What really stands out when you think of your childhood books?

[invisiblegorilla]

For me:

The Chalet School series. The early ones, when Jo was still a pupil! I brought them second hand. Eustacia, Elisaveta and so on. I remember when Jo and co. were given their prefect rooms in the new building and being in love with the descriptions/idea of it all.

Nancy Drew. Can't remember which ones, it's just a lot of investigations and stories blended it together in my memory.

The Chronicles of Narnia. I found the last book a little strange, but I read the first three over and over again.

And anything by Roald Dahl. There's a lot more (anything to do with boarding schools and midnight feasts had me obsessed) but I'm curious about what books other people remember the most.

The late Madeleine L'Engle wrote a number of books in that series, of which A Wrinkle in Time was only one. My favourite work by her was the Austin family series, beginning with the first book 'Meet the Austins'. It is very sensitively written and is remarkable for L'Engle's ability to create a family that have an almost palpable love for each other, without being corny or preachy. We all hope we can love and be friends with our siblings and our children, not to mention having a close and loving respect for our parents, but L'Engle seems to have quite specific ideas for how this can and does sometimes happen.

What modernuriaheep listed
also
Little Grey Rabbit

RL Stephenson: Robinson Crusoe
Swiss family Robinson
the Warden's Niece
Treasure Island
Grimms fairy tales
Lots of Dickens
Lots of poetry
the Three Musketeers
the Black Tulip
the Children of the New Forest
Narnia, Tolkein, Chalet School, Secret seven, Famous five, Nancy Crew, Swallows and Amazons, Little Women, Emil and the Detectives, the Subtle Knife, Noel Streatfield, the Secret Garden, Anne Franks Diary, Evelyn Waugh, Somerset Maugham, EM forester.. after about 11 anything on the parental book shelf

Spot the dog
Horrid Henry
the Mousehole Cat
Ant and Bee

Joan Lingard, Natasha's Will, about a girl born into the Russian aristocracy who flees to France with her family. Loved that book. Was about 12 when I first got it in a charity shop.

Ah, this thread brings back memories.

I'm also a lover (still!) of Traveller in Time - anyone remember the drama series? Also serialised at about the same time was Midnight is a Place. I read both of them after seeing the TV series.

Early childhood favourites were My Naughty Little Sister, Teddy Robinson and Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse. Forward to:

Wheel on the School
Lottie and Lisa
Charlotte Sometimes
The Silver Sword
A Little Princess
A Wrinkle in Time
Time to go Back
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Masha
One More River
Summer of my German Soldier.

We read The Owl Service at school and it stands out, but not in a good way - I was seriously freaked out by it.

I re-read endlessly two volumes of short stories. One was a kind of 'stories for girls' volume which included a creepy story (reminiscent of Jinty comics) where a spoilt 20th-century girl who expects her mother to wait on her hand and foot happens upon a ruined old house and goes back in time, getting trapped as the servant of a querulous old woman. The other, which I think was a collection of one particular author, had a girl who goes back in time for short hops within her lifetime and re-lives (among other things) being a baby and realising there are secrets in her family. Yep, I liked time travel!

Oh, and I didn't know A Wrinkle in Time was part of a series. What are the others? [Goes off to google the Austin family...]

Also a book no one ever remembers - was also a TV series. Seven Little Australians - a kind of Aussie Little Women and a complete sob-fest. Wlt know if anyone else read it.

Alan Garner's books really freaked me out too morningtoncrescent, though I enjoy them now. The Owl Service and Elidor were terrifying. There's another, called The Stone Book I think that's just as well written but not at all scary.

I remember Seven Little Australians, Merrylegs. We had a box set of four hardbacks (A4 kind of size) when I was growing up - one was Seven Little Australians, one was Swiss Family Robinson and I can't for the life of me remember what the other two were. They were lovely editions, with full-page colour pictures which was quite unusual back then for anything other than Ladybird books! I don't remember the TV series though.

One book that stands out in my memory wasn't a child's book, but it was an abridged book done about the size of a ladybird book, and at some point someone (probably df going by size,rather than anything else) had put it in with them.
Me, aged about 7 or 8 came searching for something new to read, and chanced upon it. Spent the afternoon reading it, and the evening asking questions of dm who had a bit of a shock...

Book was called"Corrie", shortened down from Corrie ten Boom's autobiography.
Imprisoned in a concentration camp during WWII for hiding Jews.

Two bits stand out for me. Where she is released and limps out and goes to a house, who doesn't know her, but takes her in and brings her some very plain biscuits to eat, explaining that her stomach won't be able to cope with anything rich, and she's just overcome with emotion that they care enough to think about such things.

The other is after the war, she's been speaking about her experience, and at the end someone cones up to thank her, she goes to take their hand, and looks into their face and realises it is one of the guards from the concentration camp.

The book had disappeared the next time I went to look for it (must ask some time where dm put it) and I've often thought about getting the full version to read. I guess part of me wonders if I would find it such an amazing book again.

Rupert the bear annuals

Many, many of those above - also Elizabeth Enright's Melendy Family series. Plus I had a book by EB White, who wrote Charlotte's Web, but it was another title - will have to check when I'm back home.

Loved KM Peyton - Flambards was good, but preferred the ones about Ruth Hollis (Fly-by-Night etc), Pennington and Prove Yourself a Hero, as well as the various historical ones.

Margaret Mahy - particularly the Changeover.

Someone mentioned GR Kesteven above - the one I reread a few times was the Pale Invaders.

Rosemary Manning - the Green Dragon series

Ruth Manning-Sanders - all her fairy story books, but they have to have the Robin Jacques illustrations.

Roger Lancelyn Green's Tales of the Greek Heroes is mainly responsible for me taking Latin to A-level (Greek wasn't an option.)

Ernest Thomson Seton.

Kipling's Just So Stories, with the great grey green greasy Limpopo river.

I went to the Snowy Mountains when I went to Australia purely because of Elyne Mitchell. I did see wild brumbies, though not a silver one.

One day, I shall go to Prince Edward Island for LM Montgomery and also Rocky Ridge for Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I read loads of Enid Blyton, Diana Wynne Jones, loads of those mentioned above, especially pony and ballet books and adventures. We didn't have a TV, so I read loads (including stuff handed down from parents and grandparents.) And my first job was Saturday girl in the library.

Stig of the Dump - Clive King
Yy to Laura Ingalls Wilder & all the Little House on the Prairie books
The Winter of Enchantment by Victoria someone-or-other about a boy called Sebastien. It had beautiful drawings which were also by the author and I remember thinking how fortunate she was to have 2 great talents.
The Family From One End Street
The Treasure Seekers, 5 Children and It and pretty much anything else by E N Nesbit
A book of short stories, the 1st of which was about a sandcastle which set like concrete when the tide came in, rather than get washed away.
The Borrowers

Ooh yes, Masha, The Meindert de Jongs, just made DH read The Warden's Niece and his response was to buy all the rest! Not so good IMV.

Elidor freaked me out completely. The Weirdstone was bad enough and set locally to my home so it was a bit eerie..

My sister tried to get me to read a series by a humourless US writer about a wizard at the end of the world. V famous, v chilling. Hated so much I have tried to forget.

Cheap, do you remember the party in Stig where Lou, I think it is, faces off the cheetah who is somewhat surprised? And the burglars who plead to be taken away? I keep meaning to go to Ash and then Kits Coty House, where it was set.

Only read one Melendy but enjoyed it.

Swallows and Amazons
The Snow Kitten
The Tree that Sat Down & The Stream that Stood Still
The Almost All-White Rabbity Cat
Arthur & the Great Detective
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
Arthur & the Great Detective
How to be Topp

Someone mentioned Agaton Sax above - I loved those, too. Nils-Olaf Franzen.

I remember Kenneth Williams reading Agaton Sax on Jackanory.

Just William and PG Wodehouse used to make me laugh

Oh, How to be Topp. I loved that! Had completely forgotten it.

Oh yes! How to be Topp and also Molesworth & Co - loved the illustrations. Have just remembered the Village School books by Miss Read. I loved them so much I had to read them all, even though I don't think they were written for children.

Themodern, nope don't remember that bit, just that I adored reading the book. I do remember the boy and Stig meeting up at the beginning and appreciating the way they were such an unlikely couple, but they became close friends. That unlikely coupling thing has become a bit of a theme for life!

Well its taken 2 weeks but I've finally remembered the name of the book - it was Flyfree by C S Adler.

Humourless US, Ursula Le Guin A Wizard of Earthsea and its scary successors. If you didn't like the Weirdstone of Brisingamen you won't like these.. Beautifully written, but seriously scary, Attwood for children in dystopia.

Anyone mentioned te Green Knowe series?

I think I mentioned The Children of Green Knowe in my 1st post, I certainly meant to. Unusually for me, though, I don't think I read the series, just that one. Themodern Yy to Wizard of Earthsea.

I Loved the Children, but hated An enemy, although I can still repeat the spell to get rid of her.., Dr Melanie D Powers,

Avaunt, hence, be gone, Melusine Demogorgona Phosphor
Vaunt, hence, be gone....

Diminishing by one syllable each time.

A stranger was slightly odd.

So glad to find another Earthsea reader..

I was terrified by An Enemy At Green Knowe.

I loved A Stranger apart from the end.

Another Earthsea fan here. DP got the DVD in Sainsburys - the whitewash one. I made him take it straight back.