The books that formed my childhood (Top Ten Childrens Books)

Member Name: waterlilly

Product:	Top Ten Childrens Books
Date:	21/06/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reliving the books I loved as a child

Disadvantages: Fairly certain I should have cleaned the apartment rather than doing this for the last hour!

As with many folks who've written in this category, I've been an avid book person practically since birth. My parents have photos of me before the age of two sitting "reading" to my stuffed animals and I quickly memorised my favourite stories much to the chagrin of my dad who would occasionally try to skip a page or two at bedtime. Growing up in Canada my list might be a little different than some of yours. But it seems that some books were loved on both sides of the pond! There are many children's books I've come to love as an adult but am limiting myself to ones that were around when I was in fact a child. I'm not listing in order of most to least favourite. I can't rank the books I still love that way. I'm merely limiting myself to ten!


Paperbag Princess- Robert Munsch

Munsch is one of the most popular and well-known Canadian children's writers of all time. The only book that Brits might run into in a bookshop is "Love you forever" which is a wonderful book, but not on my list as it didn't come out until I was much older. Many of his books are based on children Munsch has known and often have everyday themes relevant to Canadian children such as snowsuits, cold weather, trips to the store and train stations being put in your sitting room (maybe the last one isn't so every day). Munsch's books are almost all illustrated by Michael Martchenko. Together they make a delightful team.

The Paperbag Princess tells the story of Prince Ronald, a slightly prissy boy, who is kidnapped by a dragon. His princess dons a paperbag as her clothes have been burned off by the dragon's visit and goes to rescue him. It is a delightful tale of how the girl tricks the dragon and saves the day, only to be told by Ronald to return when she is cleaner and more suitably dress. Needless to say I learned a lot about how such men should be treated from this book.


Velveteen Rabbit- Margery Williams

The Velveteen Rabbit was first published in 1922 and remains popular to this day. In the UK it is currently a very popular work with those planning weddings as there is a section about love and pain which is regularly used as a reading during wedding ceremonies. It is a familiar story to many, I'm sure, and from a very young age it touched me. My favourite childhood stuffed animal was a bunny and to me he was as real as the rabbit in the story. I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

The Velveteen Rabbit tells the story of a rabbit made of velveteen who is a Christmas present for a wealthy little boy with a nursery full of expensive toys. The poor little rabbit is snubbed by the other toys until one day the little boy chooses him to be his constant companion. The boy and the rabbit go everywhere together until one day the boy becomes terribly ill with scarlet fever. The rabbit stays with him through out, but when the boy recovers, everything from the nursery that might carry infection must be destroyed. Facing the loss of his boy the little velveteen rabbit cries real tears and for his love and loyalty he is turned into a real rabbit at last. As the boy grows up he often sees a little brown rabbit in the woods, never realising that his rabbit remembers him still.

Going to need a minute to find tissue before coming up with next book!


Ballet Shoes- Noel Streatfeild

Originally published in 1936 Ballet Shoes is the first of the "shoes" books by Noel Streatfeild. It's occurred to me that many of my favourite childhood books were already classics by the time I got to them! Perhaps I was an old soul even then!

The shoes books follow the lives of Pauline, Petrova and Posy, three adopted sisters. They are found and adopted by Great-uncle Matthew who is a well-meaning sort but an absentee guardian. They are left in the care of Sylvia and Nana and together the female household make their way in the world. In his absence the little family find them selves quite impoverished and it is only through the help of kindly outsiders who recognise the potential of the girls, that they are able to stay in school. The title of the book is a reference to the fact that the girls are given scholarships to a performing arts school by Miss Theo Dane. The girls use their training to help support the family while each developing their own sense of self and aspiring to greatness in their own way.


Anne of Green Gables- L. M. Montgomery

L.M. Montgomery is a Canadian writer whose novel, Anne of Green Gables, has captured the imagination of people all over the world since it was published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was in fact the first in a series of eight books though the others are less well known. It has since been made into a trilogy of movies and thousands of tourists visit Montgomery's home on Prince Edward Island every year.

Anne of Green Gables starts the story of the strong-willed, big-hearted, orange-haired orphan Anne Shirley. After a childhood low on love and heavy on responsibility, Anne is accidentally adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert and brought to live at Green Gables near the town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. Marilla and Matthew meant to adopt a boy who would be able to help Matthew on the farm but the quiet, shy Matthew soon becomes attached to the well-meaning but mischevious moppet and insists on keeping her. Through such mishaps as dying her hair green and accidentally intoxicating her bestfriend, Anne grows into an ambitious young woman. The other books follow her life as she becomes a teacher and author, falls in love and has a family of her own.


Babysitters Club- Ann M. Martin

Ok, finally a fairly low-brow, contemporary set of books that I became fiercely attached to. This series of books followed the lives of a group of American pre-teens who share a common interest in babysitting. In order to provide their town with the best babysitting possible and make themselves some money they form a business, hold regular meetings and even set up summer daycare programs. Each girl (and eventually a boy) has a clearly defined personality with interests such as art (Claudia), sports (Kristy), books (Mary Anne) and fashion (Stacy). Additionally the girls face issues such as parental divorce and remarriage, diabetes and the introduction of new characters as well as being parted from their friends. Most girls of my age got into babysitting as soon as we were old enough because of these books! Also proved a great way to pay for things through high school!


Charlotte's Web- E.B. White

Not meaning to offend anyone but I think if I have to explain the popularity of this one to you, you may have been living under a rock for the last few decades. Now a popular play and film, Charlotte's Web, tells the story of a young pig named Wilbur, the runt of a litter, who is hand raised by a little girl named Fern and eventually given home on Zuckerman's farm. Wilbur is soon popular with all of the farm animals who try to protect him from the reality of what happens to pigs when they are fully grown. Eventually Wilbur realises his days are numbered, but his bestfriend, Charlotte, who is also a spider insists she will rescue him. It is a touching book of friendship and loyalty. For a city girl it was also an interesting look at farm life (about as close as I really wanted to get to a real farm actually!).


The Frances Books- Russell Hoban

The Frances books are another classic that I fell in love with as a child because of the illustrations. Written by Russell Hoban and illustrated by Lillian Hoban, the Frances books include Bedtime for Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances, Bread and Jam for Frances and a Birthday for Frances which were published in the 1960s. There are several others but those were the ones I owned as a child. Many of Hoban's books are out of print, but, as his most popular works, the Frances books continue to be available.

Frances is a young badger with a very patient mother. Each of the books contains simple lessons and morals as Frances learns to love her little sister, try new foods and go to bed! The stories are not complicated, but the books are lovely in their own way.


The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- C. S. Lewis


This was the first of Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series that I ever read. I was actually introduced to it at school as well as several others. As a child I found it the most engaging of the Narnia books and it makes sense that Disney chose it to start off its series of novels. As an adult I've come to love A Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle more, but when I was a child it was this one.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe introduces us to Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter Pevensie who have been sent to the country for their safety during WWII. They discover an entrance to a land called Narnia through the back of a wardrobe and find that there is a prophecy foretelling their arrival. They are called upon to help save Narnia from the clutches of the White Witch who keeps Narnia in a state of perpetual winter but never allows Christmas. Full of Christian symbolism, the book can be enjoyed by anyone as a moral tale of adventure, redemption and faith.


Boxcar Children- Gertrude Chandler Warner

Some of you will think I mean The Railway Children, but this is in fact a series of books by an American writer about four orphans, Henry, Jesse, Violet and Benny who make a home for themselves in an abandoned boxcar. In the absence of adults, the children organise their home in the way they think a typical home is run, while at the same time having adventures. In their minds their legal guardian and grandfather is a cruel terrible man, but in the end they meet him and he is proved to be everything they could hope for. When they move to his home the boxcar comes with them as it has become part of the family. This is another old book that I had moments of thinking I'd made up until I googled it! Originally published in 1924 the Boxcar Children is a tale from a simpler, safer time.


Paddington Bear- Michael Bond

The first of the Paddington books, "A Bear Called Paddington", was published in 1958 and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum who I believe illustrated all of the Paddington books. It introduced us to the lovely little bear from Peru, discovered on Paddington station by the Brown family. The little brown bear in his blue coat and red hat stole the hearts of the Browns and the rest of us with his sticky pawed love of marmalade and tendency to get in a little bit of trouble. Paddington was not as popular in Canada but my English mother made sure we had all of the books at our house!


Thank you for allowing me to indulge in a little trip down memory lane. Perhaps you'll find yourself googling a childhood favourite that you haven't thought about in years as well.

Summary: The books of a Canadian/British childhood