Book Nook

Welcome
to the
Book Nook

By Loretta Houben

I possess a great fondness for books, especially those which were written
many years ago. My favourite era is the 1890's to the 1910's.
I also enjoy the 1930's to the 1960's.

My passion for books began as a child, when my parents would
take the time to read to me. I loved the rhythm of the words, and
I adored the pictures. I decided I would become an
illustrator of children's books when I grew up.
(that dream hasn't materialized yet)

When I was a teen-ager, my paternal Grandmother gave me a large
volume filled with fascinating stories of long ago. It was a Girl's Own Annual
and I read it from cover to cover. It was published in England in 1902.
I don't know where she got it, but from my great love for that book came a
desire to collect more of them.

I was delighted when I discovered another Girl's Own at an antique store
one day in my early married life, and I slowly added to my collection over
the years. Currently they range in price from $45.00 - $85.00

I also enjoy collecting books for children. It's such fun to enter a
musty smelling old book store, and stare at the gleaming spines grouped on
the shelves, and decide if any more can fit on mine!

My favourite children's authors are:

Louisa May Alcott

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Lucy Maud Montgomery

J.K. Rowling (please see article below)

Johanna Spyri

E. B. White

Laura Ingalls Wilder

To see a list of what each author wrote, click here.

A Magical Book

A long time ago, way back in the hippie era of 1969, I plucked a
400+ page volume from the local library shelf and discovered
a unique and mysterious world filled with strange creatures
and magical plots.

There were witches and wizards, potions and spells,
fairies and goblins, and good versus evil.

The fascination of a fantasy world enveloped my mind and
gripped my imagination. I was enchanted. What was the
name of this captivating book?

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Today's young readers are similarly absorbed by
a new series of books written by J.K. Rowling.

In case you haven't heard of them, they are about
a young orphan boy who is mistreated and lives
a boring sort of life living with an obnoxious and spoiled
cousin, until he receives a letter from an un-known
place, far from his home and far from his ordinary world.

The books are pure magic simply in the way they are
written. From the first paragraph...

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive,
were proud to say that they were perfectly normal,
thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be
involved in anything strange or mysterious, because
they just didn't hold with such nonsense."

...to the latest volume which came out on July 15, 2005,
I was gripped with the completely magical world of
Harry Potter.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me: