Obscure children's books that you used to love

[LadyPlumpington]

Mine is 'The Island of the Skog' by Steven Kellogg. The DC love it too :)

What are your old obscure favourites?

It was sassy, it was my favourite as a kid. Don't forget Noel the cat and Fangio the hedgehog.

Am amazed (and pleased) so many others have heard of it too!

Hafferty Hamster - it was series and was AWESOME!! Tried to track it down but it's out of print. I have it on my amazon wish list for second hand copies. Oh Hafferty!!!

Another that I really liked was "Incident at Hawk's Hill" (a Canadian book) that was read to my class at school - it really stuck with me. I read it again as an adult, and though I liked it, it didn't have quite as much an impression. But I have tried reading it to children nowadays, and none of them have got very far - too much description for them to pay attention to.

SDTG - awesome.

Is Froggy's Little Brother the one that comes up in Lark Rise to Candleford? (I love it when books cross-reference.)

Cora Ravenwing by Gina Wilson. Beautiful, heartbreaking book and no one else has ever heard of it.

laura!

It was another 'Jackanory' favourite- seemed to crop up a lot.

I remember Olga de Polga!

I used to like the My Best Fiend books by Sheila Lavelle. They are about the friendship between two girls - Charlie Evans and a very mischievous, devious little girl called Angela. I used to love reading about their adventures.

I liked another series of books, by the same author. They are about a little girl called Ursula who, by magic can change into a bear.

LauraChant I say your name and you appear! Presume it's a tribute to The Changeover? If so here's a

While you are all here, I wonder if anyone remembers a book about some children who went into space. It is possible they made their own spaceship but definitely ended up on an empty spaceship which was carrying nuclear waste to the sun to burn up. There was a case with THTH written on which, it was explained, meant Too Hot To Handle. Nobody remembers this! I thought it was on Jackanory and have been through the listings for every Jackanory aired since I was born but couldn't find it...

DH loved The Giant Jam Sandwich so much as a child that MIL bought our DCs a copy.

I was a big Noggin the Nog fan as well, I only have one book though so was very disappointed to find out that they are out of print as DD is just at the stage to read them for herself.

Another set of books I was very, very disappointed to find is out of print are the Lorna Hill Sadlers Wells books - I have some but not all.

And this thread has just got me to check my two favorite Rosemary Sutcliff books - The Armourer's House is on kindle so I've just downloaded it, but The Queen Elizabeth Story is still out of print.

Anyone remember the Mary Plain books? The Owl Man and the Fur Coat lady were in them. I have a couple of the books and loved them as a child.

A book my mothers friend gave us, about a little frog in a lake who cried about his water being polluted by a big factory to some children and then became ill and I think died.

I remember being both horrified and obsessed by it. Wish I could remember the name if it.

I loved reading that book about the golden hare...Masquerade?

And then, it was pretty obscure at the time, I found "Are you there god it's me Margaret in the library. Was quite shocking at my age to read about sanitary towel belts and periods.
I bought a copy in Dubai but it was updated and not the same.

I have my original Anelia Jane books, and The Adventurous Four by Enid Blyton. The last one is just pure war propaganda.

It is a tribute to the Changeover - I love it and wish there had been a sequel!

The Bagthorpe Saga. Not obscure really but no one in RL I know has ever read them.

I loved a book called Cherries in Search of a Captain, about guides who need a leader. I loved that book. Also Tales of Brave Adventure by Enid Blyton, a retelling of Robin Hood and King Arthur.

magic, you can sometimes get them in charity books - but also, these are cute. Dunno how they'd be for a child in 2015, but I love them.

Love the Armourer's House. And Brother Dusty Feet.

I liked Last of the Great Whangdoodles, Raahh! (Didn't he have a flower stencilled on his front tooth or something...?)

Yes, Olga da Polga is by Michael Bond. Our copies are shedding pages by now. Lovely pictures of the enthusiastic Olga, plus permanently pissed-off Noel the Cat.

I loved the audiobook cassettes of 'Jinky Natures Stories' by Enid Blyton- it's only available for silly money now though and would be a disappointment if I heard it again.

There is a book I liked that I don't remember the name of, the letters of the alphabet go missing and have to be found and there was a character called the worst brat which was a German sausage pun.

I love The Giant Jam Sandwich and Thursdays Child and Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden. I had a book with no words called A boy a Dog and A Frog with lovely illustrations. I once saw a copy for sale on the Southbank but had no cash on me to buy it from the stall. Just seen it on amazon and have to get it

Meyouandbootoo, Hafferty Hamster's First Christmas is one of my childhood favourites! It's one of my rituals to reread it every December (am nearly 40 ??)

Not that kind of rabbit
Have never found it

raahh I came on this thread to mention Rebecca's World. I had a hard back copy that l I borrowed over and over again from the library and I loved it so much. I too tried find a copy via eBay or Amazon and was astonished at the price (£80 or similar) and I do find it odd that it's not reprinted. I remember so much of it. Still bit scared of the couple who feed sweets and say it's ok not to brush your teeth! Would love to read it to my DDs.

I seem to have most of these. Humphrey, isn't the Bagthorpe saga the one with ordinary Jack, and his infuriating siblings who all have several strings to their bows?

Miss Fanshawe and the Great Dragon Adventure. I'm not sure how obscure it actually is but I don't know anyone else who's read it! I would spend hours reading and re-reading it and looking at all the detail in the beautiful illustrations

Thursday's Child and Thursday's Children are different - Thursday's Child is Noel Streatfield, and it's quite positive really. Thursday's Children is much darker.