Thursday, October 29, 2009

~Top Ten: Favorite Childhood Books~

Last night I was thinking about books I enjoyed in my childhood and early teen years. In no particular order, here are my top ten favorite books:

1) Anne of Green Gables (series), L.M. Montgomery

I read the books before I saw the movie. Oh, how I adored Anne Shirley! And then I was thrilled to watch the movie - all my favorite characters brought to life on the screen. Though I still say they missed the mark when it came to casting Rachel. She was supposed to be a little more "fluffy", shall we say.

2) Little House on the Prairie (series), Laura Ingalls Wilder

I wanted to be Laura!

3) The Borrowers (series), Mary Norton

These books certainly spark your imagination. Wonder where all your safety pins and buttons disappear? The Borrowers have them, of course! I recommend all the books in this series, except for the last book. In it, the Borrowers move into a haunted house.

4) Eight Cousins, Louisa May Alcott

This is my favorite book by Louisa May Alcott. I know that Little Women is her best-known novel, but she wrote some excellent books that get passed over, I think. There is also a sequel, called Rose in Bloom.

5) All of a Kind Family (series), Sydney Taylor

I loved these books! So much! The books follow a New York Jewish family through the children's growing up years. When we first meet the family, all the little girls dress alike. I loved that, because my mom dressed my sisters and me in matching clothes too!

6) Mary Poppins (series), P.L. Travers

I debated about listing this series, but it was a series of books I enjoyed. As a child, the books were quite innocent, but rereading them when I was older made me realize that Mary Poppins is more witch than nanny.

7) What Katy Did (series), Susan Coolidge

All about a little girl and an accident that changed her life forever. My sisters and I checked this book out of the library so many times, and found the sequels online, since our library didn't have them.

8) The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner

Four children, recently orphaned, and fearing their grandfather who will now be their guardian, run away. They find an abandoned boxcar and set up house. This book was a model to our play when we were little. My sisters and I were lonely orphans living in a boxcar (the bed of my dad's truck), until, that is, my mom called us in for lunch.

9) Love Comes Softly (series), Janette Oke

Not technically written for children, but I read the first book when I was 8 or 9 years old. I loved anything "old fashioned" and this fit the bill!

10) The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White

E.B.White is better known for Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, but this book was my favorite. It is about a trumpeter swan who cannot trumpet. A sad plight for a trumpeter swan, indeed!

What about you? What are your favorite books from your childhood/early teen years?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

top of my list is Wacky Wednesday. I still love that book. Heidi is another fav from that time.

jen said...

Mine are definitely any Laura Ingalls Wilder although especially Little town on the Prarie and These Happy Golden Years.

Ditto with you again about Anne of Green Gables. Up here in Canada she is like a National Treasure and PEI where the books are based has multiple "anne" attractions.

I also loved Trixie Belden books (mysteries).

As for little child books I loved anything Madeline, Rupert, Babar.

thanks for the walk down a pleasant memory lane!


Jennifer

lizzykristine said...

Many familiar books here. One series I didn't see listed that I loved as a little girl is the Betsy & Tacy series. I'm currently collecting them off paperbackswap for if we someday have a little girl. Actually, I've enjoyed reading them again, too. ;)

But on your recommendation, I picked up the first book of The Borrowers and What Katy Did off paperbackswap. I'll give them a try!

Now if only someone would write book recommendation lists for little boys...! I have tons of books for little girls, but not so many for boys.

Thanks for sharing!

Sandi said...

Oh! Love Comes Softly! I haven't thought about that series in ages, but I used to adore those books when I was a teen!