Here are the favorite books from my early youth. For the art aspect, I loved the Betsy-Tacy books (by Maude Hart Lovelace) that covered the latter half of Betsy's childhood, from about highschool on to her marriage. The illustrator was Vera Neville, and I loved her art because they resembled Gibson Girls drawing, all feminine and flowing. The illustrator for the earlier Betsy-Tacy books was Lois Lenski; those are cute, but not on my favorite list.
This is one cover (sorry...my scanner is still dead and my photo is a bit fuzzy). I got an old library discard but it's dated 1945...love it!
These are 2 images from another book in that series (circa 1952), also a library discard. See how Gibson Girl like those are?
As for what inspired me to write, well, without a doubt, it'd have to be Little Women. We moved to Vancouver when I was in grade 3; that was when I learned English. A year later, in grade 4, I found this book in my parents' stash, and reading it was an epiphany. It cemented my love for my new adopted language.
This is the book that my parents had in the basement:
No publication date is given in the book, but it looks older than dirt...that is, slightly older than I...haha!
"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." ~ William James (1842 - 1910)
