After my month of blogging every day, I didn’t want to fizzle out, so I checked back to BlogHer to get a little inspiration. For the month of December, the writing prompts are all about “gifts”, and one of the first questions was “What was the first tangible gift you remember receiving?”
Even though it is probably not the first gift I remember, one that stands out in my mind is a gift that my second grade teacher, Mrs. Bundy, gave to me. We had just moved to Webster, New York and I was a new kid in a new school. Time makes things run together, so I don’t quite remember specifics, just bits and pieces of my years at Dewitt Road School. Things like a fire in the art room, Reading around the World, learning how to play the recorder, roller skating parties in the gym, and paper mache globes.
I also remember my teachers – amazing teachers like Mrs. Bundy, who had short red hair and a wide smile. At some point during my 2nd grade year, she gave me her copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was a hardcover book, and had her maiden name inside the front cover, so I knew it was her original copy. I can’t imagine why she gave it to me – maybe because I was a voracious reader or maybe because I told her I loved the book. Who knows.
What I do know is that it has stayed in my personal library all this time, read and re-read over the years. The adventures of Augustus Gloop and Veruca Salt are just as fascinating as they were in 1984. And here is the cool thing…just last week, Madi brought that very book to show her 2nd grade class her “favorite book”. The gift has come full circle – from one generation of 2nd grade readers to another – which makes it the best kind of gift, the kind that lasts over time.
So thanks, Mrs. Bundy, wherever you are. Thanks for being so willing to share Charlie’s adventures with…me!
That is so cool! What an amazing teacher to reach out to you and give you such a cherished gift. It’s funny, I don’t remember reading that when I was little (or big), but I love the movies.
It was pretty amazing…:) It definitely makes me think about how I can give special gifts to the kids in my life…Thanks for checking out my post!
that’ so cool! I dont have anything from when I was a child but I do have a box of my grandmothers old books and found Edgar Allan Poe in there….it cost 34cents……
Hang onto those special things!!
Oh, my gosh. That is so touching that she would give you her copy of the book!
A friend sent a copy to me for Christmas one year. I’d read it as a child, but like you, found that it’s one of those stories that remains awesome through the years. (I should go and find my copy and read it to my son…)
I think you should definitely pull it out – it is almost more fun to read as an adult! 🙂
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