to ask you for favourite novel as a child?

[grapeswithseeds]

For me it was probably The Famous 5 series, I love adventure!

@gingercatsarebest I loved that book! We had to read it for school but I read it over and over! Fantastic book xx

Ant and Bee
Bobby Brewster

Oh, how could I forget Robert Westall! Especially Devil on the Road though that's more of a young adult book.

I don't know if the Children's Book Fair at Weymouth still happens. It was in the Pavilion. Can't remember the time of year, but I think maybe spring. Certainly not during the summer season, anyway.

Charlotte Sometimes, Marianne Dreams, The Girl in the Opposite Bed, When Marnie was There.

All the Mallory Towers and Secret Seven, Famous Five, Anne of Green Gables.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Set in 1832, Charlotte Doyle is a young teen (13) travelling from her boarding school in England to her family in Rhode Island.

Charlotte is a lone passenger with a cruel captain and a mutinous crew. After a while, abandoning all her values and manners, Charlotte is forced to choose sides and take a stand. Her ocean crossing turns into a harrowing journey, and Charlotte is forced to grow up when she is put on trial for murder.

snog ‘Ant and Bee’ yes ! Recently discovered mi first editions when clearing things from my late mothers house. I remembered a lot of the illustrations really clearly. Loved them.

The comment about reading fast reminded me as a teenager I went through a full Duncton Wood trilogy in about 10 days, I was on french exchange and my family whilst nice weren't too fussed about entertaining me, when we had free time at home (French exchange partner was a boy which didn't help massively even though he was pleasant enough) but those books were a good 2-3 inches thick each. Think Watership Down but with moles!

Island of the blue dolphin was one of my absolute favorites from my primary school days. I have just bought it so my own children can enjoy it too (not before I read it first though)

The BFG

Susan Cooper - the Dark is Rising series and Seaward
Alan Garner - Elidor, The Weirdstone of Brisinghamen and The Moon of Gomrath.
The Animals of Farthing Wood
The Redwall series
Children of Green Knowe
The Conjuror's Box
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Sadlers Wells series
Ballet Shoes
Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Pullein-Thompson sisters
The Silver Brumby series
The Jinny at Finmory series
The Black Stallion series
The Chalet School
Trebizon
The Tripods
Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon
The World's End series

@kungfupanda I was interested to see you mention Susan Cooper’s Seaward. It’s much less well known than the brilliant Dark is Rising sequence, but it has a wonderful otherworldly quality. I think it was written in the aftermath of her parents dying.

The Ruby Ferguson 'Jill' books.

I think The Enchanted Wood was my first favourite but I also loved the Mallory Towers, Famous Five, the Secret Seven, Mrs Pepperpot and one called I think the Mystery of the Emerald necklace.

I side with the St Clares and Mallory Towers books. But also The Outsiders by SE Hinton. Infact all her books we're brilliant.

Shoutout for Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (much funnier than Chocolate Factory), and James & the Giant Peach; also Alice Through the Looking Glass - another sequel which is much more interesting than its better-known original.

I also had a book of humorous short stories by Norman someone (?) called The Dribblesome Teapot and other stories. My favourite story was one called 'The unexpected banquet' which my mum and I used to read over & over with tears of laughter.

The Andrew Lang Fairy Books - collections of folk/fairy stories from around the world, mostly the Middle East IIRC. Each book designated by a different colour. Loved those.

Norman someone
Norman Hunter, who also wrote the Professor Branestawm books.

Did anyone else read the Agaton Sax books by Niks Olaf-Franzen?

The Professor Branestawm books were brilliant. Some great names of characters including Mr Chintzbitz, the manager of the local furniture store, the Professor's neighbours Commander Hardaport RN (retired) and Colonel Dedshott of the Catapult Cavaliers. Then there was Mr Pryce-Rize, the supermarket manager.

And the illustrations by Heath-Robinson for all Branestawm's inventions.

Illustrations can be important. Famous Five should be Eileen Soper, not Betty Maxey. Narnia has to be Pauline Baynes. Wind in the Willows and Winnie the Pooh should be EH Shepherd. Ruth Manning-Sanders's various fairy tale books are illustrated by Robin Jacques. Some books just aren't the same with a different illustrator.

The wind singer series
Kensuke's kingdom
Mighty fizz chilla
Mercedes Ice
Meteorite Spoon by Phillip Ridley

The Narnia books - took me years to realize there was a subtext and they were not just fairy stories. I still love them though.

took me years to realize there was a subtext and they were not just fairy stories

It's reassuring to know I wasn't the only one.

Ooh I was only thinking about this last night!

The ones that had the biggest impact on me and I read several times:-

Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer.
Cold Christmas by Nina Beachcroft.

For similar reasons. The both have a great sense of being a child and being uneasy in yourself. Both girls are about the same age. The age when you realise your parents aren't always around to notice you, protect you.

In Cold Christmas the heroine has to spend Christmas with strangers. Her parents are there but she has to play with the children who happen to be there. Used to have to do that occasionally, be expected to go upstairs and play with unknown children . A good lesson in life. Not at Christmas though!

@tobee Did you know Charlotte Sometimes was part of a series with Charlotte and her (not seen in CS) sister in? I also loved CS but didn't know about the other books until recently.

Yes I did know that thanks @TinyMetalBirds. I'd looked up Penelope Farmer a few years ago and found out. I also really liked her book Castle of Bone, but found it quite disturbing as a child!

I haven't read the other two Charlotte/Emma books yet though.