My Childhood Favourites (Top Ten Childrens Books)

Member Name: jo1976

Product:	Top Ten Childrens Books
Date:	04/06/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: My top ten favourite books from my own childhood

Disadvantages: Not enough room to list my own kids' favourites!

As a child, I always loved reading. My Mum used to love embarrassing me by telling everybody that she met that I even read books in the toilet (which wasn't true, by the way!) I started compiling this list with the intention of including some modern stories that my kids enjoy but writing this made me remember so many well-loved classics from my own childhood that there wasn't actually any room for the new stuff! This, then, is a pretty self-indulgent look at some of the many books that I loved as a young girl:

1. Heidi (Johanna Spyri)
I have read this book many many times and still have my original paperback copy - complete with loose browning pages taped in and sellotape all across the spine. This really is a children's classic and one I have shed many tears over in the past. Just writing about it makes me want to re-read all about Heidi's adventures in the Alps when she is dumped on her grumpy old Grandad and then, just as she has managed to melt his heart, is sent back to the city. Everyone should read this at some point in their lives.

2. Carrie's War (Nina Bawden)
Another children's classic. This is a great account of kids coping with the Second World War and being sent out as refugees to the countryside and having to adapt to a new family. Again, a novel that has been read many times and had many tears shed over it - can you see a theme developing here?

3. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (CS Lewis)
I had the entire Chronicles of Narnia series and lost myself entirely in the books, although this was probably my favourite. Incidentally, this wasn't the first book in the series which many people think it was. The first was actually 'The Magician's Nephew' although that wasn't quite as captivating as the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and didn't feature the same group of children as the rest of the series. I used to fantasise about finding a whole new world in the back of my wardrobe (just as the children in this story do) although I was always a little bid scared of both the wicked queen and Aslan (the good lion!)

4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle)
This really is a timeless children's classic. Despite being written 40 years ago, it is one of those beautifully simple yet totally captivating books that will never go out of fashion. I can still quite clearly remember reading this myself as a very young child and being fascinated by the holes as the caterpillar worked its way through the leaves and eventually gorging itself on all the goodies and, of course, making the inevitable transition from caterpillar to beautiful butterfly. Surprisingly, I've never read this book to my own kids although I'm sure they would both love it and I keep looking out for it in charity shops. It must be one of the books that nobody (especially the parents) wants to part with!

5. The Magic Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton)
I grew up reading Enid Blyton stories and enjoyed her adventure series for slightly older children (Famous Five, Secret Seven etc) but this tale of Silky, Moon Face and Saucepan Man is one that has really stayed with me (alongside the rest of the series - The Enchanted Wood and The Folk of the Faraway Tree.) I used to love reading about the children visiting the revolving land at the top of the tree and wondering what magical land was going to turn up there next! and what adventures they would have. I dare say this series of books isn't one of Enid Blyton's best known but I'm sure this will bring back happy memories for anybody else that was lucky enough to enjoy this one as a child.

6. Charlotte's Web (EB White)
This is a story that stands out because of the unusual main characters - a spider and a pig - and their unlikely alliance. It is also a particularly sad book but would be useful to read to children and use as a discussion point. I'm certainly looking forward to reading this and several similar books to my boys when they are slightly older. (My six year old would probably be of an age to appreciate this now, thinking about it.) Tissues at the ready, though!

7. Anne of Green Gables (LM Montgomery)
My old paperback copy of this book has particular sentimental value for me as I won it in a poetry competition across a number of local schools back in 1988 (and still have the label proudly saying so on the inside cover!) The book itself was a firm childhood favourite of mine, along with the rest of the 'Anne' series which charted Anne's growth from a young but undeniably likeable orphan girl into a grown woman with a family of her own.

8. Little Women (Louisa M Alcott)
Although I wasn't (and still aren't) particularly a fan of 'classics', this story is one that managed to transport me back to a different world - America during the Civil War. The characters (the four fantastic March sisters) were so beautifully described and brought to life so well that I could really identify with the characters as much as I could with any contemporary children's story. Surprisingly, I don't have a copy of this novel in my collection but I would certainly consider buying one as I'd imagine this would be just as pleasurable to read nowadays through my adult eyes.

9. A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
I was considering whether to include The Secret Garden in my list and seeing the author's name jogged my memory. Between the two of those books by the same author, A Little Princess has to win hands down. In fact, although I deliberately haven't tried to list these books in any particular order, this one would probably make my number one. I do love a book that has me in floods of tears and this one has all of the features that are guaranteed to make me well up - an orphaned heroine, nasty carers and spiteful children and, ultimately, a very happy ending. Yes, this one is definitely number one (even though it's now at my number nine!)

10. Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)
This another timeless tear-jerking classic. I was never a particularly 'horsey' child but I did love animals in general and I just fell in love with this story of a beautiful horse going through so many different stages and adventures in his life. I don't know if kids nowadays still read this sorts of stories (maybe everything is all spin-offs from films and TV.) I certainly hope that stories like this continue to be enjoyed by a new generation of kids. Thinking about the fantastic children's stories out there has made me want to share them with my own kids and hope that they feel the same passion for my old favourites.

Writing this list has bought back many happy memories for me. I hope it has for you too x

Summary: My top ten children's books