Dolls

You know how kids are in school...it's either they're quiet or they want to be better than anyone who's better than them at one thing or another...I have to admit I'm the latter...that's how I got to love books...First, it was Marvel Comics...It was cheaper then. When National Bookstore's on sale, there'd be comics as low as 20 pesos...My mom would buy me and my brother...I really didn't care what it was as long as it was colorful...I don't remember if I actually read one, though. Then,aha...Archie comics...Really loved it! My favorite was Jughead's digest. I could actually buy a single digest without thinking a little more and you have a double...back then...way, way back. This is really good. I actually learned my first cool adjectives here...even expressions...jinx, duck, broke..yes...It developed my sentence construction, so even if it's comics, it's good material. If it's not too expensive I would still buy them. So please bring down the price! Haha...Now, the making of my passion for books...I had this boy classmate...one day he brought some of his Illustrated Classics...It was still 21 pesos then...I borrowed David Copperfield and Oliver Twist...I wanted to have more than what he had and to read more than what he read...That's the story...Simple...Thanks Cell! But after a while, more than anything else, it was cool. It was easy to read and had big drawings which make it easier to understand. I bought my own. Robinson Crusoe, War of the Worlds, Kidnapped. I think it's hard to choose which one really jumpstarted my love for books, fiction books, but I guess I have to pick one anyway...Hmmm...Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. This is the classic I treasure. Long wooden nose. I guess it's enough...haha. It's about a wooden toy who wanted to become a real boy and despite his mishaps and disobedience, he had a change of heart and became a real live boy for his father, Gepetto. The one I had was the Puffin Classics. It was also illustrated. What made it exciting even though I've known the story from the movie, was the illustration, rough drawings I anticipate whenever I turn a page. How's the inside of a whale going to look like? When will the next drawing appear? It didn't only open my mind to fantasy, but it made me love doll stories. Even if you ask my friends, it's the doll novels that stand out in my book collection. No matter how rusty they look or how many dog ears they have, they will have a place in my mini-library, aalongside Maximum Ride, Alex Cross, Twilight and Big over Easy. You might like to try, The Mennyms and the Doll People. They're about toy dolls who have secret lives. In the end, it's great to discover if Barbie has a secret life, too. But on another end, these books teach us how to be children again and believe in the unbelievable even when it's already hard to believe.


By Smoke Air