Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Happy Birthday Elwyn!


Today is the birthday of the great writer, E.B. White.  It was he who wrote Elements of Style with William Strunk Jr.  But he taught most of us to love language as a gift from God [not just ... say ... a highly-evolved form of grunting] in the pen with a radiant Wilbur and in a 76-cent genuine indian birch bark canoe, searching for Margalo.

I have a list of five books that I want my children to have had so much exposure to they can quote lengthy passages from memory:

Charlotte's Web
Stuart Little
True Grit
The Princess Bride
The Chronicles of Narnia
[okay, that was cheating ... there are actually seven in that series, but, what are ya gonna do?]


1 comment:

Tea Lady said...

What a wonderful goal! And what lovely books you chose, too. Our family's list overlaps with yours, but didn't include all of your titles. For instance, our lives just wouldn't have been the same without "The Wind in the Willows."

Yes, soaking your children in well-crafted writing will bring about a harvest of rich fruit! Well recorded audio books are so very helpful to use, even as Mike and I read aloud to the children almost every day.

The quality of your family's conversation as well as writing as will be influenced by what they hear and read. You might even receive a beautifully written letter from one of your children one day--what a precious gift!