Coloring Books et al

I don't think I ever got tired of my coloring books, or any of my activity books. Those wonderful old pages saw me through years of my growing up, and for the price of 29¢ and a box of crayons, life just couldn't get much better! Each time I set about coloring in one of my books, I tried to make that particular page my new masterpiece. Staying within the lines wasn't always easy, but I did try my best.

I was in the second grade when I was at the height of my coloring career. One of my favorite subjects to color was clipper ships, or anything that had to do with the ocean. Blue-Green was my favorite color. As far as the Crayola Crayons were concerned, the most-coveted set was the gigantic 64-colors with the built-in sharpener. The 48-color set was awfully good too, but nothing could beat that 64 set. I started off with the 16, then 24 color boxes, but eventually graduated to granddaddy of them all, the 64-color set.

Activity Books

Connect-the-dot books were okay, but not as fun as my coloring books. I got tired of the jagged lines that I ended up with when the dots were finally connected. As I gained more experience with them I tried to study where three or four of the dots would connect so I could try to draw smoother lines when joining them. I liked maze books more.

Watercolor Sets & More

These old watercolor sets and Play-Doh and Modeling Clay bring back the best of memories for me. Sitting around our kitchen table, or spread out on the old hardwood floor in floor in front of the TV with the rest of the family was the best. Play Doh, with its baby powder fresh scent is just as familiar to me now as it was then. I also liked the color bars of the modeling clay. Even the watercolor sets had their own smell to them, a sort of pungent sharpness that was unpleasant to the nose, but beautiful on paper.

Our Magazines

Yes, these were OUR magazines, meant for us, and designed with us in mind. Inside were stories, activities, mazes and fun facts-facts that made us feel important once we knew them. Highlights always made me think of the doctor's office (which was not good), but they were enjoyable just the same. In our classroom at school there was usually a little corner table with Highlights spread out among other magazines.

The Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew Books

The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew books were fantastic! They were equally as entertaining, and I could spend hours reading them. If it had to do with ghosts, haunted places, hidden staircases, or had "the mystery of..." in its title-or subject matter-I was all over it. The Hardy Boys were one of my first and serious introductions to the world of reading just for the absolute pleasure of reading.