What Was Your Favorite Book as a Child?

Oh, I love reading these comments! And I can never choose a single favorite. I do love Miss Rumphius — I didn’t know it as a child, but I loved others illustrated by Barbara Cooney — Ox-Cart Man, and also the Five Little Peppers, not a picture book but a chapter book from the 1880s. That was the first “real” book I read on my own, in 2nd grade, and I just loved it and reread it many times. The story of a poor but happy family of five siblings and their adventures… also writing wasn’t dumbed-down then for kids; I still remember specific vocabulary I learned from that book.
Also I loved Maggie and the Pirate, a less-well-known but wonderful Ezra Jack Keats one. Beautiful evocative illustrations, and a bit of tension and mystery, and a story that touches on class issues but so relatable to kids. So great.
And for middle-grade books:
The Secret Garden. The Headless Cupid, the Changeling, and the Egypt Game, all by the wonderful Zilpha Keatley Snyder. The Search for Delicious and Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt. The Witch of Blackbird Pond — so many great books! Someday Angeline, by Louis Sachar, who’s become more known for Holes, but this one is great — another example of writing at the right level for kids without dumbing-down, and without hitting people over the head with the THEME, or the MORAL as I feel like a lot of more recent books do; just wrapping it all into a great story. Bridge to Terabithia for older kids — early middle school. Serious themes and so beautifully done.

My favorite childhood book–and still my favorite book to this day–is Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. I have read that book probably over 100 times. I still have my tattered copy from when I was 7 years old. Every year on New Year’s Day, I read Charlotte’s Web again. (A separate hardcover copy I bought years ago.)

I also loved, loved The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. I love the red snowsuit and wanted one so badly!

Omg, I haven’t thought of that book in years, but I also LOVED it!
My go-to request for my bedtime story was But No Elephants by Jerry Smath. So much fun!

I read that book all the time to my kids! It was a favourite of mine when I was a kid and now it’s one of theirs.

The Golden Books and the Berenstain Bears were favorites. I also was recently reminded of Miss Nelson is Missing about the sweet teacher who can’t get her students to behave so she pretends to go missing but secretly dresses as a mean witchy teacher to get her students under control.

The Poky Little Puppy….still have it..read it to my own kids. Caddie Woodlawn, just about any Judy Blume book, and From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankwieler. When I visited the Met years later, I sought out the fountain and stairs!

The weird and wonderful Wicked Kings of Bloom

Three little wolves and the big bad pig and then Harry Potter😍😍😍

So many! My favorite picture books are the Frances series-A Birthday for Frances, Bread and Jam for Frances, etc. She is a sassy little badger and I love her. These are books I always gift my friends’ kids. Another favorite was Miss Rumphias-I loved how she traveled the world and planted beautiful lupines-I aspire to be her when I grow up. Finally, loved the book Linnea in Monet’s Garden, I was obsessed with Monet and this book in elementary school, and on my first trip to Paris had to head out of town like Linnea did.

My dad used to read us bedtime stories from a book by Steve Martin called “The Cruel Shoes”.

I loved a mystery! Nate the Great, American Girl History Mysteries, Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins, the Boxcar Children. I was always trying to figure out the twist.

Jon Scieszka lived in Brooklyn when I was a kid and he visited my Kindergarten classroom. I have never forgotten his name to this day and just love his books!

mine was “a little Princess” by Frances Hodgson Burnett; I read it over and over! I also loved “Sophie’s Misfortunes” by Comtess de Ségur, an incredible book for kids; that Sophie is wild and gets into so much trouble, it’s fabulous!

I also had the true story of the three little pigs as a child and I loved it. I remember reading it often, but honestly had forgotten about it until I saw this post. What great memories. my dad bought me this book (has passed in Nov 2020)

Put me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson; The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle…and so many more!

Goodnight moon!

Ann Patchett has written two children’s books in recent years and these books are delightful. The books have humor for all ages and are illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser (from the Fancy Nancy series).

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

This is a fun question. As a kid, my favorite books were The Little Red Hen, Miss Suzy, Never Talk to Strangers, The Fire Cat. Now I’ve found sooo many lovely quality books to introduce to my own kids. I adore children’s books.

I was a voracious reader from an early age – my early favorites were Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Miss Nelson is Missing. (My 8 and 10 year old have these books now :)

For middle grade, i loved Louis Sachar – Sideways Stories from Wayside School was my fave.

And of course, every Sweet Valley, Babysitter’s Club, and 1980s/90s YA fiction I could get my hands on.

As a young girl growing up in the 60’s my favorites were The Secret Garden and The Little Princess. I was sick with the mumps and my Mom read them to me to pass the time.

I was a very early reader (later an English major, now a lawyer … sense a theme??) and have incredibly strong memories of reading. I can remember staring at Eric Carle illustrations as a very young child in daycare, and later, where I was when I read a particular book, or where a certain passage was on which side of the page. Over the years, I’ve read my favorite books literally hundreds times.

As a young child, I loved Angelina Ballerina (the illustrations by Katharine Holabird), Brambly Hedge, and a pop-up book called “Goblins” that my kids have always been too scared to read (a quick google search tells me he designed the concept for Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal!)

As a pre-teen, I adored the John Bellairs books: “Gothic lite” young adult novels with illustrations by Edward Gorey. My favorite thing this summer has been working my way through them with my own kids (ages 7 and 9). We sit on the couch at twilight with their feet in my lap, popsicles in everybody’s hands, them assuring me that “it’s not too spooky” but occasionally needing the comfort of a stuffed animal to make it bravely through the rest of the chapter. Such wonderful memories, old and new!

“Once Upon a Time”, a large book of fairy tales from all over the world with colorful illustrations. I had that book until it fell apart. Santa brought this same book to both my cousin and me when I was 10; we were staying at my aunt’s house in Canada for Christmas that year, and I discovered who Santa was when I overheard her say that she found the books on sale at Loblaw’s!

And now im thinking of so many more! Balloon Farm and Roxaboxen too! wonderfully imaginative!

As a bit of an older child, my favorite chapter book to this day is “Dr. Mr. Henshaw” by Beverly Cleary…its a story of a boy who navigates through life’s ups and downs, by writing everything out in letter form to his favorite author. Its bright and youthful and I could picture everything He was describing, in great detail. I think it was a formative age where I could really start to put together the wonder of the written word and painting the picture of those words in my own imagination. <3