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Children's books

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Original poster

Found a box with all my childhood books!

53 replies

mavornia · 26/09/2008 23:28

We were clearing out my parents' garage today and I found a box with all the books from my childhood - it was like finding long-lost friends. St Clare's, Mrs Pepperpot, A Bottled Cherry Angel, Surprise Island, Little Plum, Foxglove Tales, Heidi's Song - ah, I could go on and on, they were all there and all perfect

My husband was looking on bewildered as I welled up, hugging them to my chest

I'm just so full of the joy of it that I had to share

OP posts:
CapricaSix · 27/09/2008 08:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

edam · 27/09/2008 08:41

Ooh, I forgot The Family from One End Street. They were great. As was Anne of Green Gables - I remember getting all emotional when the old Captain died in that one where she was grown up, married to Gilbert and had a baby.

MaryAnnSingleton · 27/09/2008 08:43

That chapter when Matthew dies in A of GG will haunt me forever

MaryAnnSingleton · 27/09/2008 08:43

That chapter when Matthew dies in A of GG will haunt me forever

Ladylapin · 27/09/2008 15:05

I love finding old childhhod books....Family From One End Street i LOVE! and I loved my Pogles Wood Annuals......but no one seems to remember that one, i'm probably too old.....

psychomum5 · 27/09/2008 15:10

my children have all my old childhood books.....some of them hard back enid blytons

the only ones I refused to share for a long time were my box set of narnia. I got that when I was 8 and read them over and over again.

DH bought me a new box set tho a few years back (before they made the fims even) as he thought me mean. In fact, he bought the new set for the children, only I kept the new one and finally relinquished my original set, seeing as they were looking a tad tired!

wotsits · 27/09/2008 15:17

I grew up in the tropics. All my (improperly stored) childhood books were eaten up by termites while I was at university here. Having been keeping an eye on ebay for old favourites.
Having said that, I recently went home and found my song lyrics book from my teenage years, so can understand your joy , mavornia

BitOfFun · 27/09/2008 15:26

This thread has just prompted me to order Charlotte Sometimes for my daughter, I hope it's as good as I remember! The post-1985 edition has a different ending dontcha know, so I am going second-hand for the original

littlerach · 27/09/2008 15:36

Dd1 is reading all of my old books at the moment.

I do get nostalgic, as she is readng the famous five now.

Sh eread Mrs pepperpot, Naughty Little Sister, MMM andf Teddy Robinson earlier in the year.

Best of all,
I put my old bookcase up in one of the loft rooms and they are all on there, just like they used to be.

NotAnOtter · 27/09/2008 21:41

anyone know where i can get he original pre 1986 Charlotte sometimes???

since last night i have been obsessing now i have learned there are two different endings and dcs have only read the latter version

i NEED NEED NEED the original but HOW??

EachPeachPearMum · 27/09/2008 21:56

ebay, or abebooks?

I have my old Narnia collection, Arthur Ransomes, Chalet School (these are worth a fortune now, as I have lots of e hard-backed 40s and 50s ones), Peter Pan and Wendy, Pippi Longstocking, Malory Towers, Moomins.
Just started reading Milly Molly NMandy collection to DD, but she is a teensy bit too young for them (2.8). She is mad on the illustrations though, especially the map. just not a bit like her mum!

Original poster
mavornia · 27/09/2008 23:39

thumbwitch, I do have all the Family from One End Street ones - they are wonderful

I was just thinking about Anne of Green Gables the other day - I want to take to my bed and read the whole series. will just have to dump ds on mum a willing victim first, or claim to be coming down with something

I never read the Noel Streatfield books but I've been hankering after them ever since I saw that scene in You've Got Mail where Meg Ryan is all sniffly in Tom Hanks big book superstore talking about Ballet Shoes being her favourite

NotAnOtter, I read about a good place to find old books the other day - let me just go and see if I can fish it out

OP posts:
Original poster
mavornia · 27/09/2008 23:49

you can get pre 1986 versions on www.alibris.co.uk

OP posts:
thumbwitch · 27/09/2008 23:58

How bizarre to change it! I have just looked at it on Wikipedia to discover why they changed it and still don't have a reason but at least know what they changed. Weird.

BitOfFun · 28/09/2008 00:18

I got mine on abebooks.co.uk Notanotter - really looking forward to it! I remember being in an argument with my little brother when I was about 9, and suddenly freezing to say "My name is Margaret, I am occupying BitOfFun's body but I am from the past" as a result of reading this, lol - funny to remember it now!

NotAnOtter · 28/09/2008 00:20

wow thanks for that will look

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 28/09/2008 12:02

What is this about a different ending to Charlotte Sometimes? We only have the new version, I didn't have it as a child, was recommended it on here and DD1 and I both loved it - how is the ending different in the original version?

NotAnOtter · 28/09/2008 21:18

i have ordered off fab wesite and will let you all know about ending

for a couple of pounds i await the 1972 version!

thumbwitch · 28/09/2008 22:33

LGP - read this entry - scroll down to the description of Part 3 and it gives you a hint.

NotanOtter · 02/12/2008 00:14

absolutley gutted with my 1972 version which was actually 1969 but to my horror REVISED 1985

thanks a lot mr bookseller NOT

EachPeachPearMum · 02/12/2008 14:14

Which website did you use in the end?
I shall avoid them!

Mercy · 02/12/2008 14:22

Wow!

Funnily enough my dd is currently going through some of my mum's, my grandmother's and my great Aunt's books. One or 2 of them contain outdated and unacceptable words though.

MAS, we have my mum's copy of Milly Molly Mandy from 1946. On the inside it says

'British Production War Economy Standard'

Fennel · 02/12/2008 14:31

Ladylapin, I remember Pogles Wood . Just vaguely.

I have lots of my old childhood favourite books still, which the dds are now enjoying. And I collect a lot more of them at book fairs and in charity shops - loads of those old classics are around in the second hand shops. I'm building up a large collection, spurred on by two dds who are enjoying many of these books.

And I get some off Amazon too, it's very enjoyable finding all the old favourites.

GrimmaTheNome · 02/12/2008 14:50

Reading old favourites to my DD is such a pleasure. She's 9 and not that fond of reading herself, but nighttime story is still a ritual. Currently on Little Women - a copy given to (probably) my granny in 1914.
One that escaped my mums rationalization, she gave away quite a lot of my old books without asking me.

I must get Anne of Green Gables soon....

Fennel · 02/12/2008 14:54

And, an exquisite pleasure, now I can read the missing volumes of the old favourite sets. Because due to the internet and Amazon and ebay it's easy to get the books.

I had a wonderful couple of evenings recently with the first ever Biggles book, I'd read lots of the others as a child but never Biggles Learns to Fly. It was fab (in a racist sexist classist warist sort of way, of course...)

I've also been filling in the gaps in my knowledge of the Anne series - Rilla of Ingleside, the last ever, recently found and read. And I'm gradually picking up the Antonia Forrests. Bliss.

all for the dds' benefit of course.... just maternal duty on my part.