Did your parents read to you as a child?

candyflosspot

candyflosspot

bossy boots
Sep 7, 2010
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Sheffield
Inspired by trews mrs tiggywinkle thread..my mum read to me, my brother & sister regularly as a child.

My dad used to own a VW camper (going by the name of betsy) and we would often go away at weekends (much to mums annoyance - it meant packing up 3 kids/food etc) at least once a month. We travelled all over the UK/Scotland (even the highlands)/Wales..I can honestly say i have seen a huge amount of the country that we live in (quite proud of this fact :redface:).
In the evening time we all used to snuggle up in the van with a candle on and listen to my mum read to us. Mum is a good reader as she used a different voice for each person.
Some of the books i remember her reading are -

The narnia books (all of them)
Taran Wanderer - - I loved these books because of gurgi & his "munchings & crunchings" :redface::giggle:

I am sure there were more but these are the 2 that most stand out to me ..

I can also remember her reading some enid blyton to use, and i recall this book called The day it rained in colour. I was a very small child (i think around 4 or 5 ) but i can remember how the story goes as clear as anything.

ETA.. Just remembering has made me feel all fuzzy inside.:redface:
 
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I always used to get a bedtime story, my Dad was great at making up stories usually about ponies! That was before I started riding too, but once I learned to read I was a total bookworm and would read to anyone that would listen!
 
Yes. Until I was about 10 we had a story read to us every night before bed, we also used to go the library every other week and get out three books, I read A LOT as a child, but then we never had TV's in our rooms (I still don't!).
-The 'What Katy Did' series
-Little Women
-Just So Stories
-5 Children and It
-The Worst Witch series
-Narnia Series
-Lots of Nina Bawden (sp) such as Carrie's War etc
-The Railway Children
-The unabridged Black Beauty

I'm sure more names and books will come back to me over the course of the day!

Oh and I also had a thing for The Saddle Club and Point Horror books! :D
 
No but my mother used to tell storys to us about dastardly deeds and silkies and evil fairies from Scottish folk tales. Probably why all in this family are so bloody superstitious. She was a bit fey as many were from her highland generation.
 
Lot1983 said:
Oh and I also had a thing for The Saddle Club and Point Horror books! :D
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Oh i loved The saddle Club & Point horror as well. I also loved reading the sweet valley high/twins books :redface:

ETA - Lots i have never had a TV in my room & i dont think we even had a TV until i was around 6 or 7 (making it around 1984/5 i would guess) & we didnt get a VHS player until 1993.
 
I love memories like this, really sweet cfp!
I don't remember being read to, but sure I was. I just remember reading alot myself from an early age. I guess my memory doesn't go that far back to remember!
 
pinkheather said:
No but my mother used to tell storys to us about dastardly deeds and silkies and evil fairies from Scottish folk tales. Probably why all in this family are so bloody superstitious. She was a bit fey as many were from her highland generation.
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I bet they were good tales though PH..:smile:
 
OOh yes, I still have a lot of the saddle club books! Loved them! and Point Horror, sweet valley, Trebizon and Mallory Towers! Still dig out some of my childhood books sometimes and have a read, I can usually finish them in a couple of hours!
 
Lot1983 said:
Yes. Until I was about 10 we had a story read to us every night before bed, we also used to go the library every other week and get out three books, I read A LOT as a child, but then we never had TV's in our rooms (I still don't!).
-The 'What Katy Did' series
-Little Women
-Just So Stories
-5 Children and It
-The Worst Witch series
-Narnia Series
-Lots of Nina Bawden (sp) such as Carrie's War etc
-The Railway Children
-The unabridged Black Beauty
Click to expand...

You're about half my age, Lots and yet that is almost exactly my list! Classic books live on forever, don't they?

My mum would read to my sister and I every night. She would sit between our beds, cut up an apple for us to munch on and read the latest chapters. What Katy Did and Black Beauty were my favourites.

She would sing to us too:

"Golden slumbers kiss your eyes
Smiles awake you when you rise.
Sleep pretty darling, do not cry
For I will sing you a lullaby"

Such happy, warm memories. I pity children who go to sleep these days with the TV on, or tapping away at their games consoles, but with no human warmth or company to see them off into sleep.
 
We had a bedtime story every night, mostly Dad would read to us (when we was home from work of an evening as Mum was a stay at home Mum for the most part) he would sit on the floor by my bed with his arm on the bed and I would often rest my head on his shoulder while he read. Mostly I would make him read to me my My Little Pony filofax that had the picture, name and details of each pony and their friends. Poor guy! Sometimes he would fall asleep as well - I guess it must have been that riveting!

We also had books with tapes so we played the tape and followed along with the book. When we got to a certain age (about 9 or so) we would read to ourselves before turning the light off. I also read a lot as child, Roald Dahl, Point Horror, Malory Towers plus we had books called Stories for 7 Year Olds (and I think 8 and 9) which was a book of short stories suitable for that age.

I still love reading now although I seem to have less time. I'd like to get more audio books for car trips too.
 
candyflosspot said:
Oh i loved The saddle Club & Point horror as well. I also loved reading the sweet valley high/twins books :redface:
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I loved reading these too! But no my parents never read to me as a child and tbh i only manage to read to my own kids about 3 times a week :redface:, mainly because i'm so tired on an evening. Both my kids like to read though and often do read when in bed.
 
Ooh yes, I had lots of stories on tape too, The Hodgeheg, the Secret Garden, some Grimm's Fairy Tail type things, oh and box of four stories all about Native Pony breeds, that was one of my favourites!

Yup, What Katy Did was a favourite too :D

Mum is a huge reader (hence why we read so many classics)and was hugely annoyed we never got into Lord of the Rings, but I read the Hobbit about 10 years ago and I love it! :D (I can still remember the drawing on the cover of my mum's edition)

Until I was about 10 Dad had a long commute to/from work so he hardly ever read me stories but I used to sneak into my sisters room when he read her books as his Norwegian Moose accent was second to none!
 
Innocence said:
I loved reading these too! But no my parents never read to me as a child and tbh i only manage to read to my own kids about 3 times a week :redface:, mainly because i'm so tired on an evening. Both my kids like to read though and often do read when in bed.
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3 times a week is better than none. There was a report on the bbc news not to long ago that stated 1 in 10 households had no books in their house. I think that is a crying shame. There is nothing better than a book to get lost in.
 
My mum used to read me The Just So Stories - and quite a few others. I was an avid reader and started reading myself at quite an early age! I read so much - my early books were things like Little Women, What Katy Did, Malory Towers and Ring-o-Bells Mystery (anything by Enid Blyton really!!!)
 
My poor old mother was always too tired after long nursing shifts to read to us but we were all fluent and avid readers before even starting school and there were always books everywhere in the house.

Himself would more often than not be in the pub.......but despite his problem with the drink, almost every night we were told stories of 'old Ireland', the little people, the Banshee, and probably most important of all in his eyes, the full and unabridged history of Ireland and its dealings with the British!:giggle: The last bit infuriated my poor mother who was trying very hard to turn her children into model little British citizens!:redcarded:

I read to my boys every night until they were old enough to read to themselves. The little divils would NOT go to sleep without it!
 
No, not that I remember but she always kissed us goodnight and still does (if we go and stay).

I kiss my kids goodnight too - 17yo and 19yo - when they are home from school and university!

I read to my kids and, bless them, they read to me and still will if asked. They usually read to me when I lie in the bath (sit on the down-lid of the loo). Before they could read, they would still try and get a book like the Church Mice book and just make up a story to go with the pictures.
 
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