October 05, 2016 
sharon 
This afternoon one of my clients tweeted a link to this Atlas Obscura piece on the Real-Life Homes of the Heroes of Children’s Literature, and I was instantly entranced:
Some of my favorites are mapped here, including Betsy, Tacy, and Tib’s version of Milwaukee plus the author’s childhood home in nearby Mankato, Minnesota and, closer to the DGLM office, Lorimer Street where a tree grew in Brooklyn (Williamsburg to be exact, and a very different version thereof!). But some other favorites are missing from this piece, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London that Pauline, Petrova, and Posy walked to on wet days in Ballet Shoes. And, as the authors smartly point out, some childhood favorites can never be visited, like Narnia or Hogwarts. What wouldn’t I give to visit the Berenstain Bears’ treehouse!!
Funnily enough, I don’t think I’ve ever actually trekked to any of the altars I worshipped at as a childhood bookworm. And I wonder if it’s ever really worth it to see the places in real life that once lived so vividly in your imagination—wouldn’t some of the sheen be rubbed off when you view it with your own two experienced worldly adult eyes? Even if it’s not a place you go to physically. I’ve been very much enjoying this series on What Children’s Literature Teaches Us About Money over at The Billfold. The Little House on the Prairie world seems slightly less appealing once you reach adulthood and realize the real-world implications of twisting straw to burn for warmth and, oh yeah, Pa’s all-controlling patriarchy. And I loathed Marilla for refusing Anne her much-longed-for puffed-sleeves as sheer spite because the pragmatic view of fabric costs was somehow lost on me. On the other hand, when I first moved to NYC and was a starving, exhausted bookseller, I took heart in Claudia and Jamie’s example of thrift and ingenuity in The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
So I’m not sure, in the end, if I am for or against making your childhood favorites come to life. I’ll think about it while I’m re-reading the works of Montgomery, Streatfeild, and Lovelace this long weekend.
What children’s book site would you most want to visit? Any great awakenings of a scene in a kids’ book that seemed totally different when you read it as an adult?
Sat Nam! (Literally “Truth Name”–a Sikh greeting)
While Hogwarts can’t be visited, the remains of the Riddle manor can. (It burned down in WWII.) My husband’s done it. Not because he’s a Potter fan, but because he’s descended from the people who built the place.
It’s not far from the chapel referenced in The Da Vinci Code too.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Oh, fascinating!
I have always wanted to take a Parisian tour along the same route that Bemelmann\\\’s 12 little girls took! And I found this enchanting article from the Wall Street Journal that not only describes in detail the places Madeline visits but give you pointers on how to be a good tourist! http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303360504577412481411822056
oooh this one is going on the bucket list
Not children’s books per se, but from age 13 to 21 I was submersed in any and all works of P.G. Wodehouse. Probably the hugest disappointment in my life was to visit England and discover that the delightfully weird names of his places (Bognor Regis) and people (Glossop) were not, in fact, his own inventions but merely delightfully weird English names.
I LOVE Wodehouse! And for me it’s all the better that the place names are real
great awakenings of a scene in a kids’ book that seemed totally different when you read it as an adult
“My Side of the Mountain”. This is the ULTIMATE adventure when you are 11 years old — and the biggest load of unbelievable tripe when you are 40.
Of course, fantasy is fantasy. The idea of dropping your son off in the woods and merrily driving home alone does have its appeal some days….
Not exactly “kid’s lit” per se, but I recall when I discovered H.P. Lovecraft in high school in a 1.95 paperback, and in spite of the portentous and ominously verbose writing style and darkly melodramatic setting, I ran for a map and started searching New England for Dunwich, Innsmouth, and Arkham… (I mean, he mentioned Boston and I knew THAT was real) I enlisted the help of a friend of mine who insisted on borrowing the book to see what all the excitement was about, and he got halfway through “Haunter Of The Dark” and shredded the book because he thought the Devil was lurking in it. He was a born-again Christian in his spare time, hence the overreaction, and I had to threaten major bodily damage to get my 1.95 back. And no cracks about upgrading my friend base; it was a small town and you had to take what you could find. Oh, and Happy Halloween, while we’re in the area…