Your Favourite Book when a Child?

[LindyLou]

What books do you remember as a child, and did you have a Favourite?

 

For me it was Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild, and the three aspiring Stage sisters Pauline, Petrova and Posy.

 

Lindy x

 

[Lau_Lou]

I absolutely loved the My Naughty Little Sister stories by Dorothy Edwards. 

We also had ladybird books for children.

 

Also a fan of Jacqueline Wilson. Wouldn't mind rereading those to be honest.  

[Madeleine]

Enid Blyton - Noddy when I was very young, then the Famous 5 and Adventure series, also Paddington, Nancy Drew, and The Secret Garden.

[KEV67]

The Hobbit, followed closely by Watership Down.

[Raven]

When I was very young (eight or nine) there was a picture book in my school library that was about mice (you know, the usual thing for kids picture books, they were dressed up as soldiers or something...), but I have no idea what it was called or even what the story was at this point.  I remember going to take it out again at one point and not being allowed too because I was the last person who had it out - although I'm sure it was weeks or even months before.  I'd like to know what it was, but I don't think there is a practical way of finding out what it was at this distance.

 

Past that, I read very little until I was sixteen, and I cannot think of anything that I would have deemed a favourite until much later.

 

[tracy18]

I was a huge fan of the Tintin books. The school library purchased 3 story sets, and it was a rat race among friends to borrow the books which were in great demand. 

[Brian.]

I have fond memories of reading a battered hardback copy of The Adventures of Brer Rabbit.

[Marie H]

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White was one of my favourites.

[Lau_Lou]

18 minutes ago, Marie H said:

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White was one of my favourites.

 

I used to read The Story Of Holly And Ivy every christmas. That was/is one of my favourite stories. 

[lunababymoonchild]

On 29/12/2020 at 9:32 PM, Raven said:

When I was very young (eight or nine) there was a picture book in my school library that was about mice (you know, the usual thing for kids picture books, they were dressed up as soldiers or something...), but I have no idea what it was called or even what the story was at this point.  I remember going to take it out again at one point and not being allowed too because I was the last person who had it out - although I'm sure it was weeks or even months before.  I'd like to know what it was, but I don't think there is a practical way of finding out what it was at this distance.

 

Past that, I read very little until I was sixteen, and I cannot think of anything that I would have deemed a favourite until much later.

 

 

Could it be The Mouse King by E T A Hoffman? usually comes with The Nutcracker.  Fabulous stories both.

 

There were so many that I couldn't narrow it down to just one - I loved the Brer Rabbit stories too, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, Naughty Amelia Jane, The Wishing Chair, The Silver Brumby Series ........... and on

 

 

[Raven]

3 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said:

 

Could it be The Mouse King by E T A Hoffman? usually comes with The Nutcracker.  Fabulous stories both.

 

 

No, I don't think so.  I would have remembered The Nutcracker because we saw an animated version of it in school around the same time; this was something else.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, though!

 

[lunababymoonchild]

2 hours ago, Raven said:

 

No, I don't think so.  I would have remembered The Nutcracker because we saw an animated version of it in school around the same time; this was something else.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, though!

 

 

You are welcome.  However, it comes with The Nutcracker now but if it was a children's picture book it might not necessarily have come with The Nutcracker.

Edited February 19, 2021 by lunababymoonchild

[Raven]

3 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said:

 

You are welcome.  However, it comes with The Nutcracker now but if it was a children's picture book it might not necessarily have come with The Nutcracker.

 

 

True, but I'm pretty sure it was something else, even though I cannot remember the specifics.

 

[Kudz]

On 18/02/2021 at 2:40 PM, Marie H said:

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White was one of my favourites.

 

Charlotte’s Web for me too.  I adore this book and Charlotte is the only spider I have ever liked.

 

I was first introduced to it during primary school, when I was about 10 I think, and I have reread it every couple of years since then.  It’s one of my absolute favourite books.

 

Also, if I ever move to the country and get the small-holding I have always wanted I’m going to get a pet pig and call him Wilbur.

[Hayley]

On 29/12/2020 at 9:32 PM, Raven said:

When I was very young (eight or nine) there was a picture book in my school library that was about mice (you know, the usual thing for kids picture books, they were dressed up as soldiers or something...), but I have no idea what it was called or even what the story was at this point.

Could it have been Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel? (I came across it while trying to find something totally different - a cartoon I used to watch with my sister which I could have sworn was called something like Mouse Tales and loosely based on Canterbury Tales - fairly sure I didn't just dream it).

 

On 27/03/2022 at 9:49 AM, Kudz said:

Charlotte’s Web for me too.  I adore this book and Charlotte is the only spider I have ever liked.

 

I was first introduced to it during primary school, when I was about 10 I think, and I have reread it every couple of years since then.  It’s one of my absolute favourite books.

It's lovely but it made me so sad as a child I never went back to it as an adult! (Please get a pig and name it Wilbur and send us pictures ).

 

I'm not sure if I said this somewhere before but when I was very young I used to absolutely love a book I found in my local library called The Tailypo - even though in hindsight it was pretty scary! I would take it out pretty much every time we went. I found out many years later that it's a North American folk tale, which is funny because I love folktales now!

[Raven]

14 hours ago, Hayley said:

 

Could it have been Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel? (I came across it while trying to find something totally different - a cartoon I used to watch with my sister which I could have sworn was called something like Mouse Tales and loosely based on Canterbury Tales - fairly sure I didn't just dream it).

 

 

No, the book I am thinking of was a landscape picture book.  I would only have been 7 or 8 at the time, as well, so I doubt there were a lot of words! 

 

[France]

Anything with ponies in it, Silver Snaffles by Primrose Cummings was a particular favourite, I kept my copy and all 3 daughters adored it too.  I also repeatedly read A Tale of Two Horses by Tschieffley who rode the wole length of South America from south to north in 1925. He wrote one book for adults, this one told from the point of view of the two ponies he used was for children. My 33 year old read it recently and loved it.

[Hayley]

9 hours ago, Raven said:

 

No, the book I am thinking of was a landscape picture book.  I would only have been 7 or 8 at the time, as well, so I doubt there were a lot of words! 

 

Ah, worth a try .

 

3 hours ago, France said:

He wrote one book for adults, this one told from the point of view of the two ponies he used was for children. My 33 year old read it recently and loved it.

That sounds like such a lovely idea! I can’t remember coming across any books about ponies but I did generally like anything with animals (as long as nothing bad happened to the animals!).
 

The Beatrix Potter story where the mice try to live in the dolls house was another one of my favourites (can’t remember what it was called now though!) 

[timebug]

Any (and all!) of the Richmal Compton 'Just Wiliam' books. Perfect stuff for would be young rebels (but who in fact were not in the least rebellious!)

[France]

13 hours ago, Hayley said:

 

The Beatrix Potter story where the mice try to live in the dolls house was another one of my favourites (can’t remember what it was called now though!) 

The Tale of Two Bad Mice.  I loved that one too.

[Hayley]

12 hours ago, timebug said:

Any (and all!) of the Richmal Compton 'Just Wiliam' books. Perfect stuff for would be young rebels (but who in fact were not in the least rebellious!)

I’m pretty sure I remember there being a TV series of these too?

 

9 hours ago, France said:

The Tale of Two Bad Mice.  I loved that one too.

That’s it! I’ve just searched it and discovered that it’s available (with all the illustrations!) on project Gutenberg  https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45264/45264-h/45264-h.htm 

I loved detailed tiny things as a child and so wished I had dolls house objects like the pictures in that book! I used to make my own tiny plates of food from play-dough 

[timebug]

Hayley there have been various TV versions of the 'William' stories. One of the early ones featured Sweeney/Minder star Dennis Waterman as William, while the last that I recall, had the youngest son from the series 'Outnumbered' in the lead role!

[France]

12 hours ago, Hayley said:

I’m pretty sure I remember there being a TV series of these too?

 

That’s it! I’ve just searched it and discovered that it’s available (with all the illustrations!) on project Gutenberg  https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45264/45264-h/45264-h.htm 

I loved detailed tiny things as a child and so wished I had dolls house objects like the pictures in that book! I used to make my own tiny plates of food from play-dough 

If you love dolls houses there's a new competition on English TV called The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge which is designing room sets for dolls houses! The first episode, which is up on YouTube, was for a Regency dining room. It's worth watching just to see the ham one of the contestants made!

Sunday's episode will be creating an Art Nouveau bathroom.

[Hayley]

10 hours ago, timebug said:

Hayley there have been various TV versions of the 'William' stories. One of the early ones featured Sweeney/Minder star Dennis Waterman as William, while the last that I recall, had the youngest son from the series 'Outnumbered' in the lead role!

I think it’s the one with the son from Outnumbered I’m thinking of, I didn’t know Dennis Waterman played William too! 
 

9 hours ago, France said:

If you love dolls houses there's a new competition on English TV called The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge which is designing room sets for dolls houses! The first episode, which is up on YouTube, was for a Regency dining room. It's worth watching just to see the ham one of the contestants made!

Sunday's episode will be creating an Art Nouveau bathroom.

Definitely going to find that on YouTube later, thank you! Have to see if the ham is as good as the one the Two Bad Mice tried to cut .  

[Kudz]

On 28/03/2022 at 10:03 PM, Hayley said:

It's lovely but it made me so sad as a child I never went back to it as an adult!

 

It still makes me tear up and I’m now 40.

 

On 28/03/2022 at 10:03 PM, Hayley said:

(Please get a pig and name it Wilbur and send us pictures ).

 

Deal.

 

One of my cousins got a French Bulldog a few years back and named him Wilbur. I was horrified - to me the name will always and forever be a pig’s name.