I am the Little Sister (if you want to know more about me, click here) and I get to give the first Weekly Challenge. By the way, whenever I post The Mom does most of the typing for me --I get to tell her what to type and she helps me a little with the editing and format, I am still learning that part.
I just turned six a couple of weeks ago it was a very fun birthday and the fairies came. I think that books are a big part of being a kid. And what I want to know is what book you loved when you were little, like me? We came up with a good name, we like this part, we are calling it: The Childhood in a Book Challenge. Since there are some books, Mom says, "that just make you step back into your little shoes." Some of our readers mentioned childhood books in their Yourstory comments, so we thought this was a good place to begin our Weekly Challenges.
Please tell us:
- what book you loved when you were little, and when you think of it, you feel like a kid again?
- If you are a kid, right now, what is your favorite?
- We'd also like to know if you think kids today would like it. Coming Wednesday from The Mom: The Haiku Your Book Challenge
Please use the following format for your comment:
Title of Book, Author, and your thoughts on the book.
All of the Books in the Little House Series, including the Rose series. There are a bunch of different authors, but Laura Ingalls Wilder's are the best.
ReplyDeleteI think most little girls would like to learn about pioneer days, but boys might not like them as much, well they might like Farmer Boy.
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
ReplyDeleteAll I have to do it think about the books and I am transformed. I've read them dozens of times in all sorts of orders and every time I find something new to love --even now, as an adult. I first read them to the Big Sister when she was 3 and just last year to both of the girls. Narnia is a place I think all kids would love to go --so, I imagine any child would love to read them all.
Old Yeller, by Frederick Benjamin Gipson.
ReplyDeleteHmmph... what to say about this bittersweet tale of one of life's most predictable events: death... I remember the tears and the fondness of re-reading every page. For some reason, this book and the famed Where The Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls, prick a chord of tender heart string like few others. For the latter, a teacher read it aloud to our class, and there were whimpers and tears, across the room. Discovering a bit about my affinity for deep feeling was certainly a part of the journey of both of these tales.
By far, as a child, for me it was The Chronicles of Narnia. I loved books and read constantly, but I always dreamed of going to Narnia. It seemed like heaven. I felt like it was a familiar place. I too have read the series several times, and I can't wait to start reading it to my four kids. Everyone on earth, no matter what age, should read the whole series. (Voyage of the Dawn Treader was my fave as a kid, but now it's The Horse and His Boy). One thing I love is that the books are so full of fantasy, beauty, love, nature..... I could go on and on, but all the things that make the books so special to a child. And beyond that, it has a much deeper spiritual meaning. On the surface the parallels to the bible are obvious, but as an adult I can see how C.S. Lewis helped to shape the way I have always viewed God. That is, like Aslan. But I think that the spirituality in these books can reach the heart of people of any faith (or no faith). Because they're about Love, more than anything.
ReplyDeleteNicole W. TC, MI
I LOVED Charlie and Chocolate Factory and Mathilda. :) I liked how sweet both Charlie and Mathilda were. I also loved Beverly Cleary books - silly, funny, easy to read! xoxo
ReplyDeleteMy father read The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White, to me when I was a child. Recently, my daughter and I discovered a recording of the book, read by the author. Listening to the adventures of Louie the swan in E.B. White's own voice has given me an even greater appreciation for this wonderful story.
ReplyDeletethe Little Princess. Although it is sort of an awful story. and the Secret Garden - LOVED that one!
ReplyDeleteMy brother Dan and I read all of the Hardy Boys books that the Des Plaines Public Library had. We were bummed that there were no more. Then our neighbor told us he had a box of them in his attic! Wowzers! It was true! There must have been a dozen more, enough to last us through the summer, until we could grow into Amazon Advnture, South Sea Adventure, and Call of the Wild.
ReplyDeleteI remember gobbling up Nancy Drew detective stories. Nancy was a confident and competent young sleuth. Now for enjoyment, I love a good Agatha Christie mystery. I am certain that the beginning of my inquisitive interest was instilled as a young child.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember when (exactly) but I've thoroughly enjoyed Farley Mowat's books Never Cry Wolf (published in 1963) and Born Naked (published in 1994). The former book envisions the drop of a scientist on ice lakes of the Canadian arctic by a husky bush pilot who tells tales of fortune up in the North while alluding to those stuck at home glued in front of their TVs meaning he would eventually start a company and bring those people who were bored with sedentary life to the wilds of the North and get rich in the process. The bush pilot drops the author/character of scientist off on a frozen arctic lake to survive or perish alone. It's an interesting story about Man vs. Beast, as the Arctic White Wolf that is being preyed on by humans turns out to be a playful animal, inquisitive as humans are, and loving with depictions of raising it's family of cubs and living on small game (mice) that populated the spring arctic areas in abundance. The scientist spends several seasons there, with the initial rescue on the icepack from Inuit whom befriend this white man, and through time, he learns the way of way, culture, and traditions of the Inuit people. The book is stirring with vivid images of the last unchartered frontiers of Earth, clean with sub-zero temperatures in winter, and ice and snow melt in spring showing a cycle of renewal and rebirth. The second book, Born Naked (1994) depicts Mowatt's childhood experiences in tales from his family's life in and around Canada. The book's narrative is snap happy, witty and descriptive, it comes from a young voice in big people's world. I really enjoyed reading it, and have sampled a few pages of text through Google books to be refreshed enough to introduce the fragments I still remembered. Books for Walls is about thinking, I appreciate that in the cobwebs of my mind that often referenced the tales of books, and taken in reflection, can lead to a life of adventure! Thanks all, Brian P ^_^ Korea
ReplyDeleteMine was and still is the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maude Mongomery. I loved it so much that I read every book she ever wrote. The tales of life on an island, love and loss was inspiring to me. I always wanted to be Anne on Prince Edward Island living free and having such wonderful adventures. Really, I still do.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite book when I was a little girl was "Madeline" by Ludwig Bemelmans,something just great about a little girl creating all kinds of havoc ! Later I rememberhow much fun it was to order paperbacks from the scholastic book club. "Mr. Mike" was one of my most favorites. As a teen,hands down, Gone With the Wind. ( and the book is ALWAYS better than the movie !! ALWAYS ) When my girls were small we had storytime every night. My favorites : "Rain" by Peter Spier (no words, just a wonderful pictorial of two kids rompin in the rain) "The Little Engine that Could" "Mike Mulligans Steam Shovel" "The Velveteen Rabbit" Man there are so many. Fast Forward through school books.. I like the classics, and am working my way through them. I loved "East of Eden" and a "Farwell to Arms" My favorite author now is Dean Koontz primarily his "Odd Thomas" series. The book I read and re-read is my "how to grow vegetables in an arid climate" - - seriously!
ReplyDeleteEven before I could read, my parents gave my sister and me a set of books called BOOK TRAILS. The first volume was titled "For Baby Feet" and it was full of nursery rhymes and fables. Now when I think about beginning to read I'm not sure whether I was really reading or that I knew these so well I could could point to the words and recite what I had memorized. (I found with my own children that that was the question with the Dr. Seuss books.) But my favorite, that I read over and over was Volume III "To Enchanted Lands." Here were the fairy tales and the adventure stories that took me places I'd never been, and provided the foundation for the reality discovered in later favorites such as the Pooh stories, The Little Prince, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Fellowship of the Ring... And I learned that really true stories often begin "Once upon a time..."
ReplyDeleteSo many...I really loved the Little House series. Last fall I read Little House in the Big Woods to my daughter Eva for the first time. Eva's reading abilities have exploded this year and now, Eva is reading it aloud to her brother Lachlan and me.
ReplyDeleteI am humbled by how wonderful it is to share the gift of literature with my children. I can't wait to read Anne of Green Gables with her...Anne with an "e".
All of the Books in the Little House Series are a favourite from my childhood and so is The Secret Garden and Beatrix Potter. I also devoured Enid Blyton books at a rate of knots and have read many of them to my children who also love them.
ReplyDeleteThe book that I most identify with my childhood is Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl. The first time I remember experiencing that story, it was read to me by Bill Hathaway. He is a friend of the family who was living with us for a time. He is also an actor, and he made the book come to life in a such a dynamic way that when I read the words now I can still hear his portrayal of each character.
ReplyDeleteThe story absolutely captivated me and to this day Roald Dahl is one of my favorite authors, and Mr. Fox, who is indeed fantastic, one of my favorite characters.
I now read this book to my 5 (almost 6) year old son and he loves it as much as I do.
To be able to pass on a book to a younger generation is one of the most satisfying things in life.
when i was evin litteler than i am now i loved 'The Monster at the Back of This Book' and 'the Pickle Book' they are great books for children! and i read them to my 1st grade book buddy, she laughed, laughed, laughed as i read them in funny voices!
ReplyDeleteMy parents sent me away to sleep-away camp for a summer or two when I was 8 and 9. I hated it. I don't remember much about it except that when it was time for Volleyball, I'd run away and hide in the library. I discovered Narnia one day and spent the better part of the next few weeks avoiding Volleyball and reading as many of the books as I could get through. At home, I proceeded to read every last book until I had finished them all. I was transported and my life was changed. I wish my children could see Narnia through my eyes. They have read the books but not loved or embraced them the way I did. I'm almost sorry I let them see the movies. How flat is a character that is envisioned and spit out in film as compared to the richness of picturing them in one's imagination.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Oz books by L. Frank Baum but I stopped at number 7 because the library didn't have it and I refused to skip a book! Many of the others named here were my favorites, too, esp. The Chronicles of Narnia.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many books I loved as a child, it is hard to know where to start. My favourite Australian children's stories would be Snugglepot & cuddlepie by may Gibbs about gum nut babies, the magic pudding by Norman Lindsay about albert the pudding who can never be all eaten, and all the aboriginal dream time stories. I learnt to read on mini paddington bear books, read and re-read &re-read all my little golden books. I read the diggiest dog alot and the bearestein bears. Winnie the pooh was always beautiful.
ReplyDeleteNow I would recommend Dougal the garbage dump bear by Matt dray. I have many stuffed toys and teddies called fluffies and stuffies at our house, so books about teddies are a favourite. Dougala nd his friend bumble always make me smile. I love them so much that one day Andrew and I drove to the coast to find their pink house which with only a few clues we stumbled upon as we almost gave up. I then got to meet Matt dray but more exciting was I finally got to hug Dougal & bumble for real. Not many days in my life get better than that. Andrew happily indulges me, keeping Matt occupied with boy talk while I fussed over Dougal and bumble. :)