Reading Children's Books as an Adult

I re-read my favourite children's books when I'm ill, or tired, or stressed, or because it's Tuesday.

I have books I read every Christmas (Dark is Rising, End of Term).

I haven't seen anyone mention my most read book - Cue for Treason.

I've reread all my favourite childhood books. It's lovely.

I haven't re-read any of my childhood favourites but this is tempting me so much as I'm stressed out and need the escape.
I do have Holes as mentioned earlier as my son loved it when they studied it in English a year or so ago...I watched the film and I think it's a great story.
I have recently listened to the BBC radio dramatisation of Tom's Midnight Garden as the kids listened on a long journey...that's one I definitely would like to read for myself. Somehow it seems a lot of classics passed me by as a child so I'll save this thread for future reference.

Moondial
The Family From One End Street
Stig of the Dump
Carrie's War
The Turbulant Term of Tyke Tyler
Ballet Shoes
The Growing Summer
A Traveller in Time
The Way to Sattin Shore
The Dolphin Crossing

Loved this so much! Disagree with many of her TV reviews, but this was just a wonderful and nostalgic read.

You can't go wrong with Noel Streatfeild. Ballet Shoes is one of the great comfort reads for me. My all-time favourite, though, is Party Frock.

How could I have forgotten Eagle of the Ninth! Love this book

May I recommend Lucy Mangan, Bookworm - A Memoir of Childhood Reading, to you all? A real joy that had me reading many old favourites.
I’m just about to start Bookish, her adult equivalent. Just waiting for a rainy day and an empty house!

Second this suggestion. What a great imagination she has. I also love Philip Reeve.

If you like,history, try Rosemary Sutcliffe , absolutely cracking books (Eagle of the Ninth,the Lantern bearers etc).

Lots of great classics already mentioned. I want to put in a plug for a modern author I love - Frances Hardinge. Her fantasy books are ‘for children’ but are definitely worth reading as an adult.

@squashyhat that's probably my second favourite AR book, my favourite one is Winter Holiday

I used to help in DC's school, one thing I helped with was listening to book reviews from children on books they had read. If it was a book I hadn't read or an author I did not know and it sounded interesting I would get a copy of the book or another by the author for myself. Also sometimes would get a copy of the class reading book if I hadn't read that. Somehow, I had missed reading (or seeing tv version) of Goodnight Mr Tom when I was younger, they read part of it in DS's class but didn't finish it so got a copy for home and read it to DS, when I was reading the end bit I had to stop as was crying too much!

I recently re-read The Naughtiest Girl in the School and one of the Milly-Molly-Mandy books (really showing my age here! 😄) as well as Wish For a Pony which was a big fave when I was a horse-obsessed kid. Just fancied re-visiting them, and thoroughly enjoyed doing so.

am with everyone else on here!
I collect first edition children's books - and there are loads from previous decades which have been forgotten in addition to the well known ones, they are often very well written - unlike a lot of modern literature which seems to be written by a dyslexic chatGPT!

No, not weird at all. C S Lewis was a professor at Oxford yet he re-read Squirrel Nutkin every Autumn to get him in the mood for the season. He said that if a book is worth reading at one age it is worth reading at any age.

Personally, I love the Narnia books, and also The Wind in the Willows and Roald Dahl’s stuff.

I don't know if this a great observation but in the main children's books are written by adults so I don't see how it can't go both ways to be an adult reader of them.

Yes yes yes to Tom's Midnight Garden!

And do read as much Diana Wynne Jones as you can lay your hands on. Some more YA that children's books but all superb.

I first read Anne of green gables as an adult and loved it.

There is little more comforting when life is getting beyond you than sitting down and reading (or re reading) children's books.

Thanks to a very very lovely Mnetter, I recently reacquired copies of the Mr Whisper books which I adored utterly as a child and have now spent many happy hours losing myself in the stories again. I regularly re read some of the fantasy books that transported me as a child (Silver Snaffles is adorable still), and have many others on my shelves that I have re-bought as an adult.

Excellent taste. If I could only read one author for the rest of my life Arthur Ransome would be a strong contender. Missee Lee for me, followed by Pigeon Post, but it gets difficult to choose after that.

I have the complete set of Arthur Ransome books left to me by my Mum and they are my go-to comfort reads. My user name tells you my favourite one 🙂

I’m listening to Just William by Richmal Compton in my car at the moment.

And I read Tom’s Midnight Garden about once every five years.

I think it's odd when adults only read children's books - I know a few who have only read the harry Potter books and never read otherwise.
However re-reading a childhood favourite is different. I recently read and enjoyed Holes, a YA book and I have a copy of E. Nesbitt's The Phoenix and the Carpet tbr. I last read it when I was about 7 in 1965.

I remember reading several of those as a young child - I was quite advanced for my age back then and read a heck of a lot. I remember them being not half as childish as a lot of books for my age group at the time. I'd also recommend the What Katy Did books. I may even re-read some of the books mentioned in this thread again - if I ever get through the hundreds that are already on my Kindle just waiting to be read!!