Memory Monday: Bedtime stories, fairytales and childhood books.

Yes. More books.

I don’t remember if we (my sister and I) were ever read that many bedtime stories. At least not on a regularly basis. Most of the time I think we read to ourselves. Comics to begin with – mostly Anders And (Donald Duck) - then books later on. But when we did get a bedtime story, it was either a fairytale or something by Astrid Lindgren.



The first book I ever was given as a present was Ronja the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren. The next I got was The Brothers Lionheart. And I loved them. I can’t even remember how often I read them during the first years I had them.
It’s the only books I ever practically wore out as a child. (Those - and my copy of The Children of the New Forest by F. Marryat.)





Besides Ronja the Robber’s Daughter and The Brothers Lionheart I read pretty much every book Astrid Lindgren ever wrote and/or I watched the movies/series made of the books. Like Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga and Madicken.





[Madicken often makes me think about Anne of Green Gables as well - but that’s probably because they both went up - and fell down from - a roof to prove a point…



Couldn’t find a picture but I found this clip where Anne falls down from the roof – and later she get’s Diane drunk ;o) ]


Now, where was I? Bedtime stories, childhood books and…oh yes…fairytales…

At school we read a lot of fairytales. Mostly by H.C. Andersen or the Brothers Grimm.





But when we had to tear the stories apart to find the deeper meaning/the theme/the lesson to be learned in the stories, they lost their magic. And I really hated that. I liked the stories but at the age of 10 that’s what I really cared about. The stories. And even though most of the fairytales were also written with grown-ups in mind, my 10 year old brain didn’t want to dissect them and discover the underlying story. I just wanted to be entertained. Although I didn’t find most of H.C. Andersen’s work that entertaining – actually I found it rather depressing.

(I’ve learned to appreciate both the writing of H.C. Andersen and the ‘necessity’ to dissect stories/fairytales since then, but I still like to be entertained when I read.)

But all in all I read a lot as a kid.

I still do.

Enjoy your day :o)