What books did you love as a child and do you ever re-read them?

JumpShivers · 05-02-2014 06:13PM

I was 3 when the first Harry Potter came out.. That long ago :eek: but I started reading when I was 9. I'm fascinated by the books, love the films and read up on facts occasionally. The books and films really get to me though.. There's no more of them, ever.

I really grew up with it, the last film finishing when I was 18. Still remember the last 3 books coming out each time and I'd be at the bookstore at 12am to buy the books, and literally finished the book in a day.

I loved Jacqueline Wilson also when I was 10ish.

I loved books when I was younger, got a book in the school library and finished it within the day. I'm not so into them now. I read when I have time.

B0jangles · 05-02-2014 06:26PM

I was working in a bookshop the day "The Goblet of Fire" came out and it was amaaaazing watching an endless succession of little kids - many no more than 7-8 years old coming up to the counter and asking for a copy in voices shaking with nearly uncontrollable excitement, then watching them patter off home with a book bigger than their heads that they were going to read all the way through by themselves.

I remember one woman bought two copies because she said she and her family were driving all the way back to Cork and there'd have been open war in the back seat if she'd come back with only one.

Vito Corleone · 05-02-2014 06:29PM

The Catcher in The Rye.

Dozen Wicked Words · 05-02-2014 06:32PM

Read books called the Deptford Mice trilogy, loved them. Have tried, in vain to get my kids to read them. Re-read Danny the Champion of the World myself recently, great story and my favourite Dahl book.

spurious · 05-02-2014 06:34PM

'Tom's Midnight Garden' - enthralled me as a child in book form and in a TV version. Slightly disappointed on seeing it again as an adult, but I still think it's a good story.

Shivers26 · 05-02-2014 06:35PM

Goodnight Mr Tom I still have my original copy from school but I love it. Would still give it a read. I would have done that for my Junior cert

As a kid I loved the Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins / High, Mallory Towers, St Clares, Judy Blume.. I doubt I could bring myself to re-read much of those.

dark crystal · 05-02-2014 06:37PM

Dozen Wicked Words wrote: »

. Re-read Danny the Champion of the World myself recently, great story and my favourite Dahl book.

Ah yeah, that was a great book. My favourite Roald Dahl was Fantastic Mr. Fox.

I love the way Dahl never spoke down to children. He wasn't afraid to scare them a little, either.

Candy_Girl · 05-02-2014 06:40PM

The first book I ever read as a child was The Enchanted Wood By Enid Blyton I remember it as being so magical, I never wanted the story to end

I followed on with The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, The Famous Five and the Secret Seven...all great reads when you're a child. I'd re-read them if I had kids that would listen to me

BeardySi · 05-02-2014 07:04PM

Was a huge fan of the Narnia books. Will never re-read them as I know all the thinly-veiled religious propaganda that went over my head as a kid would just piss me off....

Would love to re-read Tom McCaughren's Run With the Wind series though...

LoonyLovegood · 05-02-2014 07:29PM

I was a huge reader until I turned about fifteen. I devoured everything, by six I'd read the Harry Potters that were out. Harry Potter, Jacqueline Wilson and The Babysitters Club were my big ones. I still read them from time to time.

phasers · 05-02-2014 07:44PM

when I was younger I read a series of books called 'my story'. They were written like diaries of teenage girls who were present during significant moments in history, like the black plague or the sinking of the titanic. I was obsessed with them, I read the Titanic one in particular about a dozen times. I read every Jacqueline Wilson book until I was 13 or so, and of course Harry Potter. I even queued up for the midnight release of the last book!

I'd definitely read them again, a lot of children's books are so well written that anyone can enjoy them.

Ilyana 2.0 · 05-02-2014 07:54PM

phasers wrote: »

when I was younger I read a series of books called 'my story'. They were written like diaries of teenage girls who were present during significant moments in history, like the black plague or the sinking of the titanic. I was obsessed with them, I read the Titanic one in particular about a dozen times. I read every Jacqueline Wilson book until I was 13 or so, and of course Harry Potter. I even queued up for the midnight release of the last book!

I'd definitely read them again, a lot of children's books are so well written that anyone can enjoy them.

Oh I read those My Story books! There was an Irish famine one, a Crystal Palace one, a WWII one and probably more. They were brilliant for getting me into history.

Lisha · 05-02-2014 07:55PM

Roald Dahl books are truly amazing

I loved the Anne of Green Gables books. I remember I cried so much when her aunts dog died.

Enid Blyton formed the foundations of my child hood reading. Loved Malory towers, and famous 5. Also liked the st trinians or was it st Clare's ? books

Oh just got reminded of Joan Lingard books.

I still read Roald Dahl just love them. I also love the Narnia books.

I'm so devasted that so many books got thrown out. Silly me

I love buying books now for my kids. Souch fun to be had

bodhrandude · 05-02-2014 07:57PM

I got this at school though http://www.s1lochgelly.com/files/photo/max-247252.jpg There was a thread about belting but when I tried to post it said invalid thread, how did that happen

tayto lover · 05-02-2014 07:58PM

Tom Sawyer.
Huckleberry Finn.
The Hardy Boys.

Wish I had all those books now.

Karl Stein · 05-02-2014 08:03PM

Favs by Dahl:
Danny The Champion of the World.
The BFG.
Fantastic Mr. Fox

Favs by Enid Blyton:
Smuggler Ben
The secret of Cliff Castle
Secret Seven series (Fatty had 'Cook' prepare some Sardine sandwiches for the journey)

Most of the Asterix Comic Books, favs being.
Asterix in Britain (some hoot)
Asterix in Spain
Obelix ad Co.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Tom Sawyer.
Huckleberry Finn.

Loads of other stuff I can't remember.

cml387 · 05-02-2014 08:28PM

What a literate thread for AH.

I still read the occasional Just William book, but the Biggles books from my childhood have aged very badly.

Corruptedmorals · 05-02-2014 08:50PM

Anne of Green Gables and the 7 sequels
Enid Blyton, especially the Famous Five, mountain of adventure and boarding school books.
Marita Conlon McKenna's famine series, and other books- especially Faraway Home.
Narnia. Love them.
Harry Potter.
Yvonne McGrory's Martha and the Ruby Ring, Secret of the Ruby Ring.
Roald Dahl.
Siobhan Lally- The Hungry Wind
Heidi.
A Little Princess.

I reread all of them that I still have, frequently.

Tokyo · 05-02-2014 08:52PM

A lot of people have mentioned Enid Blyton's books, particularly the Famous Five. Out of curiosity, are they still as popular nowadays as they used to be? They were fairly outdated in my time, and that's nearly 30 years ago....

Apolloyon · 05-02-2014 09:03PM

The Dark is Rising sequence.
The Three Investigators.
Greek, Roman, Norse and Celtic Mytholgy books.
Anything to do with King Arthur.

ice cream castles · 05-02-2014 09:07PM

My Friend Flicka/Thunderhead/Green Grass of Wyoming (Mary O'Hara). Every Christmas I begged Santa for a horse ðŸ˜”

Dahl book's in my loo are causing long, long, long queues!

anncoates · 05-02-2014 09:13PM

The Silver Sword by Ian Serrailier

The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall

Walkabout by James Vance Marshall

Danny The Champion Of The World by Roald Dahl

bnt · 05-02-2014 09:18PM

One book that really stuck in my memory was The Giant Under The Snow by John Gordon, which I read at about 10. I actually forgot the title but remembered the author's name, so I was able to look it up 30 years later and re-read it. It did read like a book for teenagers, but still stunningly original compared to more recent books. It's crying out for a movie version, I think, which would blow Harry Potter & co. out of the water.

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

Anne of Green Gables and the 7 sequels

That's a funny one, since I didn't read them as a kid. I read them all a few years ago, since they are all available as public domain e-books. I didn't plan to read them all, but they got more engrossing as they went on. They follow Anne and then her children through most of her life, which doesn't always go smoothly.

e.g. one of her sons is killed fighting in WW1.

Pat Mustard · 05-02-2014 09:25PM

The Jungle Book. Earliest childhood book that I remember being read to me.

The characters are great. The evil lion, Shere Khan. The small boy, Mowgli, and his protectors; Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther.

thegreatgonzo · 05-02-2014 09:38PM

FollatonWood wrote: »

Enid Blyton and Ronald Dahl were 'it' for me, I basically thought I was one of the famous five.

I was obsessed with the famous five, especially George. I loved the TV series too.

thegreatgonzo · 05-02-2014 09:47PM

The famous five were my first obsession, later on it was the Narnia books. Other favourites were the Jennings series, Just William, The Diddakoi, Travellers by Night, Ruby Ferguson's pony series, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and Heidi.

thegreatgonzo · 05-02-2014 09:49PM

B0jangles wrote: »

.

The Hounds of The Morrigan - absolutely wonderful book set in Galway, both the real place and a mythic version of it.

Yeah, I've reread them all as an adult

I only read that a few years ago it's brilliant.

SuperGrover · 05-02-2014 10:07PM

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

The famous five were my first obsession, later on it was the Narnia books. Other favourites were the Jennings series, Just William, The Diddakoi, Travellers by Night, Ruby Ferguson's pony series, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and Heidi.

Wow. William and Jennings. I read all those. Excellent.

Jennings head got stuck in the railings. This I remember. Though I read the William Brown books more. And Billy Bunter.

Catphish · 05-02-2014 10:08PM

I loved reading as a child, and was allowed (under the watchful eye of the librarian) the use of the adult library by 5th/6th class. That aside, it was around the same time I believe a novel came up in our English school work by the author Marita Conlon McKenna - "Under the hawthorn tree". It was a really gripping book. It's one of those things that makes a mark on you that you'll never forget. The rest of the class was given a chapter to read maybe twice a week, but I'd secretly polished the whole book off in a couple of evenings straight. It nearly killed me to put it down. I found out then there was a follow up book called "Wildflower girl" from McKenna, and I read that steadily over a couple of days.

Until this thread I'd thought that was the end of it, but after a quick search I've found there was another book after Wildflower girl as part of the authors famine trilogy called "Fields of home" I am going to order the trilogy now

fibix · 05-02-2014 10:10PM

"Anne of Green Gables", the entire series. I can't remember how many times I've read it. And the rest of the Lucy Maud Montgomery books. Love it!

What books did you love as a child and do you ever re-read them?

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