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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2018 0:24:34 GMT
I haven’t read them for years, but...The Family from One End Street; Professor Branestawm: Pippi Longstocking; The Borrowers; Little Women; Charlotte’s Web, What Katy Did; My Naughty little Sister (which I used to read to my little sister); Narnia Chronicles; Babar the Elephant
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1,185 posts
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Post by joem on Jan 21, 2018 9:55:31 GMT
All the history books published by Ladybird. I loved all the illustrations and I used to think the name of the author (L du Garde Peach) was ever so exotic! (My dad even made me a special bookstand for my collection.) Price 2/6. Sold in newsagents. My favourite Ladybird was the Captain Scott one. It helped to make his story and polar travel an obsession which has never left me! The illustrations were superb, a couple of them were takes on the work of Dr Wilson, the final expedition's artistic doctor; I always found the last terrifying, the small tent with the three dying men inside being assaulted by a blizzard. Having lost it years back I replaced it a few years ago on a visit to Hay-on-Wye. Also liked their History of the Kings and Queens of England (in two volumes!). Those evocative illustrations again..... Edwy banishing St Dunstan, Edgar being rowed by the other British kings, William Rufus dead in the forest..... I remember these and more even though I haven't seen the books in 40 years!
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1,517 posts
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Post by anita on Jan 21, 2018 10:42:34 GMT
I forgot about Alan Garner's "The Owl Service". I didn't read that until after the great TV adaption.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2018 10:50:08 GMT
When I was working in the bookshop over Christmas I was reminded of Judith Kerr's animal picture books- specifically the Mog series. And then someone informed me there's a book where Mog dies.
So basically childhood ruined. You're all welcome.
(on a serious note I'm sure it's a very useful book to prepare children for animal mortality, but guys...Mog dies)
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Post by Jan on Jan 21, 2018 11:20:09 GMT
Julia Donaldson’s “Tiddler the Storytelling Fish” is a work of absolute unalloyed genius. I’m not joking. It is very short so you can read it in W.H.Smiths. She should be Poet Laureate instead of Duffy.
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Post by ptwest on Jan 21, 2018 12:41:51 GMT
I still have a soft spot for Elmer The Patchwork Elephant. So ridiculous but a great story.
In a clear out yesterday we found a childhood favourite. “The nuns go to Africa” in which a group of nuns go on holiday to Africa in a double decker bus, meet Father Christmas and Father Xmas who have had their car stolen by a pair of rollercoaster building gorillas. Not sure what the author was on, but a lovely story nonetheless.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2018 12:53:48 GMT
I was mildly obsessed with the 'Jinny' series of books as a kid- and read the 'missing' one I never found recently. They were about a family who moved to the wilds of Scotland to 'start over' and some weirdly slightly supernatural goings on with a horse Jinny rescued from a circus. Despite being a bit hippy-70s style overall it still held up when I read the one I'd missed.
As an older kid I also was obsessed with The Babysitters Club. And I still kinda love them. Also everything I know about going on a Cruise, or American Summer Camp I owe to those.
Another one I revisited in recent years was Paula Danziger's 'Remember me to Harold Square' I loved it as an introduction to NY (the plot of the book itself is fairly average teen angst) and in it the characters have a 'scavenger hunt' of things they have to do in the city over a summer. I'm still using it as a bit of a 'New York Bucket list' of things to do.
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2,818 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Jan 21, 2018 13:12:49 GMT
For many years I read Michael Ende's 'The Night of Wishes' every New Year's Eve. I stopped a couple of years ago, but I'm planning to read it again in 11 months!
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3,940 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Jan 21, 2018 21:09:55 GMT
I was mildly obsessed with the 'Jinny' series of books as a kid- and read the 'missing' one I never found recently. They were about a family who moved to the wilds of Scotland to 'start over' and some weirdly slightly supernatural goings on with a horse Jinny rescued from a circus. Despite being a bit hippy-70s style overall it still held up when I read the one I'd missed. I'd completely forgotten about these but now I remember reading them when I was going through my horsy phase, along with many, many other pony books. The list of children's books I still love, read & collect would be too ridiculously long to post. I have 4 bookcases mostly occupied by children's & girl's books.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2018 21:25:26 GMT
Has anyone else read the Honor Arundel books about Emma? The High House, Emma's Island and Emma in Love. 60s/70s novels about a girl whose parents die, and she goes to live with her strange arty aunt in Edinburgh, and then they move to a remote island. Haven't read them in ages, I might have to reread them soon.
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Post by crabtree on Jan 21, 2018 21:56:33 GMT
The Wind in the Willows still give me great joy, and has been a huge part of my life with Toda as constant companion. I saw The lion, the witch and the wardrobe in a brilliant production last night, but never loved those Narnia books. I like them even less now.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2018 22:25:48 GMT
The Wind in the Willows still give me great joy, and has been a huge part of my life with Toda as constant companion. I saw The lion, the witch and the wardrobe in a brilliant production last night, but never loved those Narnia books. I like them even less now. I had a paperback set as a child with cover designs I loved. For a very long time though, I'd only read The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. One summer when I was about 15 I think, I decided to read the set. I really liked The Magician's Nephew, and I like Prince Caspian (I'm especially fascinated by the whole scenario of being in a ruined place generations after anyone has been there) but the others, oh my goodness, how I hated them. As the series goes on the religious symbolism gets so clunky and heavy handed, it's really grating. The early books are fine because you can see the symbolism if you want to, but it's easy to miss it if you're not interested. The later ones though, jeez. And the way he treats poor Susan - how dare she be interested in boys and lipstick? Eternal damnation for you Susan! Having said that, I never quite finished The Horse and His Boy, as my puppy Gleason ate the last couple of chapters before I could finish it.
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Post by poster J on Jan 22, 2018 8:48:24 GMT
As an older kid I also was obsessed with The Babysitters Club. And I still kinda love them. Also everything I know about going on a Cruise, or American Summer Camp I owe to those. Me too - had completely forgotten about them!
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4,048 posts
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Post by kathryn on Jan 22, 2018 9:41:59 GMT
Over Christmas there was a Twitter-organised mass re-read of The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper, and gosh but that book holds up! Wonderfully atmospheric to read with the snow falling outside. Also still love The Dark Lord of Derkholm (which is just begging for a film adaptation by Taika Waititi, filmed entirely on location in New Zealand) and The Year of the Griffin.
Absolutely love the Bromeliad trilogy by Terry Pratchett - Truckers, Diggers and Wings. Would highly recommend to anyone who hasn't 'got' Pratchett yet, they're a brilliant introduction to his sensibility but not actually Discworld books.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 22, 2018 17:58:11 GMT
Blyton yes, Malcolm Saville yes (re-read Saucers Over The Moor recently). Other favourites included The Piemakers by Helen Cresswell, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and I stil have my tattered and beloved hardback copy of Moonfleet by J Meade Falkner. The latter fascinated me particularly because of the description of the well house at Carisbrooke Castle on the IoW which I had actually been to and seen the donkey operating the lift. It made the story completely real.
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Post by Dawnstar on Jan 22, 2018 19:14:21 GMT
Over Christmas there was a Twitter-organised mass re-read of The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper, and gosh but that book holds up! Wonderfully atmospheric to read with the snow falling outside. Also still love The Dark Lord of Derkholm (which is just begging for a film adaptation by Taika Waititi, filmed entirely on location in New Zealand) and The Year of the Griffin. Absolutely love the Bromeliad trilogy by Terry Pratchett - Truckers, Diggers and Wings. Would highly recommend to anyone who hasn't 'got' Pratchett yet, they're a brilliant introduction to his sensibility but not actually Discworld books. I didn't participate in that mass re-read but I re-read The Dark Is Rising series fairly regularly. The one thing a fairly eccentric English teacher who I otherwise disliked did that I was grateful for was to introduce my class to those books. The Bromeliad trilogy were the first ever Pratchetts I read, back when I was about 12. I then graduated onto Discworld & haven't ever actually re-read them, as I borrowed them from the school library at the time. I probably should re-read them some day. Blyton yes, Malcolm Saville yes (re-read Saucers Over The Moor recently). I love Malcolm Saville's books. Not only the best known Lone Pine ones but also the Jillies & Buckingham series. I've also (thanks again to GGBP) recently finally tried the Marston Baines series, which were written for older readers & are pretty dark in places, at least by my usual reading standards. @theatremonkey Filth! Though I wil say that the Famous Five books have been so extensively parodied that it is hard to read them seriously nowadays. I'm glad that my favourite Blyton series, the Adventure books, have a much lower profile & therefore haven't been spoiled in the same way. I'm also fond of the Five Find Outers & Dog series.
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Post by The Matthew on Jan 22, 2018 19:23:37 GMT
Though I wil say that the Famous Five books have been so extensively parodied that it is hard to read them seriously nowadays. Thanks to "The Comic Strip Presents..." I still have to keep reminding myself that George's gay father and nymphomaniac mother aren't actually in the original stories.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2018 19:34:03 GMT
I went camping in Dorset a few years ago, and it was like a Blyton fest. I read several Famous Fives and a couple of Malory Towers while I was there, and visited the Dancing Ledge, which was the Malory Towers swimming pool (a bit slimy and small and seaweedy, not a glamorous tidal swimming pool) and drank lots of ginger beer in fields. I didn't find any smugglers though.
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Post by floorshow on Jan 22, 2018 20:04:21 GMT
Though I wil say that the Famous Five books have been so extensively parodied that it is hard to read them seriously nowadays. Thanks to "The Comic Strip Presents..." I still have to keep reminding myself that George's gay father and nymphomaniac mother aren't actually in the original stories. "Oh Timmy, you're so licky!" - not quite the tone that Enid was going for.
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Post by joem on Jan 22, 2018 20:15:46 GMT
The Wind in the Willows still give me great joy, and has been a huge part of my life with Toda as constant companion. I saw The lion, the witch and the wardrobe in a brilliant production last night, but never loved those Narnia books. I like them even less now. I had a paperback set as a child with cover designs I loved. For a very long time though, I'd only read The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. One summer when I was about 15 I think, I decided to read the set. I really liked The Magician's Nephew, and I like Prince Caspian (I'm especially fascinated by the whole scenario of being in a ruined place generations after anyone has been there) but the others, oh my goodness, how I hated them. As the series goes on the religious symbolism gets so clunky and heavy handed, it's really grating. The early books are fine because you can see the symbolism if you want to, but it's easy to miss it if you're not interested. The later ones though, jeez. And the way he treats poor Susan - how dare she be interested in boys and lipstick? Eternal damnation for you Susan! Having said that, I never quite finished The Horse and His Boy, as my puppy Gleason ate the last couple of chapters before I could finish it. Did he manage to digest it?
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 22, 2018 20:41:08 GMT
One of my favourite Fives of all time was Five Go On A Hike Together. “Two trees, gloomy water, Saucy Jane and Maggie knows”. I can see the cover of that paperback with them all peering over the edge of a raft as clear as day right now.
I think the cover art made a huge impression on me back then. I went on to collect Tom Adams cover art from Agatha Christie novels.
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Post by The Matthew on Jan 22, 2018 21:29:22 GMT
One of my favourite Fives of all time was Five Go On A Hike Together. “Two trees, gloomy water, Saucy Jane and Maggie knows”. Wasn't that the one where they had to find a spot in the middle of a lake by matching up nearby landscape features? I always loved that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2018 4:10:39 GMT
One of my favourites is "The Little Prince". I recently bought a special edition at Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal. One of the most beautiful bookshops I've ever visited.
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Post by dizzieblonde on Jan 23, 2018 11:53:22 GMT
I was such a bookworm as a child - I went through piles of books a week. It's incredibly difficult to condense that into a shortlist, but I'd have to say:
Little House on the Prairie, and the sequels Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes books The Wind In The Willows The Secret Garden The Little Princess Little Women The Railway Children Enid Blyton - all of them, but I was obsessed with the St Clare's books!
When I was younger, I loved the Little Grey Rabbit books, by Alison Uttley. I honestly don't know if they're even in print any more. Talking to people, I recently realised just what a fantastic primary school experience I had, with a large, well stocked library (for a very small school), and teachers who read aloud to the class almost every single afternoon. I distinctly remember being 7 years old, and having the entire book of The Hobbit read to us, in daily installments, over a long period of time (although it was perhaps just a few weeks, maybe a month). Do teachers even do that any more - and would they tackle a fairly advanced reader book, for a crowd of 7 year olds, that would take weeks to complete?
I also remember one teacher reading us The Demon Headmaster - he took inordinate pleasure reading us the descriptions of the things that happened to the children, and so the book scared me sh*tless for weeks afterwards! I have a bunch of nephews and nieces, in the age range of when I started to become book obsessed, and their Xmas and birthday presents are now heavily book-related. I'm determined that they'll get the opportunity to have same experience I did, so I'm making sure they get all the ones I loved, as well as the usual Roald Dahl, Harry Potter stuff that every kid loves!
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Post by maggiem on Jan 23, 2018 17:14:32 GMT
Anyone mentioned Roald Dahl?
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Fantastic Mr Fox, James and the Giant Peach ... can't beat 'em.
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Post by shady23 on Jan 23, 2018 18:33:49 GMT
I loved the Secret Seven as a child and wasn't a fan of the Famous Five. Re-reading them now it's the other way around. The Secret Seven really are the most frightful bunch. Snobby, rude and pompous!
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196 posts
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Post by rockinrobin on Jan 24, 2018 21:29:53 GMT
Mary Poppins! I still love these books. My father gave me a wonderful, beautiful, shiny new edition of all stories in one volume a few years ago - it was my 34th birthday... One of the best gifts ever, if not the best.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Jan 24, 2018 21:43:57 GMT
shady23, you are Susie and I claim my £5. Let me in that shed and to the endless ginger beer and cook's finest rock buns and fruit cake, God damm it! 😂
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13 posts
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Post by jasmineneroli on Jan 25, 2018 20:04:56 GMT
The Enchanted Wood, The Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair
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Post by joem on Jan 25, 2018 20:11:33 GMT
Someone mentioned Malcolm Saville? I found it interesting (in the Lone Pine series) how he had a group of linked characters, family and friends, who did not necessarily appear in all the books but were still main characters in the series as a whole.
Also, how he handled relationships as the kids grew to be young adults. Rather more tastefully, I seem to remember, than JK Rowling's obsession with "snogging" in the later Harry Potter novels.
Doesn't seem to have done him much good in terms of enduring popularity though.
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