Which books from your childhood would you like to re-read?

[Idontknowhatnametochoose]

I'm feeling quite down lately and been thinking I'd like to re visit some of the books I loved as a child. At the moment I want to read...

Enid Blyton:

Adventure series, starting with The Island of Adventure.
St Clares series
Mystery series starting with The Burnt Cottage.

Patricia St John:

Treasures of the snow
The Tanglewoods Secret

Jill Murphy:

The Worst Witch

Just wondered if anyone else is re - reading old books?

I have very fond memories of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. I was a little too old to read it as a child, but my eldest daughter was having it read to her in school (she was about seven or eight and it was a chapter a day, part of 'reading time' when they all sat on the carpet and had a story before going home). My daughter begged me to buy the book because she couldn't stand the suspense of having to wait for the next reading time to find out what happened next.

I bought the book and she read it herself before we'd even got it home. Then I read it and loved it too!

@chattyness
I've got a couple of suggestions having gone through my selection of books.

This one looks the most likely - I haven't got it, but the blurb was in the back of another I have by the same author.
Pony Watch by Elinor Havers

Another I had is 3 New Pony Stories and the second one (my dd has the book and tells me) has a pony called Whitesocks. I couldn't find a copy on line to look at, but I'll ask her to have a look through when she wakes up (sent me a text at 2am this morning so not imminently!)

Oh I am so sorry! I thought you meant you had already read it and was now reading it to your DS.

My most sincere apologies.

No!!! You’re right I have read it as a child, I knew it was coming. I meant that I know I will be crying and ds looking at me gone out. We actually read that bit last night and I did cry 😢 RIP Onkel Juilius .

That scene touched me so deeply.

Did you read the 'sequel'. I knew it as 'The Other Way Round' but it seems to be published now as 'The Bombs on Aunt Dainty' and I have just discovered there was a third book as well which I did not know. The second one is more for young adults. I forsee a bit of a book buying spree coming on for me!

Then her brother Max IRL became the very distinguished judge Sir Michael Kerr.

Amazing family.

Also- earlier a PP talked about Jane Badger who is re-printing some of the old pony books. I am on her facebook page and it is such a wonderful community!

No need to look any further, this is it thank you @MargaretThursday I think my old memory mixed up the story summary a wee bit as I think I would have been about 8 or 9 when I read it) so that's why I couldn't find it while hunting around, but now thanks to your post, I've found the below summary and it is definitely the one because i recognised the other horses names as soon as I saw them, hooray & thank you!
“Mandy and Michael Foster live on Exmoor. Their father has a farm. So many of his sheep have been stolen that Mr Foster is seriously thinking of leaving Exmoor and going to a city to live. So Mandy and Michael, on Inkspot and Chipmunk, their friend Sally on her Exmoor Whitestock, and Neil on Sinbad, his father’s hunter, form a band of mounted vigilantes to patrol the moor at dawn,
and catch the sheep stealing gang red handed.”

Does anyone remember Private - Keep Out by Gwen Grant? There were a couple of sequels too. I loved them all.

@MargaretThursday is your username from the Noel Stretfield book?

Practically all of them! I think Antonia Forest would be my first choice-I’ve just re read them for what must be the 100th time. Noel Stretfield and Monica Edwards. KM Peyton. So many!

I am right now actually - I’ve dug out and am reading my childhood favourites to my daughter. Currently reading “The Runaways”.

Ah - Sweet Valley High, I was trying to remember what the series was called!

Earlier on, I loved The Magic Faraway Tree books. Sardine ice cream has just popped into my head (?).
Mrs Pepperpot
The Secret Garden.

I skipped Nancy Drew because I was too busy with The Hardy Boys 🤣

I'd quite like to revisit Judy Blume's books. They seemed quite the eye opener for a 12 year old back then!

Loved all the Enid Blyton books. Would love to find old versions of these and read them again. Also the Sweet Valley High series. I wish I had kept mine .

A Vicarage Family. Noel Stretfeild. I was a vicarage family in London in the 70s/early 80s and I loved it, but it had a devastating ending.

Enid Blyton is great to read as a child but awful to read as an adult.

I think some Follyfoot episodes are on YouTube. I think they were still quite grim but the books were traumatic, threatening to melt the hooves down into glue.

Yes!

@MargaretThursday the plot came flooding back to me. I loved that book 😀

I'm inclined to agree. The one I read was disappointing, quite different from how I remembered it. I think it depends though. I still adore the malory towers and St Clare series.

Sounds familiar. I'm sure I've read it.

Enid Blyton is great to read as a child but awful to read as an adult.

I still enjoy The Wishing Chair, The Faraway Tree and the Adventure series. I always preferred the Chalet School to EB's school stories.

The Adventure series is probably her best, and the Secret series, despite the dodgy racial politics. Rereading the Famous Five, you spend half the time suppressing the urge to shout ‘Just shut the fuck up, Julian!’