What was your favorite book as a kid? You could read it over and over and never get tired of it? As a young kid- The

[debm55]

Cat in the Hat.: : As I got older I liked mysteries. Nancy Drew series was my favorite.

[GreenWave]

1. Something about Big Red.

I had an Irish setter so I loved that book. At the end of the book I added to it.

"Woof! Woof! Bark! Bark! Jump up and down! Wrinkle up your nose! Run in your dog house!"

Big Red whenever I got off the bus!

[debm55]

3. That sounds neat. TY for your post.

[GreenWave]

6. Thanks for the thread.

It brought back some wonderful boyhood memories.

[debm55]

57. You are welcome, GreenWave.

[wnylib]

44. I read Big Red when I was in 8th grade.

If I remember right, there were a couple books about him. I enjoyed them at a time when other girls my age were reading teen romance stories. I'd read a couple of those, too, but found Big Red refreshingly different.

[debm55]

96. I will check out the local Library and see if they have it. I love to read all kinds of books for all ages.

Last edited Sun Oct 29, 2023, 09:06 PM - Edit history (1)

[wnylib]

117. Big Red is the story of an Irish Setter, told

entirely from the dog's point of view.

He is a champion pedigreed breeding dog that ends up lost in the woods and has to adapt from being a sheltered domestic animal to becoming feral to survive.

If I remember right after all these decades, his crate gets bumped off of a truck during transit. His owner searches endlessly for his champion breeder, but can't find him.

Big Red encounters a female dog eventually. I don't remember if she was a feral stray or a lost pet. They mate and Big Red helps to raise the pups, which feral dogs do when not under human control.

The rest is up to you to read. Don't want to spoil the ending.

ON EDIT: Oops! I just looked up Big Red online and realized that I gave you the wrong outline of the story. The one that I described is the 3rd in a series and is called Outlaw Red. It is about Big Red's son, Sean.

[LakeArenal]

2. Gone With the Wind. I read it every summer.

I loved a series of books called:

Louise and Jean Dana. The Dana Girls.

[debm55]

5. Those covers look familiar.

[LakeArenal]

9. Might be the same writer of Nancy Drew

It I had read all those from the library.

Then the Five & Dime sold books and this series came out.

My allowance covered a movie, a malt and fries, a 45 record and a Dana Girls book.

I doubt kids today have half the fun.

[leftieNanner]

4. Blitz

About a fire horse. Had a deeply sad part in the middle that always made me cry. Mom would walk past my room and hear me sobbing - "Oh, she's reading that book again."

Mom got rid of all of our kids books when we got older, but I was able to find a copy online and I have read it again.

I think I would put Pippi Longstocking on my list of favorites too.

[debm55]

97. That's sad about Blitz, I would have cried like I did with Old Yeller.

[ColinC]

7. Fortunately by Remy Charlip

[debm55]

98. Colin, thank you for bringing up Fortunately.

[rsdsharp]

8. There were a lot. Early on The Bobbsey Twins,

The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew, all part of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Then it was the Heinlein juveniles, Curtis Bishop’s Little League books, and the Blue Sox series by Duane Decker.

But my absolute favorite book as a kid was Rookie Backstop by William Heuman. I checked it out and read it over and over. Several years ago, I tracked it down on Ebay, and now own a copy.

[debm55]

58. Great buy!

[Polly Hennessey]

10. The Secret Garden; Nancy Drew; Forever Amber.

[debm55]

59. Loved the Secret Garden.

[yellowdogintexas]

69. I gave a copy of The Secret Garden to our niece for her birthday this week

She is 12, and I told her I had read it when I was 12. I also gave her The Wee Free Men (Terry Pratchett) and two Artimus Fowl

[yorkster]

11. Black Beauty, also Heidi.

[debm55]

61. agree with both.

[Laffy Kat]

12. The Phantom Tollbooth.

And when I read it to my kids it became their favorite as well.

[al bupp]

15. By far my favorite, as well

Read it to my children. It has stuck with me all these years. It's a true classic. Oh, and the Jules Fiefer illustrations are priceless.

[debm55]

62. It was in our Literature book. Enjoyed reading.

[Aristus]

13. "The Hobbit".

I first read it at about age eight. At the time, it was the longest book I had ever read in its entirety all on my own. I had seen the animated TV special, and someone at school told me it was based on a book; so I convinced my mother to buy it for me.

Today, I have probably ten copies of the book. A paperback reading copy. An illustrated version. The Annotated Hobbit. A German language edition, a Latin language edition, the limited edition boxed set, and so on.

Great book, is what I'm saying.

[k55f5r]

37. I found the Two Towers on the bookmobile when I was in 5th grade

. That started a multi year fascination with LOTRs. I didn't read the Hobbit until id read LOTRs twice. It seemed a little juvenile on first read, but has become my favorite by jrrtolkien.

[Aristus]

42. I've always loved Tolkien's humorous 'storyteller' style in "The Hobbit".

Much more so than his purely declarative style in LotR.

Like the trolls fighting in the chapter "Roast Mutton": 'Soon they were fighting like dogs, and calling one another all sorts of perfectly true and applicable names in very loud voices.'

British wit doesn't get any drier than that.

Welcome to DU.

[debm55]

63. Agree.

[lapfog_1]

108. me too... loved reading it around age 8 or 9

and for many years after... about this time of year (right after Halloween), I would read "The Lord of The Rings".

Something about late fall early winter, a big easy chair... possibly a fire in the fireplace... and Tolkien.

If I was a smoker... a great big Sherlock Holmes pipe to smoke... lol. Some Longbottom Leaf of course.

[ggma]

14. Any comic book

My mom taught me to read with them
gg

[debm55]

64. Great way to learn to read.

[NNadir]

16. Bradbury's "Martian Chronicles" in 7th grade. The next year I discovered Mitchener's "The Source."

I don't read fiction anymore and only read technical works, but I recently recommended "The Source" to my oldest son, who at 29, plans to read it.

[Dulcinea]

20. I love Michener's books.

I like historical fiction, & his books had strong female characters.

[malthaussen]

25. Think I first read "The Source" when I was, I dunno, 16?

One of my more influential reads, it's kind of become a permanent touchstone for thinking about Palestine and archaeology.

-- Mal

[ggma]

68. I read the Source in my early twenties

When I got to the end, I started over at page one.

Loaned it out and lost it. Books were precious and expensive to own, so lesson learned.

gg

[debm55]

99. NNadir, very good that you passed that tradition down. Must give you a wonderful feeling.

[Coventina]

17. Narnia, and The Three Investigators.

I then discovered Sherlock Holmes and my life-long crush began.....

Tall, thin, brainy, and emotionally unavailable and I'm hooked!!!

[rsdsharp]

119. I love the Holmes stories, but I can't read them anymore.

I know it’s totally irrational, but I think it’s bad luck for me to get involved with Sherlock Holmes. In the spring of 1968 I read the Holmes stories. On May 15th an F5 tornado destroyed much of the town I lived in. I reread them in March 1969. My father died on April 1st. In 1970, a local TV station was playing the Basil Rathbone Holmes movies late on Friday nights. I was hospitalized twice in the fall of that year.

Since then, I’ve only read one Sherlock Holmes story. It was required for a course in mystery and detective fiction I took in college more than 40 years ago. I’ve never seen the Holmes movies starring Robert Downey, Jr. or Benedict Cumberbatch, although I’d like to. It’s stupid, I know, but I just can’t do it.

[Coventina]

121. I totally understand that. I'd probably avoid them with that kind of history!!

If it helps: You aren't missing much for the Robert Downey Jr. movies. The actors were fantastic, the material they had to work with was terrible.

The Benedict Cumberbatch is along the same vein. The first season was magic. The subsequent seasons were vastly inferior.

[debm55]

123. rsdharp, I am so sorry for the life changing events that happened to you. I understand. There are other books to read.

Do what is best for you.

[debm55]

130. Yes, I love mysteries.

[Dulcinea]

18. The Little House books, Greek & Norse myths, to name a few.

I've been a reader all my life!

[debm55]

66. Loved the Little House books

[AldebTX]

19. A Series of books

About an older detective type lady called Miss Pickerell. She had young children side kicks.

[debm55]

67. That sounds familiar. Thank you for adding to the list.

Last edited Sun Oct 29, 2023, 10:15 PM - Edit history (1)

[werdna]

21. HURRY UP, SLOWPOKE by Crosby Newell

When I was young-young my mother would read it to me, and later I would read it on my own. I can still smell those cookies that Simon's Grandmother bakes! And I still have the copy my mother read to me and wrote my name in. Anyone else read this book. Here are links to some pictures to help jog your memory:

http://www.kathleendeady.com/EasyReader-1961-HurryUpSlowpokePage.htm

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/10-vintage-wonder-book-lot-hurry-1992650709

[debm55]

100. I don't remember them. But thank you for posting. It's interesting to read the writing inside and the illustrations. TY

[Kali]

22. rarely reread books (or repeat movies)

but I am definitely a reader. I read anything from food packages to instruction manuals, garbage beach novels to science texts. my son learned in his trouble making teenage years to hand me a decent book and I wouldn't pay any attention to anything for a day or two.

[debm55]

133. Kali, that's funny. TY

[lastlib]

23. The "Harold & Purple Crayon" series.

Nobody else ever got to read the library editions, because either my sister or I always had them checked out. I couldn't count the number of times I read them. Ironic, because I hated coloring in school, because I was galactically bad at it--even flunked it in first grade. It really upset my teacher, who complained to my mom about it--then had the GALL to tell Mom I was reading and doing arithmetic "with my age level"! (Hell, I was reading my older sister's high-school science book, and doing my brother's seventh-grade math! in first grade. It became a family joke that I was calculating thermodynamic field tensors instead of coloring.)

The other series I read incessantly was the Brains Benton mysteries. good books--I still have several of them.

[electric_blue68]

26. 😄🧡 Harold and the Purple Crayon...

I think my folks bought me 2 of them. 🧡👍
They certainly had a surreal sense about them!

[debm55]

65. Loved them.

[malthaussen]

24. As a kid? Either the Mystery at Devil's Paw...

... or The Clue of the Screeching Owl. I've even read them as an adult for max nostalgia reasons.

Honorable mention to The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, by Farley Mowat. Mutt is everything I ever wanted in, well, a mutt.

But fairly early in the 60's, we picked up a copy of Bruce Catton's civil war trilogy The Army of the Potomac. I especially loved the first volume, Mr Lincoln's Army, and I've probably read the thing twenty times since then. I personally find it more of an epic tragedy than history, which is why I like it so much.

-- Mal

[debm55]

132. Thanks, Mal. Your selections sounds very good.

[Siwsan]

27. Junior Miss by Sally Benson

It is a 'coming of age' story of a young girl. My mom gave it to me. I read, re-read and re-re-read that book.

I also read Nancy Drew. Then I moved on to endless historical biographies. I read a little bit of fiction but far prefer non-fiction.

[debm55]

126. Thank you, Siwsan.

[Chainfire]

28. I liked the Hardy Boys.

I was heartbroken when I found out that Franklin W. Dixon was a woman! I had been very suspicious that the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were the same stories, so I figured that F.W. Dixon wrote both. I was a little boy, in the early 60s; a product of the times.

After I learned the truth, I started reading non-fiction!

[Silent Type]

33. Read many of the Hardy Boys books. My dad had a set from the 1930s. Did not know about the

different writers, until I looked it up just now. Still liked the books.

[debm55]

134. I didn't know that either. but I still enjoyed.TY

[malthaussen]

169. Not just different writers, different editions...

... along about 1960, the publisher decided the original versions (most of which were written by Leslie MacFarlane) were too "dated" and decided to "upgrade" them. Literary quality took a quantum jump down, the books became, on average, around 30 pages shorter, and they threw in a couple of pictures instead of just having a frontispiece.

So, you lucked out if you were reading the editions from the '30s. I originally owned a mix of the old and the new, as the rewrites were ongoing when I was getting the books. The originals are just much better. Of course, after #38 it doesn't matter, since those ware all originally written in the "new" style. There are replica editions of the originals, finding them used is a much more expensive process than the nostalgia warrants.

HBs have since gone through many other evolutions, but I haven't looked at any of those. I presume the dumbing down process has continued apace.

-- Mal

[debm55]

171. Thank you for that information, malthaussen. I didn't know that was going on.

[Elessar Zappa]

53. My dad loved the Hardy Boys.

[Chainfire]

56. Poor old Frank and Joe. They were knocked out more often than Jim Rockford;

I bet they both have dementia by now.

I read the entire series that had been published up until the time that I started noticing girls. (mid 60s) Frank and Joe had to take a backseat.

[debm55]

101. I read the Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series. I loved and still love animal themed books and mysteries. TY

[TlalocW]

163. I have an idea for a book or story that I'm not talented enough to write

Each chapter focuses on a different kid/teen sleuth - Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, etc. The final chapter consists of all the sleuths interacting with each other, and you realize that it's a re-enactment of everyone's individual chapters from a neutral/outsider perspective, and you understand that Nancy's interaction with say, the Hardy Boys had her suspecting them of doing something, and likewise, the Hardy Boys' interaction with her in their chapter, with the dialogue same or similar in both chapters that it could work either way. Same with Encyclopedia Brown. And that's when the reader discovers they're all in a mental ward for young people convinced that they're detectives.

[Jrose]

29. Alice in Wonderland (orig. Version by Lewis Carroll)..

Liked the intricate illustrations. I've re-read it many times over the years, and re-interpreted its meaning too.

Also... The Wizard of Oz, by Baum, another dark adventure involving a very inquisitive and brave young woman.

[debm55]

102. Yes, the Wizard of Oz is not like the movie at all. I read the series.

[electric_blue68]

30. Harold/Purple Crayon, Dr Suess Birthday book, Black Beauty, and LOTR!...

I read the first 3 at various youngest, younger ages. Harold, and Dr Suess had these surreal aspects. 👍
One of my favorite aunts gave me The Hobbit. With the hints of the other Middle Earth stories in there - my folks gave me the paperback edition of The LOTR Trilogy when I was ?12 in '65.
One time down in the West Village w my mom ?at 14 I got the various "Frodo Lives", and other LOTR related buttons that were so popular back then. 👍
.
And finally "Way Station" by Clifford E Simak: my 2nd, or 3rd SF book. My first book was also by him: I didn't understand it all, but I was so intrigued. The first one was on my dad's side of my folks' bureau, and I asked to read it. I was ?10-11. It might have been before I read "A Wrinkle in Time" which I either read on my own, or for class. I became a Life Long Science Fiction Book fan.
.
I was probably already on my way 😄🧡 to being one media-wise (TV) through The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits (Original), and Forbidden Planet! 👍 I think I saw all of those before Star Trek debuted!

I think I read some Nancy Drew. I liked her, but ended up not being a really big Mystery fan.

[3catwoman3]

31. A Wrinkle In Time, which I continue...

…to re-read even now. The book was a Christmas gift when I was 12, and I’m now 72.

I haven’t seen either of the movie versions, as I fear I’d be disappointed. I’ve seen trailers for both, and most of the actors chosen look nothing like the vivid images created by my imagination.

[JenniferJuniper]

43. Skip the movies,

the one with Oprah was okay, but it just didn't capture the spirit of the book or the characters.

A Wrinkle in Time was a book on a shelf in my 5th grade class. If we got our class work done early we could take a book and read it. I remember hiding that book under another so it was always there after I'd rushed through my work.

[wnylib]

45. I never read the book, but have seen the movie.

[debm55]

127. Read to my class during book time. TY

[Lochloosa]

32. The Wahoo Bobcat written by Joseph Wharton Lippincott.

It's about the destruction of the Everglades in Florida.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wahoo_Bobcat

[debm55]

135. Sounds interesting.Ty

[Chipper Chat]

34. The island stallion by Walter Farley.

All about camping on an island and finding tunnels to a secret inner valley with wild horses
The Island Stallion https://a.co/d/6rim4we

[debm55]

131. Sounds wounderful. I went through a period of reading horse books. I will have to see if the library has this.

[terip64]

35. Charlotte's Web

I still love it. 😊

[debm55]

124. I read it and to me it was sad.

[peasant one]

36. Silhouette Biographies (juvenile series in 50-60s)

I didn't reread these but loved the series. They were fun reads (don't know how truthful they really were though).

[debm55]

136. I think we had them in my school library. TY

[raccoon]

38. Heidi. A few years later on, Trixie Belden books by Julie Campbell.

[debm55]

138. Loved Heidi. Ty. I acturally read it a couple of times.

[Freddie]

39. Any book where the main character was an animal

Call of the Wild, Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague, etc. Later on the wonderful James Herriot books. And Mad magazine.

[debm55]

137. Me too!!!! Ty

[Upthevibe]

40. debm55

Great post!

For me, it was The Hardy Boys!

[debm55]

88. TY. I read the Hardy boys too.

[Bayard]

41. Anything by Dr. Seuss

I still have, "Green Eggs and Ham," in my library.

Then graduated to, "The Black Stallion," "Misty of Chincoteague," "Call of the Wild," and "Black Beauty." Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

Later, I found Stephen King, courtesy of my boss on my first job, and couldn't get enough.

[happybird]

50. Found my Mom's sizable stash of Stephen King and other horror books

when I was 10 or 11 and there was no looking back!

[debm55]

129. Agree

[wnylib]

46. The Trixie Belden series. I recieved one book as a gift

and started reading the rest. A new family moved in across the street from us and the oldest girl, a year younger than me, turned out to also be a Trixie Belden fan. We exchanged books and then my younger sister joined our "Belden Book Club." The three of us fancied ourselves to be neighborhood "investigators" ready to solve mysteries, or to find them where they didn't exist, except in our imaginations.

Also read Little Women over and over. Cried every time when Beth died, no matter how many times I read it. I had found it in our attic in a collection of books that had been my mother's. They included other Alcott books like Little Men and Eight Cousins. Read them all.

[debm55]

140. Wow, the memories that come back in your post. Thank you for sharing.

[Niagara]

47. I'm guilty of rereading and enjoying the following books:

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.


The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.


The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.


Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.


A Horse Came Running by Meindert DeJong.

[debm55]

139. Niagara, thank you for your selection.

[Prairie_Seagull]

48. Lifetime favorites first read in my youth.

"20,000 leagues under the sea", "The Count of Monty Cristo". Have gifted both books many times.

[debm55]

60. Classics.

[happybird]

49. Read a lot. Ones that came to mind first:

Black Beauty
The Velveteen Rabbit
Where the Red Fern Grows
Bridge to Terabithia
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with the John Tenniel illustrations
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Anything written by Judy Blume
The Ramona Quimby and the Encyclopedia Brown series

[debm55]

142. Fantastic book selections. Thank you for sharing.

[Elessar Zappa]

51. When I was real young,

I liked the Beverley Cleary books (Ramona, Beezus, Henry, etc.) and the Little House on the Prairie series. As a teen I loved Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion. I still read those Tolkien books about once every couple of years. His mythology is fascinating to me.

[debm55]

143. Agree with you. Fantastic. TY

[claudette]

52. Mine was

Little Women

[debm55]

144. Wonderful choice. TY for posting, claudette.

[claudette]

145. You're welcome!

[JoseBalow]

54. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

I first read it when I was 12 years old, and I've read it countless times since. I have given copies of it away dozens of times, and every time I replace it I read it again. It's truly the gift that keeps on giving!

[debm55]

149. Haha. Muppets go Wild. Thanks

[OldBaldy1701E]

55. There are a few that fall into that category.

(I read way too much. Well, I used to.)

[justaprogressive]

72. +1000 on Burrough's

Martian Series, I read everything of his (except the Tarzan Series ) and I'll post this book twice!

[OldBaldy1701E]

75. Yup.

I also read the first two novels of the Foundation series to death. I did finally read the whole thing but there was a long break between those first two for reasons. Such is life I guess.

[debm55]

150. Old Baldy, loved A Wrinkle in Time. TY

[OldBaldy1701E]

175. That was one of the 'read it every year' collection. (n/t)

[yellowdogintexas]

70. I have always been a heavy reader

For Christmas when I was in first grade I got 3 Bobbsey Twins books and from then on I plowed through that series, then Nancy Drew and similar series.

Also Tom Sawyer, Hans Brinker, Alice in Wonderland, mythology, biographies.
My favorite Louisa May Alcott books were Eight Cousins and Rose In Bloom.

Two that I first read when I was around 10 and have probably re-read more than any thing else are by Shirley Jackson "Life Among the Savages" and "Raising Demons" These are not her usual style at all, and they are very funny.

[debm55]

147. Love your selection. You are the first to mention Hans Brinker. Loved that book. TY

[sinkingfeeling]

71. "Wind in the Willows"

[debm55]

148. Agree. thank you

[malthaussen]

170. Some years ago now, somebody wrote a purported sequel...

... I found it so bad I couldn't get through it.

I was lucky to have the edition of WITW with the illustrations by Tasha Tudor. Technically, I still do, but it is in storage in the middle of Kentucky with most of my other books.

-- Mal

[justaprogressive]

73. This one: Edgar Rice Burrough's "Beyond the Farthest Star"

*If y'all missed it you might check out the movie "John Carter"

[debm55]

151. Thank you, justaprogressive.

[Emile]

74. The Old Man and the Sea

[debm55]

152. Read this and "Of Mice and Men" in Junior High. Thank you.

[IbogaProject]

76. Richard Scarry, What Do People Do All Day

That was my childhood favorite. It had depictions of bread making starting with the farm, milling the grain and the baking. It had cutaways of the infrastructure in a house. Personified animals and a type of architecture more European than modern American. Very engaging, he had many others.

[debm55]

154. what a wonderful book. TY for posting about it.

[gopiscrap]

77. "The House That Jack Built"

I had a book (two) one each in English and German

[debm55]

157. Were you able to read both in English and German? Thanks for sharing.

[tanyev]

78. The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper.

Still read Book 2, also titled The Dark is Rising, every winter solstice. I might feel differently if I lived in a place that actually had wintry cold and snow in December, but here in Texas it’s just the thing to set a winter mood.

[debm55]

161. Thank you for sharing your favorite books.

[ReadItnWeep]

79. I still have a few copies around the house,

Fox in Sox

I still read it from time to time - must be read aloud - just to give myself a giggle.

"Come now, come now,
You don't have to be so dumb now."
- Fox

[debm55]

162. Agree 100% thank you for posting you selection

[kairos12]

80. "A Wrinkle in Time."

[debm55]

94. Great book. Ty

[no_hypocrisy]

81. The Cow in the Silo

[debm55]

93. Thank you, when I was young, I had these Golden Books with an elf sitting on a star. It sounds like one of these books.

[no_hypocrisy]

104. This

https://www.amazon.com/Cow-Silo-Gradys-Adventure-Children/dp/B0007GUZ70

[Picaro]

82. Dr. Dolittle series

I’ve always loved animals and the idea of being able to talk with the animals was simply magical to me.

There were so many. But that series touched a deep chord in me.

[debm55]

92. I read the first one. Yes, it does have that magical touch to it. TY

[PJMcK]

83. Ian Fleming's James Bond books

I started reading them when I was about 11 and collected them all. In high school, I reread them numerous times.

Unlike the silly movies, the novels have sophisticated terror plots and plausible characters. At the same time, the novels are marvelous travelogues with fascinating character studies. For example, in Thunderball, Fleming goes on for several pages detailing the history of the artwork on Players cigarette packages. In From Russia With Love, his descriptions of Turkey and its Gypsy people are deeply colorful. And his descriptions of food are amazing. I fell in love with caviar because of Fleming’s writing and in Goldfinger, the description of Bond’s feast of king crab makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Of course, since they were written in the 1950s and 1960s, his writing is rooted in its time. Socially, they’ve got some problems. Still, as a youngster, they provided hours of reading pleasure.

[debm55]

91. Thank you, PJMcK for the wonderful description of the books.

[cbabe]

84. D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths

Voracious reader of everything. But this one still shivers me.

In print for 50 years!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79626.D_Aulaires_Book_of_Greek_Myths

[debm55]

90. Loved Greek Mythology. Had a class on it during High School.

[sakabatou]

85. Animorphs series

[debm55]

89. I since I remember the students in my class reading them. The publisher gave out freebies to go with the books.

[sakabatou]

95. The only freebie I MAY have gotten was a bookmark

But it's been so long I don't remember.

[debm55]

103. This was through Scholastic Book club.

[sakabatou]

107. Yup

I didn't read the entire series, but from what I heard, it gets bleak.

[ReadItnWeep]

86. Judy Blume for me

I think I may have read one Nancy Drew. But I would read anything I could get a hold of mostly.

I don't think I ever had a desire to reread novels as a kid. Although, I have reread books as an adult that I read as a child, to see if they still resonate. Like the Outsiders. And I have reread the books that I didnt quite understand when I was younger. Like Catcher in the Rye, the unabridged Flowers for Algernon.

As far as books I would reread over and over, those would be the ones that I read myself as a child, then read again as bedtime stories for my kids. Like Dr. Seuss, I love You Forever, Tiki Tiki Tembo, Shel Silverstein etc

[debm55]

87. Judy Blume loved her books.

[Demovictory9]

105. I only read books over and over VERY YOUNG..Dr Seuss..

The new reader level..a few words on a page. Go Dog go, green eggs and ham , stop pop

[debm55]

156. Thanks, Dr. Seuss books I loved to read over when I was young because the illustrations were great.

[wcmagumba]

106. The Tom Swift series and John Carter of Mars series...nt

[debm55]

158. Thank you for sharing for sharing your favorite books with us.

[sorcrow]

109. Barney Beagle

As a young kid, Barney Beagle. The theme? Every dog needs a boy (or girl).
Also, The Pokey Little Puppy.

As a sixth or seventh grader, it was Edgar Rice Borroughs, especially the Mars novels. The Frank Frazetta cover art may have played a part...

Bookishly,
Sorghum Crow

[debm55]

164. Thank you for sharing you selection with us.

[usonian]

110. My Dad read the "Mother West Wind" books by Thornton Burgess to my brother and myself.

Later on, Mom urged me to read "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau.

Little did she know what she started with that.

Or, maybe she did!

[magicksmom]

111. Nancy Drew

Hardy Boys second.

[MLAA]

112. Loved Nancy Drew then moved on to Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie.

One of my favorite Christmas presents was a large volume of every Sherlock Holmes story.

[debm55]

165. Mystery ;lover here too. TY

[Westcoastguy99]

113. I read 20,000 leagues Under the Sea daily for an entire summer. Captain Nemo blew my mind.

[beemerphill]

114. Fire Hunter

My favorite book in those years was Fire Hunter by Jim Kjelgaard.

[sky_masterson]

115. Without Feathers

by Woody Allen.
Loved the dry humor.

[Shellback Squid]

116. Watership Down

[debm55]

128. Thank you, Shelback Squid.

[Ziggysmom]

118. Frog and Toad Are Friends" from Arnold Lobel

I have my childhood copy and look at it when I need a smile.

[debm55]

122. Frog and Toad were in a series. Read them to my Kinders.

[nuxvomica]

120. The Thousand and One Nights

My father had a set of the Harvard Classics and that was one of the volumes. Reading them was like being in a dream. Every writer should begin their training by reading the tales of Scheherazade.

[debm55]

125. Sounds wonderful.

[malthaussen]

174. But not Burton's edition. :)

Those were Lane's translations, much less racy than RFB's.

-- Mal

[The Roux Comes First]

141. Almost Certainly My Most Frequent Re-read was "Swiss Family Robinson"

I probably read that ten or more times. I feel almost apologetic about that now after finally revisiting it a couple decades back. While perhaps the fascination of the settings and creatures, all jammed together willy-nilly in a wilderness, and the adventure of being free to investigate these phenomena as children could still be intriguing to a young person, I have my doubts. There have been so many other fabulous books for young people (and adventuresome adults!) before and since, that this one seemed to me appallingly dated.

Wind in the Willows and House at Pooh Corner, among many others, have far more staying power, even though for some reason in my youth they did not get the over-and-over again treatment that SFR did. As they say, "there's no accounting for taste"|

[debm55]

155. I agree. I still love Pooh and his cast of characters. Thank you for posting your thoughts on the topic.

[Xipe Totec]

146. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.

The first book I ever read cover to cover in English.

Very impactful to my young mind.

[debm55]

153. Agree with you. Thank you for posting that first for us.

[Attilatheblond]

159. Ben and Me by Robert Lawson

And my daughter got me a new copy a few years back.

[duckworth969]

160. Star Trek "old school" tv series in book form

Original series book adaptations by James Blish, ten books in all. Read them over and over when I was a boy.

[debm55]

166. Thank you very much for posting that.

[TlalocW]

167. There were a lot

Henry Huggins, Beatrice/Beezus, and Ramona books in 1st through 3rd.
About that time I also discovered the Henry Reed books about a 13-year-old boy visiting his aunt and uncle in New Jersey for the summer and deciding to open up his own research service with a local girl named Midge that befriends him. Next summer they do a baby-sitting service, and then Henry gets invited on a cross-country trip with Midge by her parents. Takes place in the 50s. I distinctly remember one minor plot line in the trip book that wouldn't fly today - Henry helping out a Native American performance group by darkening his skin so he could look "Indian."
Read my sister's Little House books one winter when I had chickenpox.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge.
In fifth grade, our teacher - looking back on it now - seemed to believe in a lot of woo. I remember her reading us a book about a woman who could read minds, and then she read us, "The Girl with Silver Eyes," about a girl with telekinetic powers searching for other kids like her. I bought the book. Funny thing - the next year, our science teacher introduced us to some of the work of James Randi, who would expose how people pretending to have powers actually accomplished their feats.

[debm55]

172. Thank you TialpcW You have read some very interesting books.

[Permanut]

168. First book I ever owned - Tom Sawyer..

1957; I still have it.

[debm55]

173. Thank you, Permanut.

[applegrove]

176. 'Go Car Go' as a 4 year old. 'Where the Sidewalk Ends'

by Shel Silverstein.

[marble falls]

177. Any encyclopedia. I read every set at every school library I ever went to after sixth grade ...

... that was when I noticed very few sources ever had every detail in common with any other authority.