Childhood books
 

When I was about eight or nine, I can remember always going into my older sister's room and borrowing her old horror books. I can also remember getting a subscription of books through Scholastic. I LOVED reading as a kid, and still do, and I would literally jump up and down with excitement when my books arrived in the mail.

Anyhow, I am going back through Ebay to get some of those old horror books, but I can't find a good lot to buy. I think I am going to have to buy them slowly, little by little. Most of them are Christopher Pike books from the late eighties and early ninties- the paperbacks with the brightly colored titles. My subscription was for Girl Talk books- I remember them because they were bright pink, and I had almost the whole series- I think I had almost 50 books. I had read them all at least four times. I also had a couple of Sweet Valley High books, but those weren't nearly as good.

So, what books do you miss from your childhood?

I've just recently received The Annotated Alice, The Annotated Huckleberry Finn, and The Annotated Wizard of Oz.

I haven't had a chance to read them, but I've had a peek inside... wow.. I'm really in for a treat!

I don't think there was ever a time in my life when I had *nothing* to read. I always try to keep a nice "buffer" available, incase I suddenly finish whatever I'm reading at the moment.

For some reason, I just don't have any particular books that stand out from my childhood besides the three I mentioned.

I think I had every Nancy Drew book known to man, and read them all at least a dozen times. (A few more books were recently released in that series, though I haven't picked the up yet)

My favorite story always has been the Velveteen Rabbit (I wasn't always so cynical about love)

Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little were also favorites

Madeline used to amuse me.

So many many more....

It's FANTASTIC -- you are absolutely in for a treat - -the story is slightly different than the movie we all know and (at least I love) the annotations makes it all seem new. I got this book a few years ago, and love it.

The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales is also superb -- Wasn't aware of the Annotated Huck Finn, will have to check that one out.

Re: Childhood books
 

What about John Bellairs, the original goth-for-children author? Lots of good stuff there.

Also, I was very fond of "The Phantom Tollbooth" (Norton Juster), "The Westing Game" (Ellen Raskin), and "Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars" (Daniel Pinkwater).

I don't "miss" any of these old stories, however; I've already been collecting them!

:) My wife works for Scholastic. I remember the book fairs and book clubs very well.

I got the opportunity to work there when I was in between jobs (thanks to the wife and her connections) and I bring them into the office and let them sit on the coffee table.

People walk past and go, "OMG!!!! I remember that book from when I was a kid.. " and I tell them to take it home with them. They cannot believe it.

Oh.. my favorites...

Old man and the magic fish

Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo

and of course

Where the Wild Things Are

I used to love the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

"The Three Investigators" series books were especially fun. (Highly recommended.)
I liked how they had their secret headquarters in the middle of Jupiter Jones' uncles' salvage yard and the names of the secret entrances, "Red Gate Rover" and "Green Gate One". :)

The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were favorites, as well.

I think I owned about 8 billion of those "Goosebumps" books.

Other than that, I can only remember one poem from a book of poems I had:

"Something big has been here.
What it was I do not know,
for I did not see it coming,
and I did not see it go.
But I hope I never meet it,
if I do I'm in a fix,
for it left behind its footprint,
a size 956."

A few years ago, we were going through some old things and I found Morgan Morning. Still tugged at my heart (and started a never ending argument between my wife and I, but that's another tale). Apart from that and Shell Silverstein, nothing rely stuck with me that was written for children.

I remember those Christoper Pike books :D


I read pretty much anything horse related as a kid. If it was a book about horses, I most likely read it.

The first book I ever read was Courdaroy... about a teddy bear in a department store who is missing a button... fantastic! I still read it now and then.

I was huge into Star Wars novels as a kid, and The Hobbitt

I think at one point, I owned every Babysitters' Club book, and most of the Sweet Valley ones. I don't really "miss" those...

I'll still reread L.J. Smith books though...like the Secret Circle, Dark Visions, and Forbidden Game trilogies, the Vampire Diaries books. oh! And Night of the Solstice and its sequel, Heart of Valor.

Lots of Christopher Pike and RL Stine when I was younger...my favorites were probably The Starlight Crystal (Pike) and the Fear Street Saga (Stine).

hmmm...what else... Shel Silverstein, I still like his poems :) There was this one book, I think it's called Remember Me to Harold Square, by Paula Danziger...I must have checked that out of the library a thousand times.

Does anyone remember Richard Scarry's books?
I don't know why but his Nursery Rhymes where all the characters are animals sticks with me to this day.

and yes. Maurice Sendaks, "Where the Wild Things Are"
didn't he also do a book called "The Night Kitchen" or something like that? I remember that one distinctly because in the illusttrations the dreaming little boy clearly is shown with a, ummm
wee-wee. (it was the source of some uproar at PTA meetings across the land at the time)

I think it would be cool to have the original "Dick and Jane" books.
hmmmm I believe I hear e-bay calling...

I have that book.. where he's wandering around the department store looking for a button!!

//lostinnastalgialand//

I ALSO remember reading beat up old Curious George books in the Library.....heh....

I DO believe that the man in the yellow hat was a CIA operative.

I also liked The Three Investigators and the John Bellairs books.
"Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo" -- I remember that. Out comes the water, in goes the air.

Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" books were incredible.

My favorite childhood book of all time: Bear By Himself. Awesome, although my cover is better than that one. I know where my copy is at all times. It will go to my children.

Last, I also loved The House at the End of the Lane but I haven't been able to find it. It has gone out of print. :(

EDIT: But I just bought a used copy off Amazon. Fingers crossed that it's as good as I remember.

COME QUICKLY...
Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo has fallen down the well!

The little golden books,and the Scary stroies to tell in the dark series...I started reading Steven King when I was eleven.

horray! someone else has read it!!!!

My favorite book as a kid was

"Where the Red Fern Grows" can't recall the author

Think "Old Yeller" but much better

I also remember reading alot of the "Choose your own adventure books"

DB

I read that one, too. I started Stephen King around eleven, too, after I ran out of Christopher Pike, but I got tired of him around 15 or 16. I haven't really found any one good author since him that has put out as many books, so it is hard to keep reading. Then again, I don't know where to look.

Dean Koontz has written a lot of horror. He's solid. Brian Lumley has written a big vampire series. Dan Simmons has some good horror novels, although he does sci-fi too.
Threadjack over.

Where the Wild Things Are and Phantom Tollbooth

As mentioned in another thread at this time, The Chronicles of Narnia. This boxing book called The Contender. The Hobbit. Goosebumps.

About all I can recall. I do remember being very young and seeing a copy of Anna Karina and thinking you'd have to be completely insane to read that. It totally blew my mind. Just a side note there.

Where the Wild Things Are was my favorite as a kid. I don't ewxactly miss it becasue it's still circulating. I read it to my son and it brought a rush of feelings right back like I was reading it the first time. Great Book!

spent my child hood reading Greek mythology...still love that shit. I can't remember the particular title of the book(s) but it always have the words "Greek Myths" on the cover....

I remember reading "Katie (the Tractor) and the snowstorm"
whwn I was little. Now living in South Korea I walk through the bookstore and see the exact same book only written in Korean.
I had to buy it cause it has a surreal look to it.

Ditto that about the myth books. My favorite was a big yellow one, D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Mythology. Lots of different stories, and plenty of cool pictures. I also was heavy into Roald Dahl, and I don't think there's anything of his I missed, even cheapo short stuff like The Magic Finger and The Twits.

The book that started it all for me was Redwall by Brian Jacques. My third grade teacher read it to the class and I haven't been able to stop reading since. I recently had the honor of reading the first couple chapters of it to her class.

Other books I loved as a child are
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Leguin
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander , which was made into the animated movie The Black Cauldron

And one I can't seem to find or properly remember the title of. It was something like "My Brother is a Griffen"

Possum Magic.
The Muddle-Headed Wombat.


two GREAT books... both staples in every lucky Aussie childs unbringing.

Lloyd Alexander - Book of Three series (it was the second book, "The Black Cauldron" that became a movie)

Stephen R. Lawhead - Dragon King trilogy (think that's the name)

JRR Tolkien - obviously

David Eddings - Belgariad and Mallorean (must admit that I've read each of those series 9 times now.... that's 90 books, haha)

You know that's a miscount, don't you? There's 3 books following those two 5-book series. If you missed them somehow, let me be pleased to introduce you to the books Belgarath the Sorcerer, Polgara the Sorceress, and The Rivan Codex. There's another 1,984 pages out of your life...

I was all about the Encyclopedia Brown.. Damn that kid was smert ;) That, Eric Wilson, and Fighting Fantasy kept me busy as a kid

My fondest memories though are of a book called BFG (yeah I know, means something new now). It was the first "novel" I read that I couldnt put down. - BTW, BFG stood for Big Friendly Giant..

The Prydain chronicles.. Classic.. Gurgy is hungry

I'm so surprised no one has mentioned the Berenstain Bears

My favorite books when I was a kid where this set of 4 Disney books. I was a voracious reader and loved all of them. One was more of a science like book which had facts about animals...etc. The other three were story oriented and had stories like Peter Pan, Jonah and the Whale...etc. loved it!

I forgot to mention my favorite book as a younger kid: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. So cute, I still love it today, and plan on reading it to MY kids when I have them :D

as a "kid", I remember reading the Gordan Coreman books and Narnia. Even younger, there was this series of books called "The Great Brain".

dammit....

if forgot my alltime end all be all book by Shel Silverstein - The Giving Tree.

That book never leaves my suitcase, and goes with me wherever I do :)

Also, another book I'll always love is The Princess Bride by William Goldman (the movie is pretty awesome too)

I think I wore out my copy of Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott I read it so many times.

I was in a colleagues office today and there was his son's reading list for high school on his desk, talk about a stroll down memory lane, two of my favorite books were on it -- A Seperate Peace, which was wonderful and Ethan Frome -