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Original poster

90 most awesome old-school children's books

35 replies

Heated · 04/07/2008 21:27

Just been wallowing in nostalgia.

Do you remember any of these?

OP posts:
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TwoBigNorks · 26/07/2008 15:46

I've still got Susan Pulls the Strings!

cmotdibbler · 07/07/2008 09:44

AbstractMouse - the stamp on hand one sounds like 'The Changeover' by Margaret Mahy - the little brother gets a stamp on his hand in a shop.

BabaYaga · 07/07/2008 07:55

Abstract Mouse: YES! I remember the Willard Price (?) books, safari adventure, underwater adventure etc etc etc with ridiculously young adventurers Hal and Roger Hunt!

nooka · 07/07/2008 01:55

You are thinking about Margaret Mahy. The Tricksters and the Haunting

AbstractMouse · 07/07/2008 00:58

I also vaguely remeber the susan cooper and ursula le guin ones. Tricksters? about 3 people? and also one with a girl/boy who gets a stamp on hand at fair? Ooh and one about a witch with itchy thumbs. Good memory me haha.

AbstractMouse · 07/07/2008 00:55

God I loved the famous five, would love to read them again.

Also loved the worst witch and babysitters club, also point horror lol.

Does anyone remember the series about the brothers, hal and ?, who collected animals for their uncle?

I also loved sue barton, wasn't so much into the ballet and ponies, but was hospitalised at 8 and became obsessed with nurses/doctors lol.

sasquatch · 06/07/2008 23:45

I didnt know there were other carbonel books.
V excited now.

sasquatch · 06/07/2008 23:41

Moomintroll, the owl service , the weirdstone of brisangamen, the phantom tollbooth, those susan cooper ones,and
yes to carbonel, my ds loves this.
those are ones that spring to mind at the mo.

nooka · 06/07/2008 23:38

What on earth are the Dune books doing in that list? They are adult sci-fi/fantasy. I mean I read them as a teenager, but none of the other books on that list were written for adults.

mymblemummy · 06/07/2008 23:22

Oh, I loved and still love heaps of these.

I can't believe no one has mentioned Lucy M Boston for :
The Children of Green Knowe
The Chimneys of Green Knowe
The River at Green Knowe
A Stranger at Green Knowe
An Enemy at Green Knowe
The Stones of Green Knowe.

Or Barbara Sleigh:
Carbonel
The Kingdom of Carbonel
Carbonel and Calidor

Or Rosemary Manning:
Green Smoke
Dragon in Danger
The Dragon's Quest

Or Mary Stewart:
The Little Broomstick

Or EL Konigsberg:
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth and Me

Or Meindert deJong:
The House of Sixty Fathers

I had better go away and do something useful now.

MegSophandEmma · 06/07/2008 20:06

My favs were SVH, SVU and the point horror collection.

cmotdibbler · 06/07/2008 20:02

I've read or have most of them

Girls gone by Publishing are a great source of out of print and hard to find titles.

I have some Drina books, so you aren't alone Bumperlicious

Nice to see Barbara Willard on the list. My grandmother was in service to her family, and she sent a signed copy of each book to her (which I have). 'A Country Maid' is based to some extent on my grandmother - Barbara sent her a lovely letter to explain it all in advance of publication

TotalChaos · 06/07/2008 19:55

what's the cbb forum? I used to have most of the Chalet School books, wish I had kept them rather than donated to charity shops .

heronsfly · 06/07/2008 13:07

My chalet school books ,Drina ect are mostly from my childhood although I have picked up a few in charity shops over the years,I cant believe how much some of them sell for,but mine were and are read for pleasure,and I dont think anyone would want my food,baby sick covered copies .
A great site for chalet school lovers is the cbb forums they have for sale and wanted ect,but also write follow up and alternate stories thenselves.

colditz · 05/07/2008 21:27

The Narnia books, all 7 of them. There isn't one I didn't like, and I think the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe is possibly my least favourite.

The Worst Witch was fab...

The HObbit was fantastic too, and the books about that magic tree (with Moonface et al)

the Famous Five books hold a special glory for me, and Black Beauty, and Watership Down, and The Silver Brumby trilogy.

Can I say the Harry Potter books? As I was only 17 when the first one came out, and was reading them with my little sister....

Just think, I bet there are parents here who read them as children!

TotalChaos · 05/07/2008 21:21

Yes I read all the Drina books too! And loved the Chalet School ones. Fortunately a library in a nearby town had a lot of old hardback ones, so I could read many that weren't current ly in print in the 80s. The Chalet School books were amazing, a window into Europe for me.

Mercy · 05/07/2008 21:15

Awesome is so American. I don't like the term.

Whinge alert

MaryAnnSingleton · 05/07/2008 21:12

anyfule ! I gave my ds the complete works for Christmas

AnyFuleKno · 05/07/2008 20:59

Huzzah for Molesworth, it is brilliant as any fule kno.

Yorky · 05/07/2008 20:49

I read the chalet school books, and the abbey girls by EJOxenham. My mum is kind of colecting the old hard back ones, not 1st editions or anything. There is a group that somehow photocopy the old unavailable ones and republish them as ring bound A4 versions. I'll ask her what they're called when she gets back next week

WendyWeber · 05/07/2008 20:28

Monica Edwards - Punchbowl Farm & Romney Marsh - wonderful...

dilemma456 · 05/07/2008 20:23

Message withdrawn

RustyDaviesBear · 05/07/2008 15:44

For Lorna Hill fans
And other authors

Jux · 05/07/2008 15:26

Molesworth was great; and anything by Diana Wynn Jones - still enjoy reading them. There are quite a few there I never heard of - amazon here I come. Mum would never let us read Enid Blyton, so they mean nothing to me.

MaryAnnSingleton · 05/07/2008 15:01

The Woolpack, The Family from One End Street and the Molesworth books - loved them !