Right, here's a topic that should prove interesting, if it doesn't dive off into a discussion about [something else, you don't think I'm going to give you any cues, do you?].

We all know what the favourite books of today's children are, but what books did you enjoy as a child? Do you still enjoy them now, or do you look back and cringe with embarassment? What got *you* reading? <4 Yorkshiremen> We never had any of that Harry Potter in my day, you know. We had to learn to read good books without all this media hype business.</4 Yorkshiremen>.

I read anything and everything. All Biggles, and most of Enid Blyton, for instance. But my favourites (in roughly the order I read them) were Orlando the Marmalade Cat; Beatrix Potter (I liked Mr. Tod); Thomas the Tank Engine (the originals, not the modern plastic crap); Dr. Dolittle; the 'Uncle' stories of J P Martin; Swallows and Amazons; The Borrowers; Just William; E W Hildick (anybody remember Jim Starling or Lemon Kelly?); E Nesbit (especially Five Children and It); The Hobbit; the Narnia stories; Kidnapped and Treasure Island (but not Catriona).

Of these, Ransome, Mary Norton and of course JRRT are still with me, and I remain fond of most of the others even if I haven't read them for nearly 30 years. Narnia I came to dislike, though; I got a bit fed up of being of being bludgeoned over the head with the allegory, and the more I learnt about C S Lewis the less I liked him.

Books I didn't like much (in other words I didn't read them 98 times) included Alice in Wonderland (sorry, Jasper), Heidi (blech), The Water Babies (help), Little Women, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz (no friend of Dorothy, I), or The Swiss Family Robinson. I have never read anything by Roald Dahl.

What about you?



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

The first books I actually enjoyed were Dr Zuess. After being forced to read Janet & John for the first few years, his books were funny and very entertaining. I admit to liking the Narnia books my favourite being A Horse and His Boy, well I was a little girl and anything with horses in were fair game. As I got older and disenchanted with God (I'm actually a Pagan) they went out the window.

In came They Silver Brumby books by Elayne Mitchell. I have been know to read these when the mood takes me.
The Hobbit is a good book when you can get passed the dwarves with names so similar it hurts your brain. This in itself is quite amazing because the teacher who read it to us used to pick on me all the time, not a happy year in school.

I like Orlando the Marmalade Cat, and Barbar the Elephant. Asterix the Gaul was always a good way to pass the time.

At 14 I started on Dick Francis and am still going. (I met him at a book signing and I was totally gobsmacked, he was lovely)

One of the best books was The Red House by A A Milne, a murder mystery that set me on the path to whodunits. To him I am eternally grateful.

Gods, I could come over all Oscar speech about formative book reading, but thankfully I won't ;)

Janet and John, Beatrix Potter, then onto Enid Blyton particularly The Magic Faraway Tree and Malory Towers (it seemed such a jolly good idea to want to go boarding school!). Countless bowdlerised versions of Arabian Nights, Greek and Roman mythology. I even enjoyed the 'special' Children's versions of the Old and New Testaments. I couldn't wait to get onto the proper ones and find out what had been left out. Dickens more child orientated stories. Nancy Drew mysteries and the Hardy Boys. Dennis Wheatley (sneaked from my dad's bookshelves). I've probably forgotten dozens more, but these are the ones I can remember best.

But, the only childhood reading I go back to is Herge's Tintin adventures.

I, like any other good American child, cut my teeth on Dr. Seuss. (Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go NOW! is one of my faves, along with Green Eggs and Ham) One of my earliest memories of trying to read was of sitting with one of the Winnie the Pooh books and concentrating so hard I'd get a headache. I wanted to read it SO badly! So once I could read, that was one of the first full books I tackled. Then when I really learned to read, I borrowed ALL of the Paddington Bear books from our school library. I loved those stories, but the cartoon ruined it for me. Just wasn't like it was in my imagination.

Then, of course, came all the Judy Blume books along with The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Misty of Chincoteague, Bunnicula (a vampire bunny goes awry, sucking all the juice out of the household veggies! what a riot! LOL). And I used to love to sit and read the World Book Encyclopedias - most of them were from the late 60's - bought for my "genius" brother.

When I got a little older, I got into Sci-Fi a little because I picked up Robert Heinlein's "Have Spacesuit Will Travel", which to this day is one of my absolute fave books. I was 11 then. By the time I was 17, I think I had read the rest of his books. And the whole Dune series too. Then came the Dragonlance books and the Dragonriders of Pern. And the Crystal Singer series. (I liked the fantasy books, but I think that's because that's what was around the house, so I read it.) I wish I had been exposed to more of the classics just lying around. Oh well!

I've always loved to read. Now that I can afford to buy the books I want, I find myself reading more. (Trying to turn off the boob tube!) Now I need to get some bookshelves to store it all!

Right now I'm reading all the Robert Rankin books- the Brentford Trilogy (5 books at last count!) And I'm on the last one now. It's only taken me about 2 weeks to get through them all, just reading before bed. Then I have the new Rankin proof of The Witches of Chiswick that Carla was so nice to send me (thanks Carla!). THEN I can go buy Harry Potter, then I'm rereading WOLP :) After that, I think I have a couple of other things lying around...time to hit the bookstore again!



Post Edited (06-29-03 19:21)

Hmmm...

Topsy and Tim early on. Can't remember much else - The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but that might have been my brother that had that.
Enid Blyton, obviously - Famous Five, Secret Seven, The <blah> of Adventure, The <Blah> Mystery, The Secret of <Blah> books. St Clare's, Malory Towers, Faraway Tree, Wishing Chair, Mr...Penniwhistle? Piggywhistle? Something like that, anyway.
Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Three Investigators, the Lone Pine Five. The Chalet School.
The Hobbit, Diana Wynne Jones, Paula Danziger, Judy Blume. Sweet Valley High, on occasion...
Lots of Agatha Christie. Old books of my mum's - Maid of the Abbey, Harvest at Cowleaze... plus classics like all the Little Women/Little Men ones. I had Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and Lorna Doone, but never read them. (I've just discovered them in my cupboard - might actually have to read Jane Eyre. Ulp.) Heidi, The Secret Garden and What Katy Did I actually read.
Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon, Little House on the Prairie. My Friend Flicka. Ooh, The Worst Witch.
And lots of Roald Dahl. And George MacDonald stuff - At The Back Of The North Wind, The Princess and Curdie.

Of that lot, I'd still read quite a lot, but most of them it's just nostalgia. The Faraway Tree's great. So's Diana Wynne Jones. I suspect Paula Danziger has merit, too. The Three Investigators were fab. Roald Dahl's pretty good, but seemed to be nasty in real life. What is it with children's writers???

I'm sure I've forgotten major things...I'm trying to visualise the children's department of my local library now.



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Do something pretty while you can...

I am Sam, Sam I am. Do you like Green Eggs and Ham?

Loved that one. Worked my way through all the Enid Blytons - the Magic Faraway Tree, The Famous 5 (Anne was so soppy!), the Mystery Books (Fatty, Bet, Pip, Daisy, Larry and Buster the dog), the whatever of Adventure (parrot called Kiki I think), Mallory Towers and St Clares. Didn't like the Secret Seven.

Paddington - now read those stories to my friend's children. Loved AA Milne and Kenneth Graeme. I still re-read The Wind in the Willows, trying to recite off by heart the contents of Ratty's picnic basket but always get it wrong.

The Jennings books- JCT Jennings - 13 year old pupil at Linbury Court Preparatory School. I still have most of them (and re-read them) although they are replacements as my mother cleared out the ones I had when I left home - you were supposed to be looking after them Mother! - and Anthony Buckeridge is still writing more. Very funny.

Tried CS Lewis and Tolkien but both left me cold. Liked What Kay Did and Did Next. Anne of Green Gables - okayish. I enjoyed Little Women but didn't like Good Wives.

Read Rebecca at the age of 9 - my first 'adult' book. Read loads of Jean Plaidy which got me into history books. Gone with the Wind when I was 12. Now I read most of what passes over my desk at work, or at least give it a go. If it doesn't grab me by the second chapter then I don't continue.

Tried reading Brick Lane last week - didn't pass the second chapter test.

When I was learning tor ead I had the Dr Seuss books and the Railway Engine Books (still to hand on my bookshelf, disturbingly). Roald Dahl kicked ass, but Blyton was terribly boring once you knew the basic plot. By the age of seven I was reading my parents newspaper, while at school they were convinced that I was a poor reader. The correct diagnosis is 'bored rigid by the crap they were forcing upon me'.

I liked Swallows and Amazons, but wasn't keen enough to reread them again. I then went through a rich vein of horror/thriller stuff with Robert Westall (and two other books whose authors I've forgotten - one was 'Witch of the Rollrights' or somesuch (set near me) and the other was about a boy who died in a tin mine in Cornwall who formed some kind of link with a modern kid. After that I guess I was set into a more adult reading mode, mostly by nicking books of my parents bookshelves.

Interestingly I never really rated Winnie-ther-Pooh until I started reading it to kids (and, more importantly still, nostalgia-junky females...)



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

I learned to read on Beatrix Potter at the age of three and never looked back. (Funnily enough, there's a family connection; my great-great-grandfather was Beatrix Potter's coachman, and my great-uncle, who died about 18 months ago at the grand old age of 100, was the last living person who had actually known her. He became a kind of minor celebrity on the strength of it, and was invited to the Barbican on one occasion to meet David Mellor, which is enough to prove to any thinking person that being a celebrity isn't all jam!)

At that age I also liked the Little Grey Rabbit stories by Alison Uttley, and the Rev W Awdry's railway books; I don't even recall Thomas, though he may well have been in some of the ones I read - my hero was Peter Sam even though I didn't like his colour! A year or so later my dad introduced me to the poetry of Ogden Nash and I was instantly and lastingly smitten; here was someone who could write funny poetry which was very easy to imitate, and imitate I did. By the time I got to school I could turn out a surprisingly good Nash pastiche. As I grew older I discovered, among other things, Alice in Wonderland; C S Lewis (I did and still do enjoy those books); Jennings (as mentioned by Auntysassy); an ancient copy of the "Dragon Book of Verse" belonging to my mother (a thoroughly good anthology of poetry suitable for all ages); Just William by Richmal Crompton; the Swallows and Amazons series; and the incomparable Professor Branestawm. I was quite a fan of Dr Doolittle too, but Professor Branestawm was definitely my favourite; I loved it when he tried to explain his inventions to his friend Colonel Dedshott, and Colonel Dedshott's head went round and round. How to make a kid laugh...

I couldn't stand Roald Dahl (creepy), Enid Blyton (predictable), or any of those vaguely occulty books by Susan Cooper and various other authors which one of my sisters used to read avidly. I also read "The Hobbit" at age eight, but didn't get on with it at that time - I should have been either a little younger or a lot older to appreciate it.

At the age of ten I discovered Agatha Christie, and after that I didn't read any children's literature until I was old enough to appreciate it! ;-)



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

I grew up on Enid Blyton's Famous Five/Secret Seven, as well as the Hardy Boys adventures. I'd read all the books at our infant school by the second year I was there, and all the junior school books by the first year of juniors, so the teachers just asked me to bring my own books in. Which I did. Or more accurately brought my dad's books in, which largely involved pulp SF. I got some funny looks reading the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs (especially Thuvia, Maid of Mars, with its scantily dressed lady on the front). So we had Burroughs, Heinlein, Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat, Asimov, Niven and the like, along with the usual Hobbit/LOTR/Narnia. Stayed with the SF ever since.

Not sure what that says about me...

I used to have a Brer Rabbit (sp?) book that scared me s***less until I was into double figures. I think it had something to do with the picture of the demonic bugger leaping from a tar pit like a member of the undead.



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

I liked most of Enid Blyton's stuff, except for the Secret Seven, who seemed rather wimpy. I preferred Jennings to Just William, and the man who wrote Jennings, came to our middle school, just on the day I had to go on a class trip around Norwich's medieaval walls. Winnie-the-Pooh may have been too gentle for me, although I still have a nice hardback edition which was a fourth birthday present from my godmother. I preferred Paddington and Mary Jane.

The Swallows and Amazons books were, and still are favourites. And of course, the pony books...... I've got more now than I had as a child and virtually all have been bought after university. I avoided the 'Little House' books at the time, because I loathed the TV series, but I have all of them now, having discovered how delightful the actual books are.

My Dad gave me James Herriot's books to read when I was about 9; he probably didn't realize how often words like 'bloody' and 'bugger' are used in them. I picked up James Bond when I was about ten and had read most of them within two or three years. I had read books by John Wyndam when I was 12 and was starting to make my way around the adults section of the village library, which was conveniently located on the same driveway as the high school.

I can't remember a time without books. I can't even remember learning to read. Mum doesn't remember me learning either, she said I always could.

I began with Enid Blyton and still have several of her books, including the Faraway Tree books and the Wishing Chair books (and apparantly there has just been printed a THRID Wishing Chair book. Gotta get that one!) Roald Dahl has long been my fave childrens author, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory my fave book. Love the Chronicals of Narnia (Still have in the book shelf), and Diana Wynne Jones. Eva Ibbotsons books are hilarious! Still have them, too. Was given a 5-in-1 copy of Susan Coopers books as a prize which I still have but don't read much now. Absolutely adored Asterix, and I have all of those books, most being bought since after the age of 18 (my eldest son loves them too). Liked Little House books as a child but find them too sacceriney (sic?) now. Same with Heidi and What Katy did and the other books, but still have copies. Have copy of Lewis Carrolls entire works in one volume which I bought only a few years ago, but have always loved the Alice books. Also have a copy of 101 Dalmations (vastly superior to Disneys lame movie attempts). Most of the childrens books I have were bought when I started work. They were books I read as a child, loved and then went and bought. Another one is the brilliant Beyond the Midnight Mountains by Charles Frank. Thank heavens for eBay. I couldn't get that one elsewhere for love or money!

Was forced in school to read Lord fo the Flies. The world's WORST book! Loathed and detested it. Pity anyone who had to read that one. Seriously worried about anyone who liked it. Also never understood the appeal of the Moomiland books. Wasn't heavily into Beatrix Potter, but I do have a copy of all her stories in one volume.

Skiffle: re; Mary Jane. Do you mean Mary Plain (who was a bear from the Berne Zoo, iirc)?



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

I like Enid Blyton. I read all the Brer Rabbit stuff. I also liked Bobby Brewster by H.E.Todd.

I'm too old for much of Roald Dahl although I read them to my sister and remember Rik Mayall 'reading' George's Marvellous Medecine on Jacknory. Basically he just threw loads of flour and water and other stuff all over himself as he made the special mixture. I did like his early stuff Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox when I was a kid.

We also had a book of Jonny Morris animal stories. We did all the silly animal voices just like the great man !

Interestingly, I could still remember Allan Ahlberg's "Each Peach, Pear, Plum..." when reading it to Eddie recently. ("I spy Tom Thumb. Tom Thumb in the cupboard, I spy Mother Hubbard" etc.)

Me? A lot of the series that people have already mentioned, if those were around during my childhood (although I seem to have missed most of Dr Seuss...), of course. I preferred Jennings to William. Also various books by Edward Ardizzone (ilustrated, for youg children, and that's all I now remember about them...), Edward Eager, Joan Aiken, Hilda Lewis ("The Ship That Flew")... some of Rudyard Kipling (the two 'Jungle Book's, 'Just So Stories', 'the two 'Puck' books, 'Kim')... historical novels by Rosemary Sutcliff, Henry Treece, Jane Lane (? or Grey? They were a pro-Stuart series...), and _later on _ Mary Renault... and the 'Tanglewood Tales'... and 'Dr Who' novelisations, which is probably how I got into reading SF, and Isaac Asimov (especially the 'Lucky Starr' series), James Blish, Alan E. Nourse, Andre Norton, and any other SF authors whose works my local libraries had... and (in my teens) Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, and various other SF/Fantasy authors... and 'The Saint' (mostly borrowed from an uncle)... and some rather heavy _ but interesting _ historical novels by GA Henty (which had been inherited from a great-uncle, along with a lot of Biggles)... and undoubtedly some that I've since forgotten.

You preferred Jennings to Just William? Take the heretic away, and make him thcweam and thcweam and thcweam until he'th thick. And we *can*.



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

Loved the Narnia books as a kid, but as Jon says, the heavy-handed Christian allegory makes them pretty much unreadable as an adult.

Other things that haven't been mentioned yet -- the 'Adventure' books by Willard Price, The Little Grey Men by BB (re-read that recently, and it's still a cracking good read) and nearly anything by Alan Garner, but especially The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Owl Service (still terrifying!)

And then there was Richard Scarry -- I've still got a very fine collection of his books (did anyone else have those, and did you identify with Lowly Worm too, or was that just me?)



Jesus saves; Buddha does incremental backup.

Oops!" Right, I'd forgotten, you can add Willard Price, BB (surely not 'Big Brother' ?!? :-), and Alan Garner to the list for me as well... but I don't recall the name or works of Richard Scarry. (Roughly when did he produce them?) Oh, and add a series of historical novels by an author called (IIRC) Ronald Welch, which covered one upper-class British family's military exploits from the Crusades up to at least WWI, too.

Reading everyone elses lists bought so many memories back, I'm sitting here going 'oh I read that' I remember my mum telling me they used to hide my Green Eggs and Ham cos I wanted it read to me over and over and over and .... read Janet and John, Zip and Wendy, Enid Blyton Famous Five, Secret Seven tho their dog was a woose compared to Timmy, Mallory Towers and wished I could go to boarding school, Just William, Jennings, Biggles, Flicka, Silver Brumby anything to do with horses tho I didn't bond with BlackBeauty, My Naughty Little Sister, Paddington and I agree about the rotton TV cartoons, Watershipdown, Hobbit, Heidi &etc, Little House on the ...., the back of the cereal box at breakfast time, Kidnapped, The Broons and Oor Wullie every week in the Sunday Post, Joyce Stranger, The Water Babies, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, James Herriot, Gerald Durrell, Catcher in the Rye, Agatha Christie, Jean Plaidy ans now I've been thinking about my childhood books I've got little snippets of stuff floating into my memory and I can't place them, frustrating.

I read the Willard Price, but recall them as being a bit crap, actually.

I forgot Alan Garner; I enjoyed Brisingamen and Moon of Gomrath (but was completely baffled by The Owl Service) but on trying to re-read them as an adult I was annoyed by his careless use of mythological terms (Ragnarok is an EVENT, not a PLACE!).

Ooh, yes, BB (real name Denis Watkyns-Pitchford, iirc); I forgot him, too. Greatly enjoyed his stuff, even if he was a bit of a huntin' freak (BB being a type of shotgun ammo, I think). Brendon Chase was my favourite.

Disappointment corner. I have heard Dr. Dolittle described as racist, and have scoffed at the notion as PC-gone-mad tripe, as I didn't remember them like that at all. Yesterday I read The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle at www.classicreader.com and .... it was racist. Not just a bit racist, but very racist, with liberal use of the N-word and much sneering at Africans and Amerindians. Oh dear. Oh, well, at least it never affected me. (I hope).

I'm halfway through Five Children and It now.

I also forgot nigel molesworth, hem-hem, but then the molesworth canon are some of my favourite books ever in the world in space, so I don't consider them as children's books. chiz.



Post Edited (06-30-03 14:41)

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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty