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?

So many awesome ones here!

Fattypuffs and Thinifers - tick
Rebecca's World - tick
The Bagthropes - tick
Marianne Dreams - I recently bought this on Amazon and it's just as good as I remember
Plague 99 - again, for young teens

Horrified at the price of Rebecca's World!

Does anyone remember a book about a blind boy called Jake, who got stuck in a mine and may have been in contact with a trapped spirit/force in there? It was very non-juvenile but aimed at kids.

There was another one about 3 children who uncovered the story of two sisters who were killed as witches in Scotland and the spirits of the sisters were manifesting themselves - notably in one case where the evil sister made the freshly baked bread taste of blood

It was definitely a young teen's book but scared me witless!

Somebody mentioned 99 Dragons - I adored it!

And later, a book called "Alana - the first adventure" , fantasy with magic and Knights and a girl who takes the place of her brother. Loved it, but there was never a second adventure, which I am still gutted about

(Wanders off to google...)

Dug this one out of my bookshelf....

Anyone know The Little Pete stories by Leila Berg?

We still have my 1970s copy of Fattipuffs and Thinnifers Stratter5. I had a school friend whose dad worked for Bodley Head and we always got books for birthday presents!

Gloopy I came on to say Green Smoke and Dragon in Danger by Rosemary Manning. Loved them. Was heartbroken when my parents lent them to the daughter of a friend who lived 100s miles away from us and never returned them, as they went out of print.
We used to go on holiday to Cornwall and I totally believed a dragon would appear if my parents would just go away.

Has no one else read Cora Ravenwing?

Laura wasn't that a Nicholas Fisk book? I can picture the cover.

I got most of the Haffertee Hamster books as Sunday School prizes. "I want to take her home to have her tea"

I have most of the Bagthorpe saga.

Masquerade we had... Do you remember when it was found?

I had "Are you there God" from the library too.

One I loved from the library was called "A bottled cherry angel".

How to eat fried worms - I remember that one!!

DH wishes for me to tell you all that Terry Nation (Rebecca's World author) also wrote Blake's 7

I did also have the obligatory 27 million Point Horror books.

Just thought of another I used to love. Witchdust by Mary Welfare with fab illustrations by Shirley Hughes of the Dogger and Alfie books.

I remember " Not now, Bernard"

Oh my goodness, they did publish the other books!! Thanks for this thread, you've made my evening.

(Am rushing off to Amazon).

My mum has the Giant Jam Sandwich at her house! I have never seen or heard of it anywhere else. She bought it randomly in a charity shop years ago when her first grandchild - now 21! - was, little. All the dgcs have read and loved it since.

Oh, and another set of books... I think about a little girl called Flossie Teacake, (I am only just remembering this now, I could be slightly wrong). I think she could turn into a teenager at any moment, without warning, with funny, and sometimes disastrous consequences.

Also, the Amber Brown books by Paula Danziger.

Used to love The Borrowers series - not so obscure though.

Trebizon (spelling?) Series by Anne Digby, about a girls' boarding school, a bit like Enid Blyton's St Clare's.

Dicey Tylerman books by Cynthia Voyit (sp?). DIcey age 13ish, is abandoned by her mum, who has mh problems. She has to get herself, and her siblings, across America, on very little money. She is aiming to get to her Grandmother's home.

Izzy Willy-Nilly (title?) By the same author, about a teenager, involved in a car crash, who loses her leg.

The Runaways? - Half remembered, about 3 kids who get kidnapped in a caravan? My memories of this one are slightly less reliable!!!

The Happy Orpheline
NB Do you mind if we move this out of chat - looks like a lovely thread to keep

Daft - Yes - but there were four of the books! The first one is where she trains to be a knight and her brother studies as a sorceror, and then there were more as well; they were still available last time I had a look.

So many on here are bringing back fond memories

I love the Olga books, I think we have one somewhere.

There's been a Moomintroll anniversary and there's a beautiful hardback edition of her original newspaper cartoons in a slipcase. About £50.00 though

I used to love the Sam Pig books and borrow them over and over again from the library. There was also a series about twins from different countries. Each book had a boy/girl pair and they led really outdated stereotypical lives, totally un-PC for nowadays. I still loved them though and was delighted to find some secondhand ones a few years ago.

One of my favourites was The Children on the Oregon Trail based on a true story of a family of children who left their wagon caravan when their parents died and walked across part of America enduring really bad hardships.

Hmm, will have to re-read a few of these.

Did anyone read the Tripods trilogy? I thought the first book was the best but that the series ended poorly.

MummyWeeble I read The Tennis Term at Trebizon about a million times! Loved that series.

The Bagthorpes, I'd been trying to remember the name of that series.

I've also got a copy of Fattypuffs and Thinifers. Emma Kennedy talks about reading it on one of her disastrous family holidays in The Tent, The Bucket and Me.

I heartily provide my consent Olivia

Oooh, Children on the Oregon Trail - they had a baby sister called Independentia! That name's due a comebacck, surely.....

I quite enjoyed Trebizon, a bit less po-faced than Blyton.

The Voyage of QV66 - one of Penelope Lively's children's books. Brilliantly funny. Has anyone else ever read it?

I read everything by Paula Danziger and all the Trebizon books MummyWeeble.

I never realised Flossie Teacake was from a book. That was what my grandfather used to call my rabbit!

and also 'The Queen's Nose' - Dick King-Smith.

A book called "Comfort Herself" about a child whose mum died and she had to move to Ghana. Loved it.

Also Trebizon too.