What were your favorite books or stories when you were a child?
Although my parents knew how to read, there were no libraries or books at home. I imagine that it was a luxury we could not afford or simply because there was no one at home who loved to read. Anyway, when I started school, I got my first book. A reading book that my mother lined and put a sticker with my name on the cover. “This book belongs to Nancy” and that was my first good, my first property, mine and no one else's.
_Oh, no, I like the way Nancy reads, because she reads with “gusto” - my grandmother would say to my father, her son, when he tried to read something to her. I have to say that I was about 7 years old when I was reading to my 60-year-old grandmother, who was illiterate.
_Please bring me this week's! -I would ask as if I were vicious:
No. Every time I bring you a comic book, you start reading and don't want to play with us, said one of my friends. Then I had to swear, by the most sacred thing, that I was going to play and I was going to read only when they left.
There were also my grandmother and my father, the best storytellers a child could ever have. Let's remember that before writing, our ancestors passed down their stories orally. Before I could read, I knew some stories, especially those of Uncle Tiger and Uncle Rabbit, because my grandmother and my dad would tell us those stories in the afternoons or evenings before bedtime. They also told stories of mermaids, magic fish, talking dead people and ghosts that guided people to great treasures.
"Why do you want a book if you already know how to read!" -and my sisters laughed at me because I hadn't asked for dolls or balls. Although the mockery affected me, it passed when I saw that storybook under my pillow. I remember putting on the back of it, in pencil, “This book belongs to Nancy” and placing it next to my other reading books. I looked at the shelf with those few books (4 or 6) and felt like I was blissful because I had my own library. Hahahahaha.
The images are from my personal gallery and the text was translated with Deepl
This is my participation this week for our great friend @ericvancewalton's initiative: Memoir monday. If you want to participate, here's the link to the invitation post
