to ask you for favourite novel as a child?

[grapeswithseeds]

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

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

Good to see the Jennings books mentioned! They were so good.

Malory towers -I was desperate to go to boarding school, thank god my parents were poor

I wanted to go to boarding school as well !
I met someone who did go and she loved it. She said it was a bit like the books!
My family used to just roll their eyes at me as we couldn't afford a car let alone a private boarding school ! Lol ( plus I was thick! )

Flossie Teacake’s Fur Coat when I was younger, and Sweet Valley Twins.

Then Flowers in the Attic - wtf was that about?!

Also remember the book mentioned by a PP about the girls that got made to go to Yemen and get married, can’t remember what it was called though.

'That Hideous Strength' by C S Lewis. It was in a bundle of books my cousin gave me to me when I was about nine and I read it umpteen times. As I got older I understood it better of course but I found it 'unputodownable' from the start. 'The Arabian Nights' and 'Just So Stories' were also favourites.

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge.

I had different favourites at different times.

When I was very small, I loved Alison Uttley's Little Grey Rabbit books, and Beatrix Potter.

Around 5 or 6, I moved on to Paddington, and at 7-9, all the Swallows and Amazons books, Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. At 10, I fell in love with The Once and Future King, The Hobbit and Rosemary Sucliff's ancient Rome books (Eagle of the 9th?) and discovered Sherlock Holmes. Thereafter it was Lord of the Rings and Agatha Christie and then I moved on to adult fiction.

I also read a lot of mythology. I was obsessed by it, for some reason.

I think I was probably a strange child, and the fact that I was an only child until I was nearly 10, and we didn't have a tv until I was 9, probably didn't help! I could read fairly well by the time I started school at 5.

Oh, and in my desperation to find something to read, I picked up my dad's copy of one of the James Bond books around 9 or 10, which led to some discussion between my parents as to whether they were suitable. By that time, I'd read one (Thunderball, I think) and moved on to Casino Royale.

Ballet shoes
Gemma
Swish of the curtain
Mallory Towers
Pippi Longstocking
Miss Happiness and Miss Flower - Rumer Godden
The Diddakoi
Gobbolina

Lorna Hill ballet books, What Katy Did, Heidi, Little Women, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen - that was exciting! Ballet Shoes and anything theatrical. Started on Daphne du Maurier quite young too.
And the Scarlet Pimpernel books, and Children of the New Forest. Still like a proper story.

I remember reading a lot of Enid Blyton, especially Secret Seven, Wishing Chair and Faraway Tree
Brer Rabbit
Finn Family Moomintroll I really loved
Nancy Drew mysteries
Pegasus
The Red Pony, John Steinbeck
Narnia series

Chalet school and Malory Towers
Famous Five
Heidi ( I was given the first one as a school prize in year 2 and was hooked!)
Narnia
The Borrowers
and some pony books that I can't remember the names of!

Several of my favourites have already been mentioned, but here are some others that I loved:

The Emerald Crown ~ Violet Needham
The Children of the New Forest ~ Frederick Marryat
The Silver Sword ~ Ian Serraillier
Coral Island ~ R. Ballantyne
Treasure Island ~ R. L. Stevenson

And a little later, Ivanhoe ~ Walter Scott

I was also a dedicated Biggles fan, and also gobbled up Lorna Hill's books!

I liked Enid Blyton. All the series really. I also like the Anne of Green Gables series. Lorna Hill too.

I loved Goodnight Mr Tom and anything by Judy Bloom

The Secret Garden and Black Beauty.

Londonmummy67

The young Elizabeth

Can you say more about this book? I had a book on young Liz and lost it. But as far as I remember it was quite in depth, mentioned the hassle she got from some men? I was about 12 when read it, very detailed and I don't think something an 'infant' could read?
I've been trying to find the one I read for years but don't know the author. Thanks.

Anne of Green Gables
All of the Swallows and Amazons books
Little Women
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Five Children and It
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

also read and re-read Anne Frank's diary multiple times but that's obviously not a work of fiction.

The Island Bus by Elizabeth Beresford as a younger child.
Adrian Mole age 13 and 3/4 as a teenager.

The Enchanted Wood
Famous Five
Secret Seven
Malory Towers
Twins at St Clares
Saddle Club
Babysitters Club
Sweet Valley Twins

National Velvet by Enid Bagnold.

The Narnia books
Famous Five
Secret Seven
Five children and It
My friend Jennings
The Secret Island
The Secret Garden
What Katy Did
When Marnie was there

Most of the authors already mentioned, but others I loved:

Merlin's Magic by Helen Clare (also wrote Five Dolls in a House)
Jane's First Term by Nancy Catty
A Dream in the House by Josephine Poole (disappointing as adult re-read)

Vanity Fair or The Moonstone (yes, I was quite a weird child...)

Peter Rabbit and Little Grey Rabbit as a small child, then Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield which I read again and again. I'm still gutted my name isn't Posy.

Also loved Mrs Pepperpot.