The Rural Voice, 1991-12, Page 39RURAL LIVING
A GOOD "RECIPE" FOR HOLIDAY READING
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
I could probably count on my fingers the number of
books I received as a young child for Christmas. Just
opening their covers invokes memories of Christmases past.
In our house, the joy of reading is shared by all. When there
is a book fair on at the school, the kids can be seen poring
over the catalogue sheets and then feverishly shaking their
wallets and piggy banks for those stray coins. They have
even resorted to volunteering for those odd jobs around the
house that could earn them a quarter or two.
Equally satisfying is
the joy of giving books.
We often send books to
friends and family abroad
for Christmas. For two
little cousins in New
Jersey, a book on Canada
or Ontario to keep them
in touch with their birth
country is always apprec-
iated. Even the most
difficult person to buy for
must have some hidden
interest. When you start
to look around you will
be surprised at the wealth
of subjects that people
choose to write about.
There are even lovely
cloth bound books delib-
erately left blank for the
budding author or for the
person who has tidbits to
keep track of.
For little guys, there
are books about their fav-
ourite heroes, and colour-
ing books for creative
hands.
Shopping for the per-
fect book is not as hard
as you may think. There are a number of good book stores
throughout the area, and what they don't have they will try
to get in for you. Just one more reason to shop at home.
Don't neglect to check out local galleries and museums for
books and unusual gifts.
I spent a great moming at the Huron County Museum
gift shop, in Goderich, browsing through the books to get
some idea of their selection. A lot of the gift shops in
museums and galleries aim to provide gifts and books that
are not available or seen in other shops, to avoid competing
with local merchants.
For the flower lovers, or people who like perfumes take a
look at Language of Flowers, Penhaligon's Scented
Treasury of Verse and Prose by Sheila Pickles, published
by Harmony Books, New York. Accompanying
descriptions of popular garden flowers are colour plates of
classical works of art by 19th century artists. One of my
favourites, that I have trouble growing, is nasturtium. The
name comes from the Latin phrase for "twisted nose" and
refers to the peppery taste. The botanical name comes from
the Greek word meaning trophy because the leaves and
flowers are shaped like helmets and shields. The author
discloses some of the traditional stories associated with the
more popular garden
flowers. To set the mood
A cut from Dover's "An Old-fashioned Christmas in Illustration &
Decoration."
for the reader, the pages
are softly scented with
Penhaligon's violet scent.
For the history buff on
your list, the museum
shop also has some of the
local history books on
Exeter, Stanley township,
and Colborne Connec-
tions. Another popular
book with a rural theme is
The Farm, with photos
taken at the turn of the
century by Ruben
Sallows. Some of his
photos of the intimate day
to day activities of our
grandparents have been
used in Ontario Ministry
of Agriculture and Food
promotions but there are
others that are a real
treasure to see. John
DeVisser supplies the
contemporary photos and
Jock Carrol provides the
texL This book celebrates
agriculture in Ontario and
makes a nice gift for both
young and old.
The museum has a stock of Dover Publications, a
popular publisher whose books feature specialty topics, and
great three dimensional work. These soft cover books are
low priced, and cover a wide variety of topics; repro-
ductions of antique paper dolls, a totem pole to punch out
and put together, as well as a caveman diorama with full
colour three dimensional scenes of Neanderthal and Cro-
Magnon life. They also have farm scenes to punch out and
set up a doll house, and a dinosaur book with full pattern
and instructions. There is a needlework series with full
instructions for reproducing designs from a hundred years
36 THE RURAL VOICE