I once got into our locked house using a method I learned from The Famous Five.

99.9% of my education about love, marriage, family values, and people in general was learned from books starting in about the third grade with Gone With The Wind. My mother was a totally blank about about anything that wasn't centered around herself and her "career"

I was once able to gain admission to a very popular New York bar because I could recite Hamlet's Soliloquy from memory ... wait, that was college reading *vbg* (but you've got to love a literary bouncer).

I can't recall anything specific I called upon from childhood reading, but those years of reading were the basis for the book-loving person I am today.

Loads of poetry - my brain just mopped it up and retained it. Annabel Lee, for instance. My father was an English teacher so there were always loads of poetry books around the house and for many years, I slept with Palgrave's Golden Treasury next to my bed. (I also read other things, of course, but didn't retain so much).

Dido, me, too! I used to just memorize whatever poems I liked. I can still recite "Twas Brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe...." in its entirety. I've done so at parties, more than once....

Others I know by heart are "Loveliest of trees, the cherry...." and "Our teddy bear is rather fat....."

A grammar school teacher I had in Atlanta of the old school, who looked like a battle ax, had us children memorize long poems like "Horation at the Bridge", et al.

A retained a twisted sense of humor from reading all those MAD magazines. We didn't have television at the lake in the summer, so during those rainy weeks in New England all we had to do was read... I read those things over and over again....

I can't think of anything specific but I learned about life and different "slices of life" than my own.

I was a late reader and at 'little' school we were divided into those who could read and the rest ie me.
For some reason this never bothered me, and I never tried to read or asked for help, instead I looked at the pictures in books. Even the bible each of us kept in our desks had some coloured plates in it. I still have my copy and it falls open at the illustrations of Moses and the Burning Bush or Joseph and his Brothers.
It was something of a 'Dame School' with only 2 classrooms. The little children 4-6 years in one room and the rest 7-11 in the other.
As all the pupils were at different 'stages' of their education we were read to a great deal and we managed to soak up chunks of the old 'narrative verse' type poems . . . by the shining big sea water" (US) "Oh well is me my gay goss hawk that you can speak and flee" (Scottish) etc. Plus lots of tales of the Greek gods, Rip van Winkle and stuff that would never be considered suitable today.
I used to listen-in to the history lessons going on at the other end of the room with the older group of kids and became fascinated by what I heard. I wanted to know about Anglo-Saxons, Normans and so on.
Then, while on a wet holiday one summer I saw a huge tome The Story of England in Pictures and after much nagging, moaning and pleading managed to persude my Mother (very 'careful' with money) to part with the five bob that the book cost.
I never tried to read any of the words but I knew those pictures inside out, even though they were all black and white copies of Victorian-type illustrations, with Kings looking proud and noble, the peasants lowly and humble, adventurers bold and upright and so on.
I have never lost my interest in history.

My love of England, I suppose. Must have come from Robin Hood and Sherlock Holmes, or do you think that kind of thing comes from the genes?

Carolyn, me too! In my case it was Agatha Christie. My other theory is that I was English in a previous life...

Other things I retained from childhood reading, although I can't remember exact sources unless stated:
If you cover your entire body in paint, you die because your skin can't breathe.
In China you can pay someone to count the hairs on your head [Michael Ende, Lukas the engine driver].
If you dig a tunnel straight through the earth, you come up in China.
If your parents give a girl a name that can be shortened to a boy's name, e.g. Georgina, she will be a tomboy. [Enid Blyton] Expanded: your name determines your character.
Every house built before the second world war is riddled with secret doors and passageways.

I could entertain my family on long drives by reciting the Kings and Queens of England in order from Ethelred the Unready. I could include spouses of some of them, including Henry's 6.

Let's see:

A sheer love of the truly scary stuff from H.P. Lovecraft. (read under covers with flashlight)

Earlier than that -- the real scary undiluted "fairy tales" (like the Red Shoes) .... Plus any number of Gothic romance novels ......

Plus interesting tidbits of information from stories from E. Nesbit; Tolkien and Enid Blyton. Very handy for information and ideas about food and home design. LOL!!

Oh, but I wish I could remember specifics. Looking back I know I cherished and was influenced by all the Agatha Christie's (I started reading them when I was 10 and reread them many times), Anne of Green Gables and Avonlea, Grace Harlowe series, Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton. I learned some history and geography, sense of place, lots of values that became important to me and sheer love of reading.

Teacats, you mention Edith Nesbit, one of my favourite children's writers. Her books taught me that you have to be careful what you wish for, because it never quite turns out as you imagine...

I, too, was greatly influenced by the Nancy Drew mysteries and prided myself on reading every single one, as they came out. Another influence was reading every version of King Arthur and Robin Hood that I could get my hands on. That inspired a lifelong love of the Medieval and of English history. A third influence was Alcott's "Little Women." I always identified with "Jo", and to a lesser degree, with Amy. The book made me appreciate the fun large families could have, even without having much money....

This is sad, but I will admit that I have a very bad memory and it is getting worse. Most days, I can't remember what I wore the day before, let alone something I might have read in my childhood. I often forget the names of characters a few weeks after I've just finished a book, but I will remember vividly the themes of the book or how it made me feel.

My memory of my childhood is mainly one big blur with just a few closeups of some particular moments. I remember more about where I was while reading a certain book than about the book I was reading. I remember reading Gulliver's Travels hunkered down on the floor next to our heating vent, for example. I do remember spending a lot of time reading the Childcraft set that came with our World Book Encyclopedia set. I read much of my Mother Goose nursery rhymes from that set, and most of what I know about art (which isn't much) came from looking at the pictures in the art volume. Before I ever made it to the library to read Bulfinch's mythology (and similar collections), I remember reading every entry in the Encyclopedia on the Greek, Roman and Norse gods.

Vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary

Reading taught me to how to write, and to a lesser extent, how to spell.

Bob

I loved reading about the Bobbsey Twins travels to different places. A memory that sticks out is worry beads from Greece maybe? After reading about them, I found a set at the Brooklyn Museum gift shop. Unfortunately, I could pull on the beads and still worry!

I always thought those two naughty children should have been punished for pushing that poor ole witch into the oven.
Seriously!

I also want to add that I've become quite resourceful in getting the help of others to assist me in the "chores" I really would rather back burn awhile... Thanks to Mr. Samuels!

My kids called me "mom pom" from "With Love from Karen". Still do, on occasion.
Jo

Veer, that was a lovely remembrance. I too loved the illustrations in my Fairy Tale books and other children's books. It bothers me still to run across new illustrations for some of my old favorites...lol Did a particular book finally spark your interest in learning to read?

I was an Army brat and traveled constantly as a child during WWII, as we followed my Dad around the U.S. before he went overseas. The free road maps given out at every gas station fascinated me. They often had little symbols for various attractions and of course we kids often wanted Dad to drive 50 miles off-route...didn't happen! But I don't think we missed stopping at any historical markers or the few tourist centers with brochures about the history of a state. Dad and I admired the variety of bridges and delighted in strange place names. Most of the "history" I'm sure flew right by me but bits and pieces come back now and then. Also remember well my Mom saying "Put those books down and look around...you may not pass this way again". And she was right...LOL

The only book I remember with certainty from those years is Robert Louis Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses" which I still know by heart. josh

The book I remember best from when I was little is The Night before Christmas, a soft copy printed on heavy, bumpy paper stock in a large size, maybe 11 x 13" with the most gorgeous illustrations I've ever seen. Thinking I was too young to read, visiting friends of my parents thought I had memorized it and offered me a monetary reward if I read them a plain version from another source--which I smugly did.

Unfortunately, the pretty book didn't survive my younger siblings.

When I was little I read the Bobbsey Twins and then I graduated to Nancy Drew and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I always loved mysteries and also historical fiction. My favorite childhood book was "The Little White Horse", Imagine my surprise when I found out it was also the favorite childhood book of JK Rowland!!! It was out of print until her interest gave it a revival.

So what did I retain? Well I learned a lot about farm life from the Laura Ingalls Wilder books...the best horses are Morgans, How to grind wheat in the coffee grinder! I love food and cooking and wow Farmer Boy is just chock full of food descriptions. I can get hungry just reading it. A confession is that I still love to reread the children's books I loved. I had never read CS Lewis until my son started reading it as a child and I loved it!! So anyway that's me!
Joann