The first grandchild, currently called “Doodle Bug” until its sex becomes known, should have a proper intellectual start in the world. I’m thinking reference books would be an appropriate gift. I am torn between the complete 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary and the Encyclopedia Britannica. Or should I go retro and get the 1911 Eleventh Edition of Britannica?
An atlas or an anatomy might be more appropriate for a young child, what with the color pictures and all. I am going to find this decision difficult.
6 comments:
Ummmm. Have you simply considered "Ducky had a Nice Day" for the poor lad/lass?
Please not the 1911. I would enjoy the gift right up until the child did its first science report on phrenology or eugenics or something equally awful.
Careful you, or it'll be Calvin's Commentaries http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=24442&p=1018818
How about Pratchett's "Where's My Cow?"
Actually, now I'm sorry I gave away my set, I think a 50s edition. I learned so much reading that as a kid. It had references and I used them to learn even more about the Incan Empire. It sounded ideal to me when I was eleven. At 54, I see better the flaws.
Seuss. Always Seuss. My personal favorite is The Sneetches collection, which I can recite now fully from memory, including the delightful "What was I scared of."
Encyclopedias are so 20th century. Who buys them in the 21st century when all of the information is on line? Sure, you and I may have picked up the A volume and read until we got to Z, but that will not be the learning style of your granddoodlebug. Take the encyclopedia money and buy the child a laptop, for crying out loud.
Post a Comment