More Literary Birthdays--Dickens and Wilder

A lot of literary geniuses happen to share my week of birth. Today we honor Chlarles Dickens--how appropriate, just as Dickensfest '09 prepares to be aired on PBS, and we honor Laura Ingalls Wilder, whom we all doubtless read and loved as a child.

I've talked about Dickens a lot here and will be talking about him a lot more in the next month.

But Laura Ingalls Wilder was an early favorite of mine. I read the "Little House" books over and over again for years after my parents first read them to me. But one of my saddest moments was when I was in fourth grade or something and I wanted to re-read something fun, and picked up "Little House on the Prairie" and realized it was too easy for me, even as a diversion, and it would be hard to immerse myself in it. I felt like I had lost this incredible world of scenes and characters. I look forward to someday reading the books with my kids.

Anyway, happy birthday to both of them where ever their spirits may be! They made our world more beautiful and just with their words.