1952: A DIAMOND JUBILEE OF BOOKS

As we are celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and commemorating her accession to the throne 60 years ago, I thought I would look at books published in 1952. These books hold high regard for me and will always have a fond space in my heart, not for the film/TV adaptations but because they take me straight back to me childhood. Other amazing books that were being published at this time were the Famous Five and Secret Seven series by Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew series. I absolutely loved reading these books as a child with the lashings of whipped cream, frothy ginger beers and a huge dollop of mystery, and I will certainly pull out my family's old battered copies to read with my children.

Even though I read this book as a young child, I couldn't actually believe that it was published 60 years ago. I loved this book, because really who could resist the charm of a baby pig?

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

An affectionate pig named Wilbur befriends a spider named Charlotte, who lives in the rafters above his pen. In this story of friendship, hardship, and the passing on into time, White reminds readers to open their eyes to the wonder and miracle found in the simplest of things.

*****

I was a little older when I read this one, but I think its underrated and overshadowed by some of the other books in the Narnia chronicles.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

NARNIA . . . the world of wicked dragons and magic spells, where the very best is brought out of even the worst people, where anything can happen (and most often does) . . . and where the adventure begins. The Dawn Treader is the first ship Narnia has seen in centuries. King Caspian has built it for his voyage to find the seven lords, good men whom his evil uncle Miraz banished when he usurped the throne. The journey takes Edmund, Lucy, and their cousin Eustace to the Eastern Islands, beyond the Silver Sea, toward Aslan's country at the End of the World. Enter this enchanted world countless times in The Chronicles of Narnia.

*****

This book won the Carnegie Medal in 1952, and even today is still enchanting audiences on paper and film.

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

The Borrowers—the Clock family: Homily, Pod, and their fourteen-year-old daughter, Arrietty, to be precise—are tiny people who live underneath the kitchen floor of an old English country manor. All their minuscule home furnishings, from postage stamp paintings to champagne cork chairs, are “borrowed” from the “human beans” who tromp around loudly above them. All is well until Pod is spotted upstairs by a human boy! Can the Clocks stay nested safely in their beloved hidden home, or will they be forced to flee?