Share your FAVOURITE CHILDREN'S BOOK for a chance to win £100 to spend at Wordery

[UrsulaMumsnet]

The books you love as a child stay with you forever, they live inside your imagination and shape the way you see the world. There's nothing quite like sharing these stories with a new generation. Watching as their imaginations are captured by the very same tales of giants, magical lands and adventures that once enthralled us.

That's why this year we want to put together the ultimate children's reading list; the comprehensive guide to stories you think no child should grow up without. We'd like you to share your favourites, old or new, and tell us all the reasons why you think they deserve a place on this list.

We'll take the recommendations from this thread and scour the boards for more, to create the ultimate list of children's books. Then we'll put it to vote in attempt to find the best children's book ever written. Because well, who doesn't love a poll?

So, tell us why you think the books you love should make the list, and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win £100 to spend at online book retailer Wordery

I don't remember a particular book from my own childhood, but Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl were definitely favourites.

However, as an adult, I just love reading anything by Julia Donaldson to my DC. Some books just don't flow very well, no matter how brilliantly written. But all of hers just fall off my tongue, and keep the DCs attention.

Favourite would be Room on The Broom and What the Ladybird Heard.

I always used to like the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes

I loved the Borrowers as a child. I guess it was the adventures which would have seemed too outlandish if it hadn't been 'little' people having them.

I also loved the Chalet School books - again, totally outside of my frame of reference but loved them for that.

When my children are old enough I intend to make sure they read/are read His Dark Materials. Good old fashioned adventures but with a depth / thought provoking aspect you don't always get, and, I think, suitable for both boys and girls.

Dogger by Shirley Hughes. It's one of the few books belonging to ds1 and ds2 that I kept for ds3. Both he and I know it by heart.

I loved The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. I very much wanted to be a witch when I was 7 or 8!

I used to get a book voucher for a local book shop every birthday and distinctly remember spending ages choosing some books. For many years they were exclusively Roald Dahl. Matilda was my favourite.

My children are only 6 months and 2 years old and in our house Hugless Douglas by David Melling and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes are their my favourites.

Oh help, so many to choose from!
Swallows and Amazons was a huge part of my childhood with much playing as well as reading (I was Susan by age and gender but she was boring so I became the marvellous Nancy Blackett instead!).
Also loved Noël Streatfield's books especially White Boots, the Gemma books, the Growing Summer, the Painted Garden and of course Ballet Shoes. I loved the Narnia books until I discovered the religious undertones and that put me right off
Roald Dahl of course especially Matilda, Boy and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
As a teen I was introduced to Harry Potter while babysitting and loved them. Only two out then but read all the others as they came out. Huge fan.
The Quantocks Quartet by Ruth Elwin Harris are fab too. The story of four sisters from pre WW1 to post WW2 from each of their perspectives. I always read those and then Linda Newbery's books also set in WW1 about twins Jack and Alice. First one is Some Other War. Fascinating books and read multiple times!
Finally Charlotte Sometimes is a real favourite of mine and really worth a read.
I must have forgotten others but all the above I read and re read and re read again. Can't wait to introduce my children to them and in the meantime we're enjoying Julia Donaldson, Katie Morag and the Mr Man books!

Winnie the Pooh! How could I forget! And Babar the Elephant!
Also completely echo Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler above for the same reasons!

Swallows and Amazons
The Tree that Sat Down and the Stream that Stood Still by Beverly Nichols
The Snow Kitten by Nina Warner Hooke
The Almost All-white Rabbity Cat by Meindert Deejong
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner

More recently I loved Potter, His Dark Materials and the Abhorsen truilogy by Garth Nix.

Sorry can't choose one.

The Tiger that Came to Tea. Such a fab story and a classic from my own childhood to that of my children.

I also loved the 'Worst Witch', really easy to read and great stories.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt of The Gruffalo are lovely stories that come to life on woodland walks. My 2 still repeat them on walks and they're 12 and 14 now!

or not of

I was a bit book mad as a child, but several have stuck with me all the way to my 40's. I'll echo Goodnight Mr Tom as excellent, and the chalet school, and Garth Nix's Abhorsen series. Thursday's Children by Rumer Godden I have read many times and love.

But the one I would recommend above all others for the 8-11 range would have to be 'The Dark is Rising' sequence by Susan Cooper. I have spent the last six months reading all five of them to my DC at bedtime every night, and we finished tonight! The look on my DS's face as I read the last line repaid the entire six months in spades. He was lit up, and speechless, then said 'that was just the best book EVER'!

I have no idea how to follow it tomorrow night!!

Redwall by Brian Jacques. There are so many in the series that the children grow out of being read to before you run out of books. These books are such a delight to read out loud owing to the fact that they are written in such a way that you have to read in the characters accents. I particularly like reading in the hares accent as they speak like world war 2 fighter pilots "wot wot." My dd enjoyed these and now I am reading them to my ds.
I also think Roald Dahl deserves a mention, as he also included everything a child needs in a book.

So many to choose from!
My favourite as a child was the original edition of What Do People Do All Day - I was fascinated by the pictures.
Loved Little House on the Prairie, Heidi, Olga da Polga and the Moomin books.
The Phantom Tollbooth, wanted to name my son Milo because of it (got overruled )
So many picture books to choose from - Where the Wild Things Are my childhood favourite. Have to have The Gruffalo and Gruffalo's Child of course.
But both my children and I have read and loved a very recent book, Pugs of the Frozen North by Philip Reeve which is just delightful and I am sure it will be a classic - heartwarming, exciting and amusingly surreal.

So many! Some not mentioned above are Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising books, anything by Diana Wynne Jones, The Little Prince and (didn't see this but someone must have said it...) The Wind in the Willows.

Recent ones include A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond, Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell and The Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine.

For little children, Each, Peach, Pear Plum, The Tiger Who Came toTea, The Gruffalo and Would You Rather.

For young readers, The Worst Witch and The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and The BFG as the first proper big child books.

A little bit older, and DD and I both loved Ballet Shoes and the Swallows and Amazons books - we have just finished Winter Holiday, which I think is the best of all. She also adores the Harry Potter and Hetty Feather books. I'm planning on introducing her to Goodnight Mr Tom soon.

I adored The Dark is Rising series, and Rumer Godden's books.

My favourite book was 'Paddington bear' series. they were great.

I loved the My Naughty Little Sister series I think it was because I had two younger sisters - I could relate to the narrator (the big sister)!!

I read Julia Donaldson books to my daughter now. My absolute favourite is Paper Dolls. I must admit I had a little cry the first time. It's the line about the Granny that does it

Ooh ooh ooh! How to choose!

Peter Rabbit books. I had one with all these tiny letters in which I loved!

Winnie the pooh

Harry potter

Jacqueline Wilson

BIFF CHIP AND KIPPER!!! I can't tell you how many times I dreamt of the magic key and hoping it would still be there in my hand when I woke up!

Fairytales. Rumplestiltskin comes to mind!

Dr Seuss. I really liked poetry even as a kid and had two beloved kids poetry books. I'll never forget the picture to the 'tiger Tiger burning bright' poem and trying to paint it myself!

Roald Dahl. The twits and the witches especially!

I'm sure I'll be back with more! ;)

My favourite children's book is The Boy Who Swam with Pirhanas because it is brilliant and touching and enigmatic. It is the first book that got my children really thinking and talking about what we had read. It got inside their skin in a very good way and really got them fired up about reading.

Anything by Shirley Hughes. I would sit looking at the beautiful illustrations whilst stories were read to me! One about a rainy day really sticks in my mind.

I'm still an avid reader now and my son had loads of books that he likes to look through! His favourites are the 'That's not my...' series which I remember reading to my little sister as well as Hairy Mclairy!

My little girl is a HUGE Fan of Beatrix Potter her favourite book at the moment is the story of Miss Moppet

ELMER was always my favourite! It has a wonderful moral to it along with beautiful illustrations!

I'd opt for The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams having read it with DS last year. Funny, warm and moving with a great message. We couldn't wait to read the next chapter. A modern day classic.

The His Dark Materials books as a PP said. I love these books so deeply I can't wait for my little one to be old enough to share them with her.

From my childhood I loved Bottersnikes and Gumbles by S Wakefield. Made me laugh until I cried! My favorites to read with DD almost 3 are 'There are cats in this book' - really original and sweet, and The Complete Winnie The Pooh, A A Milne. She really loves this and we read it every night before bed.