Obscure children's books that you used to love

I remember " Not now, Bernard"

Just thought of another I used to love. Witchdust by Mary Welfare with fab illustrations by Shirley Hughes of the Dogger and Alfie books.

Laura wasn't that a Nicholas Fisk book? I can picture the cover.

I got most of the Haffertee Hamster books as Sunday School prizes. "I want to take her home to have her tea"

I have most of the Bagthorpe saga.

Masquerade we had... Do you remember when it was found?

I had "Are you there God" from the library too.

One I loved from the library was called "A bottled cherry angel".

Has no one else read Cora Ravenwing?

Gloopy I came on to say Green Smoke and Dragon in Danger by Rosemary Manning. Loved them. Was heartbroken when my parents lent them to the daughter of a friend who lived 100s miles away from us and never returned them, as they went out of print.
We used to go on holiday to Cornwall and I totally believed a dragon would appear if my parents would just go away.

We still have my 1970s copy of Fattipuffs and Thinnifers Stratter5. I had a school friend whose dad worked for Bodley Head and we always got books for birthday presents!

Anyone know The Little Pete stories by Leila Berg?

Dug this one out of my bookshelf....

Somebody mentioned 99 Dragons - I adored it!

And later, a book called "Alana - the first adventure" , fantasy with magic and Knights and a girl who takes the place of her brother. Loved it, but there was never a second adventure, which I am still gutted about

(Wanders off to google...)

Rebecca's World! I'd forgotten all about that one, I loved it too, maybe we should start a mumsnet campaign to get it back into print, I'd love to read it again.

How to Eat Fried Worms (I think) a boy takes on a dare to eat worms and ends up liking them, no one seems to remember that one.

Beyond the Midnight Mountains, I've still got this, read it to DD and she quite enjoyed it (unlike the Moomins which she didn't, sob).

Arabella's Raven/Arabella and Mortimer, I've bought these from eBay recently.

I'm surprised that Olga da Polga isn't as well loved as Paddington, I always liked them better.

Nashville- it was ahead of it's time really- had it been published a few years later, I think it would have remained in print.

Marianne Dreams! I loved that- even if it was a creepy. Fortunately, that is still available, because I think DD1 will love it.

Is anybody else getting inspiration from this thread I'm going to have a look for Mary Plain books first I think as I've never heard of those.

I loved The Warden's Niece and still have my copy!

I also adored The Saturdays, The Four Story Mistake and the other Melendy family books. I bought them for the DDs, who ignored them, so I have been re-reading them.

I also liked the Gemma series, I think by Noel Streatfeild.

Does any remember "Hilda's Comfortable Chair"? It was a gorgeous book about long suffering Australian Hilda who finally sat down in her comfy chair. Then all these antipodean animals come along one by one and join her, and she's too nice to say know. It has great pictures. No one else has ever heard of it :-(

Pippo. And an odd book called 'not now, Bernard' which was about a child who wanted someone to play with, was ostensibly ignored by everyone he asked and was eventually eaten by a monster if I remember correctly...hmm, and my parents wonder why I turned out like I did!

We had Mary Plain! I'm sure that was the book that said bears have two birthdays. My bear's birthdays are 17th May and 19th August!

Bobby Brewster too, though I don't think they were particularly obscure. And a series called Mark and Mandy I used to read a lot, given to me when I was unwell, as one of the stories was along similar lines (looking back I can't see how they appealed at all).

Then Elsie Dinsmore. Awful awful books, but for some reason I found them fascinating and thought her father was dreadful.

I had Five Dolls in a House too! It had a bossy doll called Vanessa, and another doll called Lupin, and one who was a Paying Guest (I can't remember her name, it was something like Anne Marie).

lancelottie you are the ONLY person I have come across who knows the Mary Plain books!!!! I remember the one where she ended up on a desert island and ended up doing a cake walk with all the black babies!!!! Very bizarre books. Didn't she come from the bear pits in Berne, or was that Paddington??? I'm confused.

I remember Olga da Polga too! My favourite story as a child was 'A Cat Called Friday' by Rosalind Sutton about a little boy and his kitten. I also used to like the Ladybird Hannibal the Hamster books, although they are probably not that obscure. Anyone remember 'New Patches for Old' about a girl who emigrates with her family to Australia? Took my ages to track down a copy at a reasonable price a few years ago.

Does anyone remember a children's book about a family of children on holiday by the sea. They find a rockpool, and either mermaids or fairies living there - they help them search for lost pearls from a necklace.

My DD has a copy of Rebecca's World, I picked it up in a second hand bookstore a few years ago, cost me about a pound.
I also loved the best fiend books. We also have In The Night Kitchen. A book I loved and can't seem to find anywhere, was Pa's Top Hat, seems to have vanished off the face of the planet.

Oh, and how about The Ordinary Princess by M M Kaye. Loved that book too!