The Hundred and One Dalmatians
Some childhood stories come to us through books.
Others arrive through sound, music, and small rituals that slowly become part of our evenings.
My story with The Hundred and One Dalmatians began before I even knew how to read.
When I was very little, I had a record of the story that I would play on a gramophone every night before going to sleep.
It wasn’t simply someone reading the story aloud. It was beautifully made — almost like a little theater for children. There were songs, music, and voices bringing the story to life.
And in the middle of one of the songs… there were real puppies barking.
As a child, I absolutely loved that part.
I remember lying in bed, listening to the story, waiting for that moment when the puppies would suddenly start barking. It felt magical to me.
Night after night, it became part of my bedtime world.
Long before I ever read the book myself, The Hundred and One Dalmatians had already settled into my imagination.
Stories That Grow With Us
There is something very special about the stories we encounter in childhood.
They don’t simply entertain us. They become woven into the quiet rhythms of our days — bedtime routines, rainy afternoons, moments when the world still feels small and safe.
Looking back now, I realize that those evenings listening to the gramophone were not only about the story itself.
They were about comfort.
About ending the day with something familiar and warm.
About knowing that tomorrow night, the story would be there again.
Why I’m Revisiting My Childhood Books
As I’ve started this blog, I felt a strong desire to return to the books that shaped my childhood.
Not just to review them, but to remember the version of myself who first loved them.
The girl who listened to stories on a gramophone before sleep.
The girl who waited for the puppies to bark.
The girl who believed that stories were small magical worlds you could visit every night.
And perhaps that is still true.
Even now, when we open a beloved childhood book, we step into a familiar place — one that has been waiting patiently for us all along.
A Little Question for You
I’d love to hear from you.
Did you have a story you listened to or read over and over again before sleep when you were a child?
Maybe it was a book, a cassette tape, a record, or a story someone read to you.
Those small rituals often stay with us longer than we expect.
With stories, childhood memories, and a square of chocolate,
Stasha
Books, Hormones & Chocolate 🤎📚🍫