Today, in an exceptionally desultory manner I looked at the Google book site. I did the task as a required exercise but, hey presto, I found a book that is an icon of our family life as well as a talisman. It represents the essence of our childhood. Growing up in a family of 5 children we received books as gifts every birthday and Christmas. The selection of each book for each child was left to our Aunt Monnie who was an expert and a professional in literature and education. That did not mean we were not allowed to read "Schoolfriend" or "Phantom" comics and we read Enid B with pleasure.
Back to Google books: I am so excited to discover information about this talisman book, which I had never thought to track down in the usual Google search way. I also retrieved information on "Ernest and Celestine", a series of children's books I adored and read to my children in the 70s. This series is now out of print. While other classics of the time - "Dogger", "Corduroy", "John Brown Rose and the Midnight Cat" are still available in bookshops, "Ernest and Celestine" has disappeared. Through Google books I have found where I can buy copies of the Ernest and Celestine books through Amazon, etc.
By the by, Aunty Monnie selected those books for my children and if she was still alive, I, along with my brother and sisters, would ask her to select books for our grand children.(She was 92 when she died and still able to play scrabble in Latin.)
I called my previous dog Celestine as I loved the character so much.
I have created a very esoteric group through an earlier 23 Things task called "people who call cats after places/owners, and dogs after literature". My dog names have been Siegfried Sassoon, Maddie after "Martha Quest" by Doris Lessing, Celestine as noted above, and Morticia (who was named by the breeders who used TV series for the litter). I chose two of my dog's pups names- Malvolio and Viola. My cats - 2 in 30 years - were Rankine from the owner and Chandler from the owner.I could be calling my new cat Burwood if I get one from the RSPCA.
I say Hey ho and hurrah to 23 Things
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Your dogs have wonderful names, Sara! I remember my high school literature teacher saying she would name her next cat Trofimov (after the socialist antihero of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard).
I confess I haven't heard of Ernest and Celestine, but I still own a copy of Dogger, Corduroy and John Brown Rose and the Midnight Cat from my childhood ... all family favourites.
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