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.

No one has mentioned the Brian Jacques Redwall series about a monastery of mice. I adored those and still read them every couple of years or so along with the Katy books, S&A, St Clares & Mallory Towers.

Can anyone remember a series of books that I would have read in the mid 80s aged around 10 set in the Plantagenet period? Other than loving the story, that is one of the few things I remember as I had no idea how to pronounce it. I think one of the characters was called Catherine & known as Cat which I thought was really cool but DP didn't agree. Nor did he agree with Nancy (S&A) or Araminta (Moondial).

ThatsNotMyHouse was it Barbara Willard's Mantlemass series? Starting with A Sprig of Broom and set in Sussex?

Thanks Bloodybridget I read practically everything Blyton wrote when I was a child, so I can see how I might have made that mistake, but I'm sure I read books set in a girls' school and written by Angela Brazil as well. I'm off to do a bit of research as to what their titles might be...

Ok, I think I was confusing The Naughtiest Girl in School by Enid Blyton with either The Nicest Girl in School, or The Luckiest Girl in School by Angela Brazil, who also wrote The Jolliest School. Abject apologies, please excuse me, it was decades ago!

I read quite a few Brazils when I was a gel, and then more as an adult. I'm not hugely keen on them now, are you? No need to apologise!

They'd be way down my list of books I wish to re-read, tbh. I've got a backlog of about 50 adult books I'd like to read for the 1st time before I get to re-reading children's books!