2/13/08 Go Dogs Go Stays and Stays

A coworker is having a baby shower on Friday, and one of the things that they registered for is books. Last night, I picked up a copy of Go Dog Go! and Are You My Mother? for the new arrival-to-be. I can't believe that they still have these books around! I LOVED these books as a kid. I have very distinct memories of reading these books with Mom and Dad when I was very very young. These books DEFINED my childhood. I still quote them in everyday conversation (Usually the part about "Do you like my hat?" "No, I do not like your hat" "Goodbye" "Goodbye")...that's not weird is it?

Anyway, I couldn't help but flip through Go Dog Go again, just for old times sake. It's been at least 25 years since I've seen these books, but as I looked at each page, I kept getting flashbacks of feelings I had as a kid. Like, there's a picture where the dog is out fixing his car that's broken down. I thought this was hysterically funny, although I don't know why. There's another picture where a dog is on a Ferris wheel, and he's calling out to the operator that he wants to go around again. I saw it and though, "Yes, that was the mean dog". (I can't figure out why I thought the dog was mean. I studied the picture very carefully to see what gave me that impression as a kid, but nothing jumped out at me. Regardless, he's the mean dog. The big dog party in the tree (sorry if I'm spoiling the ending for anybody) was wonderfully exciting. I knew it was coming, and it was still fabulous 20 plus years later. I really got a kick out of looking at that book again.

I guess it goes to show you that some things, even mundane little things like the book you read when you were tiny will still manage to stick with you your entire life. Hopefully this generation will get the same pleasure and sense of wonder out of it as I did. It's a classic.