What were your favourite books from childhood (ages 5 to 17)?

Question

Who was the author? What specific memories do you have from this book? Why is the book special to you?

Answer 1

I used to love Trixie Belden mysteries. They were similar to the Nancy Drew books (which I never cared much for......go figure!). There were bunches of them, I think I had like 28 or 29 of them. (I still have them, packed away somewhere.) Julie Campbell started writing the books, and when she quit 'Kathryn Kenny' took over. Actually, the Kathryn Kenny name was a pseudonym for several ghost writers (there were at least 8 different writers that used that name, and one of them was a man!)
My best friend and I would kind of create our own mystery stories and use our Barbie dolls as the characters from the books. We 'played' Trixie Belden a lot! (My doll always got to be Trixie because she had curly hair, just like Trixie in the book!! LOL LOL)

Answer 2

Enid Blyton's The Naughtiest Girl!! (All 3 in the series)
I used to pretend I was the Naughtiest Girl (Elizabeth Allen) coz I loved the book so much. It broadened my horizons on the different forms of schooling around the world and in the past. I also felt I could identify with some of the issues presented to the main character, Elizabeth. That was back when I was 7 or 8. I still enjoy reading the boook now & I won't get sick of it even if I read it a hundred times!

I also enjoyed many other Enid Blyton books, like Secret Seven, Famous Five & Magic Faraway Tree Series. =) They were just great. A very integral part of my childhood.

Answer 3

Absolutely anything written by Enid Blyton. She was my hero.

I loved the Magic Faraway Tree - I always wanted a tree house with a slippery dip going through the middle after reading those books. SaucePan Man, Moon Face....gosh, I want to read them again now. I loved these books - so much adventure and imagination. They gave me an even better imagination! I always imagined I was one of the kids, finding a tree in the forest with all the funny creatures living in it.

And The Wishing Chair stories too.

During my teenage years, I loved Goosebumps book and the..ohhh. I cant rmember.... it the series with the 5 or 6 kids who solve all the crimes. They have their pictures on the back of all the books with their signatures next to em. 3 boys and two or 3 girls or something.....They have a new adventure each time...
d'oh , cant remember. But I loved trying to figure out the endings before the story told me.

Also loved the Tomorrow when the war Began series. Great story. And because it was set in Australia, I could picture it better and could imagine it being real. (Im an Aussie)

Oh my gosh - you just made me remember my other fave books - from when I was about 10 - - The Sweet Valley Twins!! I still have nearly the whole set! Loved 'em to bits.

Answer 4

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I read this around 20 times. This book is special because it is an adventure story where the kid is the hero. Also, at the end of the book, some of the treasure is left undiscovered on Treasure Island, so there is this impression that the story really isn't over and that maybe someday you might be the one to discover the island and find the remains of Flint's fist.

Answer 5

Mallory Hates Boys and Gym by Ann M. Martin (part of the Baby-Sitters Club series)
--this book was the first chapter book I ever read

Ramona Quimby series
--these were some of the first chapter books I ever read

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
--the first book that I ever read on my own

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
--This book (and its sequel "May the Circle Be Unbroken") were just amazing and left an imprint on my soul from the second I read them

Cheaper By the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes

Answer 6

I started with Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five' and 'Secret Seven' series, then moved on to Sax Rohmer's 'Fu Manchu' series and Russell Thorndike's 'Doctor Syn'

I was mesmerised by Dr. Syn - this mysterious character with no less than THREE different identities - Christopher Syn, the country vicar; Captain Clegg, the pirate, and The Scarecrow, the leader of a bunch of smugglers.

In my early teens I got into those Pan collections of horror stories (remember them?), and from there I discovered sci-fi.......and girls.....

Answer 7

I loved the book by Phyllis B. Whitney...the ones geared towards the kids.

I read alot older than my years...so I loved VC Andrews and Stephen King.

I also loved kids books about real people like Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Tubman.

Answer 8

Brian Jacques for his amazingly great adventures featuring speaking animals fighting battles and having family moments. Childish but it was a great transition from regular books to chapter books especially for a young boy.

Science Fiction: Robert Jordan, J.R.R Tolkien

Realistic:Mark Twain

Answer 9

My favourites were the Dr. Seuses books (all of them) and Roald Dahl.
Roald Dahl always tweaked my imagination. I could sit there for hours going through book after book.

Answer 10

It by Stephen King my freshman year in study hall......got so into that book, really lets your imagination run wild but it made the movie suck in comparison. I remember that book specifically because it was the only one that I could actually get so into that I tuned out the rest of study hall and the friends around me that talked nonstop.