Which children's books do you STILL read and enjoy?

[Swizzler]

Am re-reading Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising sequence and yes, it is still good

So which children's books did you enjoy as a child and still read - read for your own pleasure, that is, not read to your DCs.

Ohh memories. I have most of these on the book case, I liberated them from my mothers when I moved out otherwise dad would of gotten rid of them by now. Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising sequence, the "what Katy did" books, "A Little Princess" - Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden, Little Women, good wives and Little Men, Wind in the Willows, Lewis Carroll, Beatrix Potter, E Nesbitt, Treasure Island, The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, A Painted Garden Noel Streatfeild, Narnia books, Chalet School series, Judy Blume, secret seven, Famous 5, Wishing Chair, Faraway Tree, Bogwoppitt, Punchbowl, Jill, Follyfoot books, Andre Norton, Earthsea Trillogy, Paddington, Box of Delights.

I am thoroughly enjoying reading lots of thes out loud to DD at bedtime.

I probably have many more as well, I kind of collect books as in the all end up being good friends and I can't get rid of any of them. This will cause problems later as I am sure the kids will want to take their books with them when they move out and I want to keep some of them myself. Especially the Lynley Dodd and Julia Donaldson books.

I've read (and still have) The Thuggery Affair - it is pretty hard work at times, isn't it?

I have tried a few times. But no success yet . I think Antonia Forest said it might not have been one of her better ideas (or something like that) .

Franny - I suppose you're right. There certainly isn't the slightest hint of "formula" about her books is there? I had to skip quite a bit when reading them to dd - all the stuff about the Catholic church fascinates me, but went straight over her head!

Hi Jack - Mummyhill waves to Idris "are you Ok? We haven't seen you on Post Natal recently. How is little one? Mummyhill now dives back under cover and goes to rummage the bookcase again.

Hello mummyhill .

Have been very neglectful of the PN thread - I will come back again I promise . All well in the Dragon household. DD desperately wants to do everything DS does. And the 22 month age gap doens't bother her .

Glad everything is ok. D wants to do all the stuff his big sisyter does and there is a 4 and half year age gap.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, MrsBadger, do you know what it was called? I've been trying to remember for ages and searched all those "we can find any book ever printed" websites to no avail.

It bugs me, you know.

Although I'm just happy to have met someone else who's read the thing - people usually go "wassat?" - I should've rewritten it from memory and got it published

Anyone ever read A Sapphire For September?
set in Australia
a wonderful book but never found out any more by the author.

any Jacqueline Wilson books

I still love anything by Roald Dahl. His short stories for adults are genius too but I'm currently going through the box set of his children's books my Mum bought me last year! No great surprise to hear that my absolute favourite is Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Anyone read Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMBH (or some other acronym)? That was the first book that made me cry, when the good rat Justin died for all the others. I was in love with our head boy, called Justin, at the time.

secret garden and the narnia books

and harry potter but lets face it nobody really thinks of them s just kids books right?

right?

Of course, Harry Potter - I've moved my maternity leave date so I get a chance to read the Deathly Hallows before dd finishes for school holidays/I drop . Another book I've always loved is Flat Stanley. No great epic, I just love the book!

fluffyanimal, I just read Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH to ds1 (10) - it made me cry as a grown-up too. Really good book, it hasn't palled with age.

Forgot about The Sword in the Stone - an amazing book. Never got on with the later ones in the series.

Didn't realise Chalet School books were so collectible - gave most of my (shabby) paperbacks to the charity shop .

Oh how did I forget Roald Dahl!
and I used to love judy Blume books too.
I used to read sweet valley high books in about 1/2 hour and used to drive my Mam mad by getting 6 and wanting to changethem the next day

Pollyanna, and I also recently re-read The Box of Delights which I still didn't fully understand at 30!

I loved A Little Princess, Little Lord Fauntleroy, all the Anne books and the Katy books. Charlotte's Web made me blub like a baby and probably still would if I read it again now. Was flicking through What Katy Did the other day and was wondering if my 7mth daughter will enjoy it one day. It seems very old fashioned now and hard to imagine but you never know!

Oh I LIKE The Thuggery Affair

I love the bit where Lawrie goes off with the bloke in the cinema, pretending to be a beatnik chick

Lawrie is my favourite Forest character and that was such a brilliant insight into her head - it's an almost hallucinatory stream of consciousness

I don't think old-fashioned matters a bit - just think about the old fashioned books that were old-fashioned for us and our parents - they are classics. And it is a history experience for them. It's finding the time to read them all that we find a problem as there are also so many new books that are excellent e.g. Michael Morpurgo
By the way - who remembers Anatole the French mouse and Mary Plain (precursor to Paddington), and Beebo?

oh welliemum, you know it!

Do not eat this biscuit because eating green ink is bad for you.

Just William. He gets better and better.

Oooh yes to so many already mentioned but also saw 'A swish of the curtain' reissued in Waterstones and had to stop myself buying it (economy drive) Also did anone else love 'The Saturdays' by Elizabeth Enright? Would love to read that one again...Also have a ds who's idol is Bob the builder so don't see myself reading many of these to him sadly!