Maybe that’s where my values came from
Bookworm on Sep 03 2008 at 8:49 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized
When I was a little girl (6 or 7, I guess), my father found a set of books at a garage sale called “Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories.” The price was good, so he brought them home. I fell madly in love with them. I read them over and over. They were very satisfying stories in which good was rewarded, evil punished, and the repentant were cherished. There was a lot in them about Jesus, who was a lovely and loving presence in the stories, but I really didn’t think much about that, since I already had a fairly strong Jewish identity. I just knew that the stories in these books were very good stories.
The name of the series popped into my head tonight as I was driving home from a soccer meeting, and I thought I’d see if I could find the books on the internet. I did. Here is the set of books I owned. And here is a bit more information about Uncle Arthur and the stories he wrote. I don’t know if my father ever realized what kind of books he’d given me, but I suspect they had something to do with shaping my values.
Related posts:
- Relative values — or no values at all
- Having the temerity to teach to core values
- Maybe there is hope for traditional values
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6 Responses to “Maybe that’s where my values came from”
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Get them while they are young, Book. All the fundamental values and beliefs are shaped then. Afterwards, well, that’s what superficiality and molds are for. To change the shape and expression of such beliefs.
Bookworm, I had those same books. There were two or three of them. All redish in color. I thought they were upstairs, but my sister or brother must have them. At least, I hope so.
Parents seldom realize the impact books have on the young. In honor of her birthday last week, I had a post on Tasha Tudor in which I called her “my first schoolmistress”. This is why I’ve always been vigilant about which books my children read and which ones we buy for our home library. Children are moldable clay for but a short time and imprints upon them last forever.
BW – Did your parents ever by any chance read to you out of Grandfather Tales? Or am I just dating myself?! Sody Salyratus, Soap Soap Soap, Like Meat Loves Salt, Olde Drye Fry are story titles that come to mind.
Nope, I don’t know those Marguerite.
Uncle Arthur was a sort of “pioneer” in our church – the Seventh-day Adventists. My wife, whose family used to go to “camp meetings” in the summer (our family went camping at Donner Lake with family friends) got to hear him tell those great stories in person. He was a grand old man.
His youngest son, Malcolm, who appears in any number of the stories, was president of Pacific Union College in Angwin, CA for 15+ years, all while I had the privilege of teaching there.
Uncle Arthur Maxwell also wrote a great series called The Bible Story, in 10 volumes. It was originally sold only door to door (and for a considerable sum, since that’s how the bookseller made his living), but now is probably available on Amazon and E-Bay. I saw a full set, still in shrink-wrap, on Bookfinder.com for less than $60.00.