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Obscure children's books that you used to love

661 replies

LadyPlumpington · 15/07/2015 20:06

Mine is 'The Island of the Skog' by Steven Kellogg. The DC love it too :)

What are your old obscure favourites?

Obscure children's books that you used to love
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9
dementedma · 15/07/2015 20:44

Anyone remember the Mary Plain books? The Owl Man and the Fur Coat lady were in them. I have a couple of the books and loved them as a child.

magichandles · 15/07/2015 20:44

DH loved The Giant Jam Sandwich so much as a child that MIL bought our DCs a copy.

I was a big Noggin the Nog fan as well, I only have one book though so was very disappointed to find out that they are out of print as DD is just at the stage to read them for herself.

Another set of books I was very, very disappointed to find is out of print are the Lorna Hill Sadlers Wells books - I have some but not all.

And this thread has just got me to check my two favorite Rosemary Sutcliff books - The Armourer's House is on kindle so I've just downloaded it, but The Queen Elizabeth Story is still out of print.

LauraChant · 15/07/2015 20:42

While you are all here, I wonder if anyone remembers a book about some children who went into space. It is possible they made their own spaceship but definitely ended up on an empty spaceship which was carrying nuclear waste to the sun to burn up. There was a case with THTH written on which, it was explained, meant Too Hot To Handle. Nobody remembers this! I thought it was on Jackanory and have been through the listings for every Jackanory aired since I was born but couldn't find it...

ReluctantCamper · 15/07/2015 20:41

LauraChant I say your name and you appear! Presume it's a tribute to The Changeover? If so here's a

MummyWeeble · 15/07/2015 20:41

I remember Olga de Polga!

I used to like the My Best Fiend books by Sheila Lavelle. They are about the friendship between two girls - Charlie Evans and a very mischievous, devious little girl called Angela. I used to love reading about their adventures.

I liked another series of books, by the same author. They are about a little girl called Ursula who, by magic can change into a bear.

Raahh · 15/07/2015 20:41

laura! Grin

It was another 'Jackanory' favourite- seemed to crop up a lot.

basgetti · 15/07/2015 20:40

Cora Ravenwing by Gina Wilson. Beautiful, heartbreaking book and no one else has ever heard of it.

JeanneDeMontbaston · 15/07/2015 20:39

SDTG - awesome. Smile

Is Froggy's Little Brother the one that comes up in Lark Rise to Candleford? (I love it when books cross-reference.)

RunAwayHome · 15/07/2015 20:39

Another that I really liked was "Incident at Hawk's Hill" (a Canadian book) that was read to my class at school - it really stuck with me. I read it again as an adult, and though I liked it, it didn't have quite as much an impression. But I have tried reading it to children nowadays, and none of them have got very far - too much description for them to pay attention to.

meyouandbootoo · 15/07/2015 20:38

Hafferty Hamster - it was series and was AWESOME!! Tried to track it down but it's out of print. I have it on my amazon wish list for second hand copies. Oh Hafferty!!!

PurpleDaisies · 15/07/2015 20:38

It was sassy, it was my favourite as a kid. Don't forget Noel the cat and Fangio the hedgehog.

Am amazed (and pleased) so many others have heard of it too!

Raahh · 15/07/2015 20:38

And another (my school seemed to favour books that went out of print as soon as we read them, it seemsGrin- The Very Hot waterbottle. it as about stolen jewllery, hidden in the eponymous water bottle - and I vividly remember the from cover had a suit case on it .

LauraChant · 15/07/2015 20:37

I have got a copy of Help I'm a Prisoner in a Toothpaste Factory!

sassytheFIRST · 15/07/2015 20:36

Olga da polga and her boyfriend, Boris da Poris. Was it by the paddington bear chap?

HighOverTheFenceLeapsSunnyJim · 15/07/2015 20:36

Saguaro that rings a bell, did Froggy die?

I remember lots of these books. I just read The Giant Jam Sandwich to DD2 tonight!

I loved Mary and John by Grace James that my grandmother had at her house.

HiawathaDidntBotherTooMuch · 15/07/2015 20:35

I came in to say The Giant Jam Sandwich too. DS absolutely loves it and I have very fond memories of it from infants school.

Don't Forget The Bacon is another one that I have fond memories of.

We've been given a copy of I'll Love You Forever as that was a favourite of a colleague of mine. I can't read it for bawling!

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 15/07/2015 20:34

I read the Cynthia Harnett books, Jeanne - in fact I bought a couple, for nostalgic reasons, last year.

I have all the Moomin books too, LadyPlumpington!

acjfluff · 15/07/2015 20:34

Charlie, Emma and Alberic about 2 children and a dragon. I think there were a couple of sequels too. No idea who they were by and my copies are long gone. I loved them!

bruffin · 15/07/2015 20:34

Books by William Corbin, Horse in the House and Storm.

sassytheFIRST · 15/07/2015 20:34

I liked WhatAMess! Also Bottersnikes and Gumbles - an Australian book about small dragon things that preyed (badly) on the Gumbles which were like guinea pigs. Iirc the Bottersnikes didn't eat the Gumbles, just stuffed them into jam tins???

Spintastic · 15/07/2015 20:34

The three robbers

What a mess the good

DeeWe · 15/07/2015 20:33

Posted too soon again.

Jacob two two and the hooded fang.

GiantGaspingSatanicCyst · 15/07/2015 20:33

AmeliaPeabody I had (and loved) the Story of Ping too.

And HarryLimeFoxtrot omg yes to Eric the Wild Car! Wish I had kept my copy, you can't get it anywhere these days.

Morebiscuitsplease · 15/07/2015 20:33

Ant and Bee........wished I could get it for my children ????

Raahh · 15/07/2015 20:33

catrin- I loved 'What-a-mess' ! Frank Muir used to read it on Jackanory. Grin