Ginny Frost
Freddy and the Spaceship
by Walter Rollin Brooks fulfilled the category “Book that has been on
your TBR list the longest.” I had quite a few other titles for this one,
including The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, House of Leaves by Mark
Z. Danielewski, and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.
For
this category, I opted to go back in my reading past. (And no, I didn’t put
it off because the other books were huge.) I wanted to make this one special.
Freddy and the Space Ship, written in 1953, tells the tale of Freddy the pig and an
annoying house guest. That wouldn’t have made a good title. Instead,
the author used the space flight Freddy and other farm animals participated in.
They planned to go to Mars. Spoiler, they ended up right back at their farm. In
the end, it was a good thing. Freddy, in disguise, finally foiled the villainous
house guest and saved the day. The book is old school, silly, kid-fun, and
absolutely ridiculous. And I loved it.
Why
did I choose this oldie but goodie? Story time.
In
first grade, we had a special reading group of five children. All of us were
advanced readers. (I was because I had two older sisters and tons of books.
Thanks, Mom and Dad.) We read Charlotte’s Web, and
I was hungry for more. On our class’s next trip to the library, I went right
over to the chapter books and pulled out Freddy and the Space Ship. The
librarian refused to let me take the book, telling me it was too advanced. I
was rather angry. Nothing would convince that woman to allow me to borrow the title.
So, out of spite, I checked out The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter
over and over again for the next month. (I love that story and have a personal
copy.)
The
point is the library book-blocked me. That ain’t right. Children need
to be encouraged to read beyond their “level,” to be challenged, and to try new
things. My educational background and twenty years at the library tell me
children like and need new books, bigger stories, and even easier tales, too.
Also, it was a library book. If I couldn’t read it, I’d return it for something
new. Or my parents could read it to me. It was a small school. That librarian
had to know that Mrs. Black’s class had advanced readers. I’m not convinced I
could’ve read and understood all of Freddy and the Space Ship. But the librarian
should have let me try.
After
over forty years, I finally read THE book that’s been on my TBR list the
longest.
I
give Freddy and the Space Ship by Walter Rollin Brooks Five Death Ray
Flashlights.