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Children's books

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Original poster

What is your favourite children's book when you were a child,,?

130 replies

BabyBearRus · 01/11/2021 03:49

What is the best children's book of all time? Any reason why?

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Samsara12 · 01/11/2021 19:50

Mr men

Snoopsnoggysnog · 01/11/2021 19:50

Gosh I forgot about Jean Ure.

KM Peyton - forgot about those too! I loved Pennington and did she also write Dear Fred?

Adored Ramona Quimby, and Anastasia Krupnik.

dementedma · 01/11/2021 19:49

A book called Pondus the Penguin, which no-one has ever heard of.
Likewise the Little Pete stories by Leila Berg which were read to us in school.
The Mary Plain books.

Wonder if any other MNers have heard of these?

Snoopsnoggysnog · 01/11/2021 19:46

Also LOVED Judy Blume and Enid Blyton so much.

Snoopsnoggysnog · 01/11/2021 19:46

@lots33

The Family at Redroofs - Enid Blyton The Long Winter - Laura Ingalls Wilder Charlotte Sometimes - Penelope Farmer Back Home - Michelle Magorian Find a Stranger Say Goodbye - Lois Lowry The railway Children- E Nesbitt

Loved reading as a child and still reread all of the above.

I was coming on to say Back Home as well. Goodnight mr Tom by the same author seems to be more well known but Back Home is absolutely wonderful. I re read it every year.
StrychnineInTheSandwiches · 01/11/2021 19:42

@Swingoutsistersledge2

My teenage years favourite book which I still have and will pass on to my 12 year old DD is .. Are you there God its me Margaret . Such a brilliant book for a teenage girl I still love it.
God, I loved that book so much. New school, boys, parents, boobs - it covered it all and so well. Blume was/is such a talent.

This was the edition I had.

What is your favourite children's book when you were a child,,?
Blabla81 · 01/11/2021 19:19

Malory Towers
The tiger who came to tea.

MummyJ12 · 01/11/2021 19:17

All of the Roald Dahl books. I especially loved the BFG and The Witches.
Also loved a series of books called The Learning Tree, where a speaking tree teaches morality to a couple of kids. Completely random but I loved and learned from them!

Swingoutsistersledge2 · 01/11/2021 19:15

My teenage years favourite book which I still have and will pass on to my 12 year old DD is .. Are you there God its me Margaret . Such a brilliant book for a teenage girl I still love it.

Justjoinedforthis · 01/11/2021 19:15

Another vote for The Phantom Tollbooth, what a stonker!

Neolara · 01/11/2021 19:14

All of the books by Antonia Forest.
Famous five.

NerrSnerr · 01/11/2021 19:09

I also forgot about the Ramona books. I loved them.

JoanOgden · 01/11/2021 19:08

@Etherealhedgehog

Love that the Little White Horse has already had multiple mentions - that's my second favourite, topped only by Linnets and Valerians by the same author. *@YouHaveNoAuthorityHereJackie* *@DoesHePlayTheFiddle* if you haven't read it I would highly recommend seeking out a copy - I might comfort read both this winter
So happy to find a fellow lover of Linnets and Valerians! I love A City of Bells by Elizabeth Goudge too.
Eileen101 · 01/11/2021 19:07

I was a child of the 90s and for me it was:
Anything Enid blyton - I think we had all of them! From the enchanted wood/faraway tree to the famous five.
Goodnight Mr Tom
Carrie's war
Ballet shoes
Roald Dahl
Harry potter - as a teen
Sweet valley high - used to borrow my sister's.

All of these were read multiple times over. I could never comprehend that people would only read s book once.
I read a lot and I'm excited for my kids and all the great fiction they have to come.

Imissmoominmama · 01/11/2021 19:06

There are many, many favourites, so I’ll pick one. The Quangle Wangle’s Hat, by Edward Lear. The version I had had wonderful illustrations, which I’d look at for hours.

Ididanamechange · 01/11/2021 19:06

I loved bimbo and topsy by Enid Blyton, lassie come home, the enchanted horse which is just a beautiful story and midnight dancer- also about a horse. Definitely an animal theme going on here. I've kept all of these in the hope that when my kids are older they might read them too.

Swingoutsistersledge2 · 01/11/2021 19:04

The children of Willow farm absolutley idyllic to me when I was young . Attic bedrooms Cherry trees, long hot summers , cool lemonade all on the farm and rolling green hills ...and their mother was never shouty or stressed Grin

Forgothowmuchlhatehomeschoolin · 01/11/2021 19:03

The Magic Faraway Tree

TheVanguardSix · 01/11/2021 18:54

I grew up in America so my likes will be different. Also I am a child of the 70s/80s.
When I was very small, Where the Wild Things Are, Are You My Mother? and also, Go, Dog. Go! were and remain favourites.
Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little were my favourites around ages 6-7.
Judy Blume books in primary school (especially around age 9-10).
I never even knew about Enid Blyton Isn't that crazy? She's such a legend here and yet, I'd never even heard of her back home in the States. I'd never even heard of her as a single woman here in the UK. It really wasn't until I had my own children going to school that I'd heard of Enid Blyton. It sounds ignorant of me, I know. But I guess she didn't have an impact on American readers.

Tempusfudgeit · 01/11/2021 18:45

Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden and The Little Wooden Horse by Ursula Moray Williams. Sigh.

MargaretThursday · 01/11/2021 18:44

Too many to count. I think probably easier to go down by authors, as I often had multiple books I loved from each:
Elizabeth Goudge
Monica Edwards
Enid Blyton
Malcolm Saville
George McDonald
Geoffrey Trease
Noel Streatfield
Joan Aiken
Pamela Brown
I could continue...

Etonmessisyum · 01/11/2021 18:41

Fave was matildas own special plate
But Mrs pepperpot, the borrowers, faraway tree, Mallory towers, st Claire’s, chalet school, I read a lot it was my escape from bullying. Another favourite was a book called see you Thursday and I liked Jean Ure
I still read loads, my sons love faraway tree too..it’s nice rediscovering my fave childhood books with them.

Great thread it’s so nice to be reminded of some books I’ve forgotten I loved

LadyCampanulaTottington · 01/11/2021 18:38

Obviously my iPhone is culturally disconnected and autocorrected Roald to Ronald Hmm

LadyCampanulaTottington · 01/11/2021 18:37

Anything by Ronald Dahl or Judy Blume.

I loved Woof by Allan Ahlberg. I still have a copy and read it every year. A boy who turns into dog?! It doesn’t get much better than that Grin

Wbeezer · 01/11/2021 18:33

Another fan of The Little White Horse here, think I might go and read it again now!
Reread all my KM Peyton books over Lockdown, Fly by Night and The Team, the Flambards books and the Pennington books.
Loved Swallows and Amazons too.

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