There are so many wonderful children’s books these days, from The Gruffalo to Amelia Fang, Gangsta Granny to Alex Rider. But is there one book which made a special impact on you as a child? For me it will always be Charlotte’s Web. It was read to me when I had Scarlet Fever , maybe not the ideal choice as I cried and cried, but for me a story I will never forget.
The Faraway Tree I loved it so much! Bought the book and dvd for dgd and she still talks about it - she’s now a 24 year old nurse! We watched the dvd so much with her I could recite the words ?!
Probably I’ve mentioned this before but E. Blyton was not liked by many children’s lit professionals because she wrote so many books, 200+. This meant a child could go through childhood reading no other authors. From Noddy with its now acknowledged racism through to the Tree of Adventure etc for older children.
So many books that I loved are mentioned here. All E. Nesbit especially Railway Children and of course Tom’s Midnight Garden. I did love Heidi too, but mine was a Woolworths Regent Classics edition which must have been heavily edited. Read the full version recently and it was full of heavy sermonising ??
I remember so fondly a book where a little child is given a black poodle puppy. I loved it and have never been able to find the title as I have got older. If anyone has an idea of what it was, please let me know!
The Children of The New Forest by Captain Marryat. Read this when I was 9-10 years old. Found a couple of parts scary. I had no idea how to pronounce Phoebe so had a think now and then as to what she was called. Never found out until I was in my late teens/early twenties! I never thought to 'ask a grownup'! I also loved The Wind in the Willows, The Waterbabies and Alice in Wonderland among many more! I'm still an avid reader and regularly read at least 4-6 books a week. I wouldn't be without my Kindle. A couple of friends told me to get one after I had an accident which affected my arms, hands and neck as well as my mobility, which is still compromised over 12 years later! Books are too heavy to hold and turning pages is painful. I put my Kindle on my 'Bookseat' (from Amazon) and life's a dream after that. I first bought the 'keyboard Kindle' but I now use my Kindle Oasis which is brilliant. Being able to read keeps me from feeling low as I'm unable to garden now although I do a lot of planning regarding the garden.
Being brought up in a non reading household where the only book was entitled”Public Speaking for Clergymen” it was my favourite until the age of 6. Then a new teacher started and told me I was a throw back to the Victorians as I could quote Euclid but had never heard of Thomas the Tank Engine. Funny the comments of adults one recalls 70 years later!!
Too many to list as I was an avid reader from before I started school at 4years old! I would have to say the Katy books, Little Women and Heidi plus every Enid Blyton book I could get my hands on!
Probably my No.1 favourite was The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater. After that, Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting. I was allowed to walk to the public library by myself aged about 9 years. We lived in Sutton Coldfield. I also loved the Famous Five and Secret Seven by Enid Blyton. None of them would be considered PC nowadays.
All the books mentioned by the Gransnetters were the favourites of my children. Mine was Sunday Sunshine a book of very moral stories. Grimes Fairy Tales and Hans Anderse Tales. I still have those books. I could read when I was four . Ninety five years ago.
Adrisco mentioned Elizabeth Enright. I loved her book ‘Thimble Summer’ about a girl living on a farm in Wisconsin during a terrible drought. The girl, whose name was Garnet, found a silver thimble and then it rained and her family’s luck turned. Although the author was American it was published by Puffin in the 1950s as it won the Newberry Medal for childrens fiction. I was given it as a present. My original book is long gone but I was able to buy a copy a few years ago. Wonderful!
My first book was shaped like a house. Each page was a different room which a door to open to the next page. Can only remember one page about golly in the kitchen bright, cooking dinner for tonight. Only I was learning to read and pronounced it ton gite. Couldn't work out what ton gite was lol
The childrens books I remember most vividly were read to our class in primary school by our teachers - who did all the “voices” The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, Worzil Gummidge, Stig Of The Dump, Bedknob And Broomstick, and Milo And The Phantom Tollbooth.
Loved Enid Blyton and in particular, The Naughtiest Girl in the School, series. Mrs Kent, in 2A, used to read Enid Blyton's Famous Five to us and she was responsible for my love of reading.