Favourite books from your childhood/teen years

AudreyHepburn

Recently had a good look at the books on my lil bro's (age 12) bookshelves and spotted his Roal Dahl collection. It reminded me of how much I lovd to read as a child (still do tbh!).

What were your favourite books as a child.

As a very little girl I loved the Peter Rabbit stories. I also had this book called Country Tales which had stories about the various animals you find in the country. One of my favs was about a family of Moorhens. Also loved Shirly Hughes Alfie and Annie Rose stories and My Naughtly Little Sister.

I read anything by Dahl, my favourites being Danny, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and The Witches.

Also loved The Famous Five and The Naughtiest School Girl by Enid Blyton.

As I got older I liked Point Horror, Goosebumps and (cringe!) The Babysitter's Club.

King Henry

Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree - magical.. Actually anything by Enid Blyton, Mallory Towers, Secret 7, Five Find Outers..

Also The Borrowers.

Niche market

The first book i remember reading was that "very hungry catepillar" book, was probably my favourite too

alwaysadub

I loved Roald Dahl books too, read nearly all of them-my mam actually bought the set there recently so i'm gonna read them again!

I also loved Under The Hawthorn Tree. Saw it in a bookshop a while back and bought it, as it was given away when i was young.

lemon_sherbert

Roald Dahl's books, particularly Matilda,
The Harry Potter books,
Noel Streatfield's shoe series of books,
Enid Blyton, especially Mallory Towers,
The Worst Witch series,
there were many more, but these are the ones that stand out in my memory

kylith

Tarka the Otter
Watership Down
Jock of the Bushveldt

Anything with animals, tbh. One of my favourite books as a child was actually an encyclopedia of animals; I read it until it fell apart.

smallerthanyou

A Little Princess. I loved that book so much. Found it recently and it's in the pile to be read again.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

kylith wrote: »

Tarka the Otter
Watership Down
Jock of the Bushveldt

Anything with animals, tbh. One of my favourite books as a child was actually an encyclopedia of animals; I read it until it fell apart.

Me too, if it had an animal on the cover I'd jump on it. I found a copy of Animal Farm when I was eight, think I may have missed the sub-text :P I was in tears by the end of it though.

I remember really liking Terry Pratchett's kids books as well.

Valmont

Brian Jacques' Redwall series kept me reading consistently throughout my early teens. I also loved the Narnia series, His Dark Materials, and of course, Goosebumps. Oh and The Twits was my childhood favourite!

1966

Nancy Drew//////////////

shinikins

Roald Dahl was a firm favourite of mine, and i would still read any of his books for my own entertainment even now! Enid Blyton was always present in our house, but i never really favoured her. As a young teen i was given a copy of the dark is Rising trilogy and i loved it, still have it in fact, altough its pretty worn by now!.
I have to say though, Robin Jarvis was one of my favourite writers, The Deptford Mice series and The Whitby Witches are fantastic books!

Sergeant

Like most of the previous posters I loved Roald Dahl.

Famous 5, Adventure Series etc by Enid Blyton. Fimly believe the lady is responsible for turning me into the sexist, racist, rabidly right-wing firebrand I am today.

Tom McCaughren used to write a series on foxes - Run to the Wild etc.

Denerick

As a child, it would have to be the Roald Dahl books. In particular Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

As a teen, Angela's Ashes had an impact on me. yes I saw the film first, but I've always like McCourt's style. His sequel wasn't bad either.

jester77

Growing up I read a lot of adventure books, Famous 5, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Secret 7, etc but the first book that left an impression on me was I am David by Anne Holm

Dades

Used to love the "Adventure Series", by Willard Price. Smashing stuff!

Read all Enid Blyton's stuff too.

Joan Fontaine

I was a massive fan of Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton. Read all the usual teen lit like Sweet Valley High, and The Babysitters Club (cringe!).

When I got to about 12 I moved onto Virginia Andrews - think I got most of my sex education from them! Lol

megadodge

Used to love any book involving animals and of those my favourite was 'Thunderhead' the follow-up to 'My Friend Flicka' about Flicka's white foal who grew up to be a magnificent stallion.

Read it from cover to cover and immediately went out and got 'My Friend Flicka' and the third in the trilogy (the name of which I've forgotten).

A year or so later, in first year we had to swap a book each week with another classmate and my favourite was about a wild white mustang stallion, but I've never been able to remember the name of it. Loved every second of it.

Damian Duffy

Paul Jennings, really loved those books when I was young. Brilliant covers too and the stories were always odd and creepy.

Selfheal

I loved the Jill's Gymkhana series by Ruby Ferguson. In the last couple of years I've started collecting them again and they are just as good this time round. Abe Books is brilliant for getting the old editions with the original illustrations. Also liked the Three Jays books by Pat Smythe...must start on those again. Anne of Green Gables excellent too, cried myself into a headache when Walter got killed in the trenches... Oh - and speaking of which, what about A Vicarage Family by Noel Streatfeild? Finally, what about the Pamela Browne books, The Swish of the Curtain etc.....
Sigh, they just don't come as good nowadays!

Joan Fontaine

I also used to love The Chalet School books and all the descriptions of lacrosse, elevenses and snow -

Busi_Girl08

I used to love the Jacqueline Wilson books; Bad Girls, The Bed and Breakfast Star, Double Act, The Lottie Project, The Illustrated Mum (that one left me bawling ), The Story of Tracy Beaker, etc.

Then, of course, Roald Dahl; The BFG, Esio Trot, the Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, MATILDA, George's Marvellous Medicine.

I also loved this book, "The Raging Quiet", by Sherryl Jordan. It's a story about a 16 year old girl who marries an older man to help her poor family stay financially secure.
She then goes on to meet a boy her age, who is seen by everyone in the village as a mad-man, but she discovers that he is

deaf. She then develops a sign language with him, and soon becomes an outcast and threat to the rest of the village.

Selfheal

YES! Forgot to mention the Chalet School! But they haven't dated well on re-reading, fiddlesticks!

kylith

Amy Scrawny Symphony wrote: »

Me too, if it had an animal on the cover I'd jump on it. I found a copy of Animal Farm when I was eight, think I may have missed the sub-text :P I was in tears by the end of it though.

I remember really liking Terry Pratchett's kids books as well.

Jebus, are you me?! I cried my heart out at Animal Farm, much more heartbreaking than the film. I always seemed to read books that were too old for me, which would probably explain a lot.

Pratchett's kid's books do stand up very well, as does just about everything he writes.


Loved Lewis Carroll's other books Sylvie and Bruno too.

ceadaoin.

I loved all the Roald Dahl books. Also Enid Blyton, my favs were the Magic Wishing Chair and the Faraway Tree.

One book which left a lasting impression on me was called Marianne Dreams. Seriously creepy book, at least it was when I was 10!

fionav3

jester77 wrote: »

Growing up I read a lot of adventure books, Famous 5, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Secret 7, etc but the first book that left an impression on me was I am David by Anne Holm

Woot! Someone mentioned the Hardy Boys! I was a huge fan of these as a kid and still collect them, but mention them to most Irish people and you get a blank look.

Aside from the Hardy Boys, I loved Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton, especially Mallory Towers, The Famous Five (ginger beer anyone? ) and the ones that always used to be titled the secret something (The Secret Island is one I remember, I loved that book). Also loved the Brer Rabbit books and a couple of randomely titled books; dragonsbane by Patricia C. Wrede (a pont fantasy and still a really witty book today) and a book called the silver teaset written by an Irish author whose name I can't think of (that was a great book, about a pair of elderly burglers who steal a silver teaset and die while burying it in the garden. They come back as ghosts to make amends but noone knows where the teaset is).

Talk about your nostalgia factor; mentioning these books makes me want to read them again for old times sakes!

Malari

When I was very young I read all the Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton books. (I can still recite most of "Crocky-Woc the Crocodile" ). I moved on to Tom McCaughren's books about foxes, and the Narnia series, followed by the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. God, that supply was never-ending! There must have been about 50 books written! I didn't get into the classics though till I was in my 20s.

When I was 10 my teacher suggested I should read Carrie's War by Nina Bawden, and I loved it. I felt much more grown-up reading it :cool: Probably the start of reading more books with serious themes.

Apolloyon

For me, the Darkis Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper is a big favourite. Particularly the second book:The Dark is Rising. I so wanted to be Will Stanton!

The Doctor Who books of the series usually written by Terrance Dicks were fun too!

AudreyHepburn

I can't believe I forgot Marita Conlon-McKenna's Famine trilogy as I call them ie; Under the Hawthorn Tree, Wildflower Girl and Fields of Home.

Also loved the Railway Children and when I was quite young J.M.Barrie's Peter Pan.

I read a number of really good books in secondary school, favourites include To Kill a Mocking Bird, Felicia's Journey and Rebecca.

I also discovered crime novels in my early teens with the East End Murders series. I then moved on to A Touch of Frost and have been addicted to crime books ever since.

Malari

Oh I also forgot Joan Lingard's "Kevin & Sadie" books about a catholic and protestant couple in Belfast. I re-read those so many times

AudreyHepburn

Malari wrote: »

Oh I also forgot Joan Lingard's "Kevin & Sadie" books about a catholic and protestant couple in Belfast. I re-read those so many times

Oh I used to love those esp Across the Barricade!

I just remembered that I used to read (cringe!) Sweet Valley High and The Babysitter's Club Little Sister (cringe!).

And I loved The Little House on the Prairie books - re-read those ones many times....I'd prob pick them up again if I still had them lol.

Blyton and Dahl are doing really well.....I wonder why they're so popular?

Eoin

From school, I think my favourites were Lord of the Flies and 1984. Books I still enjoy reading now.

jester77 wrote:

Growing up I read a lot of adventure books, Famous 5, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Secret 7, etc but the first book that left an impression on me was I am David by Anne Holm

Yeah, I think I read all of the Hardy boys as well as a lot of the "Three Investigators" books. Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and the "Just William" books from Richmal Crompton all featured too.

metrovelvet

Peter Rabbit
Harriet the Spy
The madeleine series
Sherlock Holmes
Roal Dahl
Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories
A Wrinkle in Time
A Little Princess
The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Cat in The Hat
Shel Silverstein
Grimms
Aesops Fables
Judy Bloom
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole

Oh so so many more...

Asphyxia

metrovelvet wrote: »

Peter Rabbit
Harriet the Spy
The madeleine series
Sherlock Holmes
Roal Dahl
Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories
A Wrinkle in Time
A Little Princess
The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Cat in The Hat
Shel Silverstein
Grimms
Aesops Fables
Judy Bloom
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole

Oh so so many more...

This describes me down to the ground. I remember reading Anne Frank and absolutely loving that book to bits and also To Kill A Mockingbird, I read that book when I was 13 to this day it's one of my favourites.

fontanalis

Sergeant wrote: »

Like most of the previous posters I loved Roald Dahl.

Famous 5, Adventure Series etc by Enid Blyton. Fimly believe the lady is responsible for turning me into the sexist, racist, rabidly right-wing firebrand I am today.

Tom McCaughren used to write a series on foxes - Run to the Wild etc.

Loved them. Run to Earth; Run Swift, Run Free; Run with the Wind and Run to Ark. Looking at amazon there are 2 more that I didn't read; Run for cover and Run to the Wild Wood.

Selfheal

Did anyone ever read the Jennings books? Set in a prep school in fictional Linbury. I loved them. Also, Teddy Lester, anyone?

LenaClaire

I really liked to read books where a girl was the protagonist. I loved the old Nancy Drew, Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie books. I loved the Ramona Quimby books as well for more "modern" stuff.

ArPharazon

I loved The Three Investigators series.
In imitation I set up my own detective agency and convinced the local shopkeeper to put my ad on the notice board.
I forgot about it after a few days.

Still those books were awesome. They even had Alfred Hitchcocks name on them , eg Alfred Hitchcock presents "The Secret of Terror Castle"

metrovelvet

I forgot to add Black Beauty.

naasrd

All of the Famous Four series.

epgc3fyqirnbsx

I loved all of Roald Dahl through childhood, I would still count Boy and Going Solo as favourite autobiographies.

Teenage years included reading the Adrian Mole diaries, fantastic and I remember being shocked at discovering that they were written by a woman (the name of Sue Townsend on the cover somehow eluded me, I was too busy concentrating on the petting sessions with Pandora contained within )

Also Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, I read it first as a child and a few times as a teen. I suppose I related to it, acting the knack messing around on building sites and the like, I also observed that the 'leader' in childhood gangs was often a bully and spitefull

politicsdude

tonnes of different Enid Blyton ones especially the 'adventure' series

mrsdewinter

Enid Blyton - anything by Enid Blyton. For sheer escapism, I loved my copy of The Faraway Tree. It's so weird to read her books now, knowing how detached from real life she actually was.
Then Roald Dahl, Ramona Quimby (sparking a lifelong love affair with American authors), Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon, Mistress Pat (yes, I loved LM Montgomery), Adrian Mole, and then a couple of years of very grim teenage fiction, followed by even grimmer pre-chick lit fiction.
Really must dig out those old books and see how they stand up now...
OP: Thanks for reminding me of these great books!

jcsmum

Oh the nostalgia!!!!
Anything and everything by Enid Blyton. I so wanted to go to boarding school after reading Mallory Towers & drink ginger beer with the Famous Five.
Anne of Green Gables was great too and Nancy Drew and the Tom McCaughran books.
Later, I read some Mills & Boom , Maeve Binchy, Jackie Collins, Virginia Andrews' 'Flowers in the attic' & then for my latter teen years I graduated to Jeffrey Archer, Leon Uris, Wilbur Smith, Jack Higgins ......

epgc3fyqirnbsx

Just thought of three great ones today that I'm sure many of you are familiar with

Under the Hawthorn Tree - National school in Ireland was full of tales of the famine but here was a great book that told the harsh story from childrens point of view

I am David - Read it first because I shared the name, I remeber thiking it was a ncie story of an adventure for a boy who was all alone. I had no comprehension of the holocaust or relevance of his name at the time

Goodnight Mr. Tom - What a lovely book, all I can say is I'm going to have a dig around for this book tomorrow and read it again

tomasocarthaigh

No dount about it... Black Beauty... I just loved that story.

muffy

So many memories! I loved Judy Bloom, Maritia Conlon-McKenna, Enid Blython's adventure and school stories...

Real stand out's for me are Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield, it had a sense of realism often lacking in youth fiction. Diary of Anne Frank was another book I loved. I remember two others, a book called Amelia about a girl in pre WW1 Dublin whose family go from rich to poor, cannot remember the author, and another, Daisy Chain War, about a girl in Dublin in the time of the Emergency, again cannot remember the author... any one read these?

Funglegunk

I loved 'The Battle Below Giltspur' if anybody remembers that! Very scary book.

thenakedanddead

Loved Roald Dahl, plus many of the faraway tree books. Harry potter remained a favourite of mine even in to early adolescence.

girvtheswerve

I used to love "Swallows and Amazons" by Arthur Ransome.

Great sense of adventure to it all.

DazMarz

As a kid (6-13 or so) I loved:

-Roald Dahl books (The Witches, Danny: Champion Of The World, Fantastic Mr. Fox, George's Marvellous Medicine, Boy etc.) Exellent works that to this day enthrall and entertain children.

-The Hardy Boys series of books.

-Hergé's Tintin was another great favourite of mine growing up.

As a teenager, I actually read more adult-orientated books than I suppose I should have:

-By 15, I had read Jaws, Jurassic Park, Disclousure, Trainspotting etc. All definitely adult books, but I read through many books of that ilk as a teenager and continue to do so to this day!

dr gonzo

As said already, Danny the Champion of the World. Must have read that book 20 times as a kid, theres something about it i cant put my finger on but its truly excellent.