Column: Books are a gift all year long
When I was about 7 years old, I got a book for Christmas.
It was a big hardback book called “Best Loved Fairy Tales.” On the cover, there were drawings of a genie, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn painting a fence, a wolf stalking Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and the white rabbit, some knights jousting and Ebenezer Scrooge carrying Tiny Tim on his shoulder.
Not one of those stories was in the book. I remember being a little miffed about that; it might have been the first time I wanted to write an angry letter of complaint.
When I pointed this out to my parents, Mi Jefita said there were a lot of other stories in the book, and that I should just read those before asking for the ones on the cover. So, because it was Christmas break and I had plenty of time to kill, I got to work reading “Snow White,” “Rumplestiltskin,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and “Puss in Boots.” I’d heard of those stories. They were legit, even if they weren’t on the cover of the book.
But there were other stories in the book. There was one creepy story called “The Elves and the Changeling” about some elves that replaced a baby with some other creature that I imagine looked like a changito, because I had never seen the word changeling but was very familiar with the word chango. There was also one called “The Husband Who Was To Mind The House” about a mean guy who didn’t appreciate all the hard work his wife did every day. As I got older, I learned that those stories had been popular for a long, long time in other parts of the world. There was one called “Whittington and his Cat” and “Why the Sea is Salt” and a really sad one called “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” that made me cry.
I read that book cover to cover for years. Then, when he was old enough, my little brother read it. I think it was that the cover was just weird enough to make you wonder what was inside. But we learned new stories, new words and new ideas.
About a week before Christmas, Councilwomen Rebecca Viagran and Jada Andrews-Sullivan hosted a resourseful Community Holiday Book Giveaway at the South Side Lions Senior Center. During the drive-thru event, Districts 2 and 3 gave away more than 400 bags filled with crayons, toys and books. With the help of CPS Energy, San Antonio Water System, Valero and the San Antonio Food Bank, the bags went out to help brighten the holidays of area families. But here’s the best part; the books came from Goodwill and used bookstores.
The real gift, of course, wasn’t in the bags. And it’s going to be a while before those little kids, stuck inside during a pandemic holiday, realize what was really in those books.
