TerrieMiller.com

Yesterday I was thinking about some books from my childhood that I might like to re-read now, and realized that they all had quite similar themes.

• The Swiss Family Robinson — we owned a copy of this and I must have read it ten times; I really wanted to be shipwrecked with an entire ship full of interesting stuff and have a complete natural history library and museum in my cave.

• My Side of the Mountain — kid runs away from home and survives in the wilds of the Catskills, even teaching himself falconry with the help of the local librarian. I really want to read it again now, but am a little worried that I’ll spoil it by reading it as an adult. The memory might be better.

• Island of the Blue Dolphins — I didn’t realize that this was based on a true story about a woman surviving by herself on an island off the coast of California, so I guess I need to read this one again, too. Devil fish!

• Robinson Crusoe — we owned a copy of this also; I’m not sure I ever got through the entire thing, but I started it several times, hoping for some of the same entertainment that Swiss Family Robinson offered. In that sense, it seemed to grow tedious as I recall.