanos to my list, too. I have heard of him, but I don't think I've ever really looked up his books to see what they're about! I'm not familiar with The Wire, so I'll be investigating that as well--detective show?

[Janet]

I have an original copy of this book (Recipe For A Magic Childhood) copyrighted 1951

[Danielle]

Janet--How cool. It's a lovely little book. I checked out something else by this author and then spotted this tiny volume hiding on the shelf next to it!