Does anyone know this book? The author is Eleanor Cameron. Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet holds a special place in my childhood memory (what little of it I can remember.) I believe it was the first sci-fi/fantasy book I ever read. This was years before the Hobbit or Narnia -- I discovered those in junior high. Mushroom Planet must have been third or fourth grade. That was eons ago…1968, ’69. These years are all a blur to me now – memories so jumbled I don’t know where they begin or where they end.
I grew up an Air Force Brat. I was born in Maine and have lived in Japan, Michigan, South Carolina, Ohio, Delaware, Alabama, Washington, DC and a bunch of other places I don’t remember. I do remember the pain of becoming friends with kids, and then, after two years or so, moving away to another state. I remember the tearful farewells as dad’s station wagon pulled away from the house. Timmy or Susie or Johny or Steve standing at the end of the driveway, waving goodbye, their eyes damp, faces flushed…
Hold on a sec…
Ok, I’m back. *sniff* sorry.
Mushroom Planet is about a couple of kids who, with the help of a mysterious benefactor, build a rocket ship to explore a tiny planet. I rediscovered it a few years ago on Amazon and was pleased to read the reviews of adults who have the same fond memories.
I think I ordered it from school. The teacher would pass out the little brochures with the books we could order. An envelope from mom with one or two dollars was all it took, and a few weeks later we would get the books. I remember the teacher handing out the books, the smell of inky paper; the glossy covers, thumbing through the pages, eager to be taken away to new worlds.
Ah.
So what’s your special book? The one that first took your imagination on a flight of fancy?
