The gorgeous Lilly Library in Bloomington, Ind. has an exhibit on "One Hundred Books Famous in Children's Literature" right now. So of course I had to check it out.
It was wonderful! There are first or early editions of so many famous books. There's Madeline and Winnie-the-Pooh and dozens from the early 1900s. The exhibition goes all the way back to the 1700s with copies of Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe.
There was also a sweet side exhibit on Alice in Wonderland in honor of the books 150th anniversary!
So many of the books I saw, like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Little Prince are favorites of mine.
I loved seeing how so many of the classic children's books included detailed illustrations. Each one was like a piece of art.
The books we read as a child seem to stay with us for the rest of our lives. Those formative years, before we become teenagers and crushes and gossip seems more important than losing yourself in a story, we thrive on those books. I can still remember reading Black Beauty and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH for the first time. This exhibit was such a lovely trip down memory lane and it was a great reminder that books provided entertainment for centuries before there were TVs and video games.
