Childhood books

michellemoran · Post by **michellemoran** » Mon October 27th, 2008, 10:43 pm

Which childhood book/s made the biggest impact on you, for good or bad?

In the good category I'd say Could be Worse. What a cute book! And the the grandfather was like both of my parents. Got stung by a bee? Could be worse! Scraped your knee? Could be worse! Gum in your hair? Could have been lice... A good lesson, I guess!

Book that scarred me for life: Charlotte's Web! Poor Charlotte....

xiaotien · Post by **xiaotien** » Mon October 27th, 2008, 10:58 pm

a curious thing about me?

i almost never ever reread a novel.
even if i really loved it. i don't rewatch
movies, either.

but my childhood favorites? i have reread--even
as an adult.

island of the blue dolphins by scott o'dell

a wrinkle in time by madeliene l'engle

a little princess by frances hodgeson-burnett

ballet shoes and dancing shoes by noel streatfield

i may have misspelled author names.

i'm not sure if any childhood book traumatized me?

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Mon October 27th, 2008, 11:48 pm

Heide

Little Women

Jane Eyre

Jo's Boys

Once and Future King

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Mon October 27th, 2008, 11:52 pm

Ah, childhood books. I do re-read those. But I'm not sure when childhood ends, as I was a late reader but once started, a precocious one.
I'll define the year I read Lord of the Rings, Gone With the Wind, Prince of Foxes and Katherine as the beginning of my 'adult reading phase'.

So before that, these stand out:
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
the Laura Ingalls Wilder series
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
the Narnia Series by CS Lewis
a five-book series set in Wales by Lloyd Alexander, starting with the Book of Three and ending with the High King
the Door in the Wall --can't remember the author.
the All-of-a-Kind Family can't remember the author.

Looking over that list, I can see why I became a lifelong HF reader!

michellemoran · Post by **michellemoran** » Mon October 27th, 2008, 11:52 pm

Once and Future King

I loved that book!

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue October 28th, 2008, 12:25 am

I'm definitely going to be in the minority I see. My mom had most (but not all) of the Oz Books, her copies purchased in the 30's. The first few were written by L. Frank Baum but another writer started after him. They were awesome reads, sending Dorothy back to Oz and meeting new people/characters, always with a good lesson.

I've seen some of these coming back in to print and I recommend them for parents with younger readers.

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Tue October 28th, 2008, 12:33 am

There are only two that have had a huge impact on me.

Little Women..without a doubt. This book has shaped me in so many ways.

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

LCW · Post by **LCW** » Tue October 28th, 2008, 12:43 am

The only book I really remember from childhood is Charlotte's Web. It was so sad and it really affected me as a child!

Leyland · Post by **Leyland** » Tue October 28th, 2008, 1:12 am

I have such a gypsy soul and I remember two books that I read more than once as fairly young girl that contained a strong travel/adventure theme. Neither are very well known, but they made a deep enough impression on me to buy them both through Amazon about six years ago and read them again as an adult.

Circus Sequins by Elisabeth Hamilton Friermood is about a very independent young farm girl joining the wardrobe department in a circus her mother had been part of and then learning to bareback trick ride. It's set in the WWI era and is populated with talented and diverse characters. YA romance has its place in this story and Roxie makes very sound decisions.

Bird on the Wing by Winifred Madison about a sixteen year old runaway from a broken home who meets some kind characters and learns new skills in weaving, along with realities of life.

And Witch of Blackbird Pond and A Wrinkle in Time jolted my imagination with history and science fiction.

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Tue October 28th, 2008, 1:25 am

I loved series books when I was a kid--the Five Little Peppers, the Betsy-Tacy books, the All-of-a-Kind Family books, the Trixie Belden mystery series, and a series called the Happy Hollisters. (I shudder to think of how I'm dating myself here.) Oh, and I loved the Pippi Longstocking books.

But, and I hang my head as I say this, my real favorites were those Stratemeyer Syndicate productions, The Bobbsey Twins. Not only did I read the current ones (technologically updated and cleansed somewhat of ethnic stereotypes), I read the original ones (from the early 1900's) that my parents used to buy me from antique stores.

I also really enjoyed Beverly Cleary's and Elizabeth Enright's books, but that's about as upscale as I got when I was a kid. Never read any of the classics like Charlotte's Web, and never really wanted to.