Friday, January 27, 2012

This Room Is Mine

 I recently rediscovered one of my favorite childhood books, This Room is Mine, by Betty Ren Wright. It's the story of two sisters who share a room, just like I did with my sisters. 


You can tell this book was well-loved! It's all taped together and is actually missing some pages. You'll see that I had dreams of being a librarian when I was a young girl. Inside all of my books I made columns for people to sign their names and check them out. Two of my favorite "toys" were my date stamp and ink pad that I got for Christmas one year. Apparently this book was checked out once, by my sister, in March 1970. I also made sure that they knew where to return the book, even if they lived in the same house!


Like all sisters, Chris and Mary got mad at each other.


Their solution was to lay a jump rope on the floor to divide their bedroom in half.


They agreed that whatever was in their half of the room belonged to them. I had to laugh when they argued over who was breathing the other's air. It sounds like something my sisters and I would have argued over.


All is well until Mother comes by asking who wants milk and cookies. The door is on Mary's side, so Chris is stuck.



She goes on to imagine spending her life on her side of the room, until her sister comes back and asks her if she wants to play jump rope. All of a sudden Chris doesn't feel mad anymore, so she picks up the jump rope and goes out to play with her sister.


I love the illustrations in this book, but more than that I think this book spoke to me as a child because I was always looking for a space to call my own. With three younger sisters and one younger brother, there were not many solitary spots! To this day, I yearn for a space to call my own. But just like when I was a child, I'm surrounded by loved ones, which makes quiet moments hard to come by. That's okay though. I know that much too soon, the time will come when I can have quiet time on a regular basis. But that will mean all our chicks have left the nest for good. So for now, I'll gladly share my space--no jump rope necessary. 

I'm linking up with Corey Moortgat's Lil' Vintage Story Books.




27 comments:

Teresa said...

Oh, how fun!
Childhood books are the very best!

The Cottage Market {Andrea} ♥ said...

oh how sweet!!!!!! you must have just adored turning the pages and the little signature and doodles...wondering who read this book and where they might be now -- what a lovely trip down memory lane!!!! i am so happy for you that you were reunited with a wonderful old friend : ) sending hugs my friend!!!!

retrorevival.biz said...

Hahaha! Your post made me smile, Betsy Anne, and brought back memories of sharing a bedroom with my sister:)

~Cindy

Melanie said...

Betsy, I wanted to be a librarian too! All of my books are marked, but I didn't let my brothers check out my books. They had the desire to take things apart and I didn't want my books destroyed!

Always wanted a sister, you are so lucky!!! And yes, the nest seems to empty too fast.

magie said...

How cute! So cute with the library sign in page you did in the front, for your sisters to sign out..haha. Now a-days here at the libraries a computer signs in all the books..not quite the same as the good old stamps!
Such an adorable story and I love all the cute dresses all hung up on the last page :)
Have a lovely day and thanks for sharing!

Musings from Kim K. said...

Jumping over from Corey's party. Friday has been one of my favorite days of the week because I get to enjoy everyone's precious books. Such wonderful graphics. I love all the dresses featured in your sweet book. It brought back memories of sharing my room with my little sister too. Both my girls have their own rooms, but we often find them sleeping together in my teenager's room at night. I'm not ready to even think of an empty nest. Hugs!!

Corey said...

What a really cute book! I may have to hunt that one down. My two boys share a room, and I think they'd really enjoy it!

And love your little library checkout story- kids are so creative!

Anonymous said...

Ha-ha! The old air dilemma!

I made books when I was little. :) Wish I still had one. ♥

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I don't remember that book but I would have loved it. My sister and I shared a room AND a bed. We would pile pillows in the center of the bed to make a 'wall' to divide it! heehee! Such fun memories! ♥

Mecky said...

That sounds just like my sister and I! LOL I was the youngest, so I did end up with the room being all mine!

Caroline Ergy Erg said...

Aww, the illustrations are really cute! I like the cover!
xxx

M.L. @ The House of Whimsy said...

What a darling little book. I loved the illustrations and reading your thoughts on it.
Great message! : )
Mary Lou

Shirley Hatfield said...

I kinda got a little tear in my eye when I saw your dear little names written in the book...such sweet childish handwriting. This is the best way to write our lives stories...one little vignette at a time. =D

Lois' Laughlines said...

This is so cute. I shared a room with my sister also. There were 5 girls in my family so we had to find a combination that worked. The vintage book is adorable. Blessings to you.

My Vintage Mending said...

I loved playing librarian. Checking books out was just magic. Imagine what would happen if it was on a computerized system back then. I loved hearing the click of the stamp and all! This is such a sweet book. Thanks for sharing...smiles...Renee

Laurel Leaf Cottage said...

How funny! I love that you made everyone "check out" your books! That sounds like me!

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Betsy, How on earth have I not heard of this book? It is so darn cute. Love, your childhood librarian story. I was the youngest of 8 children. My mom had 5 kids, went 7 yrs. and then had three more girls. Us three shared a room with twin beds when we were little. As teens we had our own rooms. I remember my sisters teasing and calling me 'Rolly Poly'. I would always cry. Funny thing, I was such a skinny thing (back then) anyway. We also had alot of fun. We sometimes would all 3 climb into one bed. Plenty of times we laughed all night long. Thanks for sparking the fun memories!
Jann

❀~Myrna~❀ said...

Wonderful book ! I have two sisters which as a child I shared a room with , bought back memories .:)

donna said...

What a sweet book. Brings back memories. My sister and I had to share a room and we did the same thing.
Hugs,
donna

Anonymous said...

How cute is your library check out system! Sounds like you had a fun time with your sisters. I only had an older brother who was a teenager when I was a child, but I longed for an older sister and a little brother.

Glad this book brought back happy memories for you as well.

If you would like, you're welcome to add this or any other post to my party that opens tomorrow night.

Thanks for stopping by my blog this weekend! Hope you have a wonderful week.

Unknown said...

Awwwh! Love these beautiful illustrations! xx

Carol Ann said...

Betsy, love the book and pictures thanks for sharing it! Right away I noticed the writing on the inside cover, did you grow up in West Lafayette, In.? I grew up in that area too! Small world, isn't it?

GardenOfDaisies said...

What a wonderful little book! I shared a room with one of my sisters the whole time I was growing up too. Most of the time we got along. I don't remember wanting to draw a line down the middle of the room.

MissShapes said...

Aww, I love the illustrations! Such a cute story too. :-)

Patty said...

I remember this book well! I am surprised however that I did not cross off your name and write my own like I often did being the fourth sister!

Anonymous said...

As an only child I didn't get to experience the "joys" of sharing a room. I did however love this story and the imagination of the sister who thought out her life stuck in her room. Thanks for sharing some memories!

Anonymous said...

My sisters (twins) shared this book (ironic, I know). How, we loved it. My twin sister and I also shared a room and read this book over and over again. The illustrations are great. I always loved the little doll who also lined up against the skipping rope. I know the book is still at my mum's somewhere but I'm hoping to find multiple copies of it.