I was thinking back to books from my childhood and did so with fond remembrance. Books like A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson written in 1885 or The Wind in the Willows (1908) by Kenneth Grahame are indeed classics not only for the distant time in which they were written, but also for their enduring styles and content that lit up imagination.
Even if we look to something a bit more recent, we can find Where the Wild Things Are (1962) by Maurice Sendak and Mr. Pudgins (1951) by Ruth Christoffer Carlsen to name just a couple. Both books are wonderful reads that evoke magical worlds of rich storytelling.
I have purchased a few books I remembered from my childhood and still find them fun to read.
Then I thought about what passes for children's' books these days, and I had to wonder if those who read them will look back on them fondly in 40-50 years. Books whose titles are Everyone Poops, Heather Has Two Mommies, or Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth probably reflect the current times and worldview. However, to me they seem to lack the timelessness of the well-known classics of yesteryear.
I confess that I haven't read the contemporary titles I listed. but if I had to make a choice between The Wind in the Willows and Everyone Poops, I think it would really be no choice at all. The former would win out every time.
