Good morning, readers!
Glad you’ve stopped by. Take a minute. Blink a little. Got those eye drops ready? (I DO.) Good. Now, relax that brain a little, we’re going back in time…
Read-A-Thon has taught me a few things. Namely, 2am is NOT always the best time to pick up a historical epic covering a couple millennia, in itty bitty type. It is a good time to pull some beloved children’s books off the shelf. Helps break up the monotony of plain old adult language. They’ve helped me get through some of the longer hours. Can you say 18pt font, anyone?
Green Gables, June 2009
I’m an Anne of Green Gables girl. Nothing can beat that imaginative redhead and her crazy adventures. The Boxcar Children, the Ramona books, and Hank the Cowdog were all childhood favorites of mine as well. As for more current titles, I’m a little rusty. It’s been a long time since I perused the children’s and young adult sections of my local bookstore (hello, Children’s Lit course in college that had a 500 book reading requirement).
What were some of your favorite children’s books when you were younger? Do you have any new favorites now that you’re an adult? Have you included any children’s or YA titles in your Read-A-Thon stack this year? Leave a comment and share!
11:00AM Central Time
Random number drawn — 122
I’ll be contacting you for your information, Kate. Congratulations and thanks to everyone for participating!
Enjoy your reading!
This is a mini-challenge for Dewey’s Read-A-Thon. This challenge will be open for entries (comments) for 3 hours. You must be signed up for Read-A-Thon to be eligible. After time is up, comments will close and a winner will be chosen using Random Integer Generator. The prize for this mini-challenge is a grab bag of Christmas/holiday themed titles by Louisa May Alcott, Mary Higgins Clark, and most likely some other folks as I’m fairly certain I’m going to throw in some other fun stuff for you! U.S. residents only, please.
Related posts:
Oklahoma girl through-and-through. Writer, aspiring domestic goddess and totalitarian dictator. Taking on the world one carb-induced coma at a time. Founder of GodlyGals, a ministry for women established in 2002. Co-host of Picture Shows & Petticoats. 
My favorie Children’s book was and still is “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
This is such an excellent book! I can just read it over and over, actually I have!
I was just as voracious a reader as a child as I am now. I loved so many children’s books, especially things by Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume, the Anastasia Krupnik and Harriet the Spy books. I also loved Nancy Drew, and I’ve got a few Nancy Drews on the pile for late in the event.
I loooove children’s books! My favourite books when I was younger were the Sweet Valley Twins, and Sweet Valley Kids series by Francine Pascal, also the Nancy Drew books [the yellow hardcover ones] and Bobbsey Twins!
These books introduced me to the world of reading back when I was younger! And I haven’t looked back since!
I loved The Giver, and I remember eating up those books with the little boy Fudge as the main character (and no that pun wasn’t intentional); and Harry Potter ruled my childhood as much as it does my adulthood.
In my Read-A-Thon stack, I’m finishing the YA book Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness. I’m not a huge fan of YA books in general, but Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy is top of the line.
Here’s my answer: http://bookwormsandtea.blogspot.com/2010/10/hour-2-back-in-day-childrens-books.html
I loved the Anne of Green Gables and Little House series when I was a child, and I’ve reread them several times as an adult. My 11-year-old daughter, who is doing today’s read-a-thon with me, says her favourite is the Percy Jackson series.
I loved Charlotte’s Web, A Wrinkle in Time and The Westing Game when I was younger. My read-a-thon pile has the first of the Harry Potter Series (which I’ve never read) and The Lightning Thief…so excited to read them!
My favorite series growing up was the Babysitters Club and Babysitter’s Little Sister. I used to lay in bed for hours and hours reading book after book (they were small books and I could read fast) until my Mom came downstairs and took the book out of my hand, turned the light off (usually around 2am) and demanded I get sleep before school the next day. Though later she told me she had a hard time scolding me for reading!
I’ve always been a Roald Dahl devotee, and Matilda is my favorite of them all (though The BFG is a close second). I read Matilda at least once a year, and as such, I’m on my fourth copy since the others have fallen apart with age and wear
Thanks for hosting this mini-challenge!
When I was younger (say early ages 3-6) my mother would read me stories like Little Women and of course Dr. Seuss. I loved that and count that as the stem of my love of reading!
As an adult, the majority of my reading is of children’s books. I am very proud of this!
One of my new favorite reads from this last month was The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry. It’s about a princess who has to choose a suitor on her sixteenth birthday, but all she wants to do is attend school in the village and get to know the peasants. It’s very cute and fun with an old-timey feel and a lot of humor.
I adored Mother West Wind’s Animal Friends, the Shoes books by Noel Streatfield and all of the Little House on the Prairie books. If I get tired later, I might pull one of the Shoes books off the shelf – probably Circus Shoes or Ballet Shoes (I liked Petrova Fossil best!)
My son (age 15) is doing read-a-thon with me, and his first selection this morning is Grimm’s Fairy Tales – so we’re in good shape from a children’s books perspective!
My favorite book as a kid was “King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub.” The story is quite imaginative and the illustrations are gorgeous.
New favorites…. gotta go with Harry Potter on this one. I love that series like I love coffee, and I’m a girl who loves her coffee.
I’m actually starting out the readathon with a YA – “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins. It arrived from the library just in time.
Children’s Books:
I loved the Betsy books as I got into chapter books. When I was a kid I didn’t enjoy being at home because it wasn’t a great environment. My favorite thing would be to get in my bed (top bunk with a window by it) and read. I would spend all day up there reading! Mom would take us to the library so I got a good selection of books…today going to the library or book store is still my favorite thing to do!
The first book I remember reading is the Cat in the Hat. I remember this book because it is the first book I read by myself.
Now:
My girls love Babycakes and any books about farms! My 4 year old loves books with pictures in the words so she can help me read. So fun, but they are so hard to find! She is also into Carebears and Princesses, so we read a lot of those books.
I still love YA books. I am reading Hunger Games right now…loved Twilight, Harry Potter and 13 Reasons Why.
I loved “Anne of Green Gables” too. I was also a big “Boxcar Children”, “Little House on the Prairie” fan as well. There was one book that always sticks out from childhood though..it was “The Chimney Witches” a book from the UK that I have no idea how it found it’s way into my personal library. Very Harry Potter before Harry Potter..it was about a girl who had witches who lived in her chimney and if she went into the chimney she could enter the witches “world” which was similar to her own only different. It always stuck with me. It’s out of print and I don’t think was ever published in the US but I loved it. One of the reasons I love being a children’s librarian so much is getting to read tons of kid and YA lit and being able to put it in their hands…and hope it becomes a favorite of to them as well.
Man, I have lots. I loved The BabbySitters Club, Marissa Moss’ Amelia books, Little Women, the Boxcar Children, Little House on the Prairie, the Anastasia Krupnik series, Harriet the Spy! And more!
I’ve got a few YA books in my ‘thon stack, including Sport, the third book in the Harriet the Spy series. I haven’t read it before, so I’m excited!
My favorite books as a kid (and they are still some of my favorite kid’s books today) were the Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace.
I love Children’s Lit, and I still read a lot of it as an adult. My favorite book recently is When You Reach Me by Rebeccca Stead.
I don’t have any kid’s lit books in my stack today, but I might add one in!
I don’t remember any really young books I’ve read but I do remember the young adult ones. One I loved was I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by Wilson. I love anything with horses! I have one YA title in my stack this year and it’s Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon!
I was a big fan of everything by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I went through a phase where all I wanted was to be a pioneer out west! I also read through all of Scott O’Dell’s works as a kid, as well as Roald Dahl’s!
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My all time favorite book when I was small was Hop On Pop by Dr.Suess! I LOVED that book! Also, A Pocket For Corduroy!
A favourite book of my childhood years was Stig of the Dump by Clive King.
My post is here: http://justaddbooks.blogspot.com/2010/10/readathon-mini-challenge_09.html
I actually have a childhood favorite halloween book in my pile! It’s called Ghost Cat, by Beverly Butler. It was never a popular book and I doubt anyone’s heard of it, but I read it over and over as a kid. It’s about a girl who’s ancestor disappeared without a trace, and her cat (a ghost of course) is leading this great-great-granddaughter to her remains.
The children’s book I’ve chosen for read-a-thon is also a banned book: A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine de L’Engle. I read this as a child, and was a little freaked out by Charles’ middle eye (or maybe I’m remembering wrong; I’ll find out later in the read-a-thon). Loved Harry the Diry Dog. Loved The Black Witch. Recently brought home my very first books: The Real Mother Goose (whose illustrations were scary to me) and The Bumper Book (I still recite some of the rhymes). More recently, I’ve enjoyed Walter the Farting Dog (in Latin, no less!) and 14 Cows for America — I hope one day our children will be as unselfish as the subjects of that book. As a librarian, I love My Librarian is a Camel, about libraries all over the world. As far as YA goes, I loved the Harry Potter release events and The Hunger Games. The Twilight Saga, nope. For nonfiction, I love helping kids find books about their favorite animals (my first patron was a little boy who wanted books about deer with big you-know-things). And, although few of the books have stuck with me over the years, I remember my introduction to the library at the East Marietta Branch in Marietta, GA, where I read everything in the children’s section, and my mother met with the librarian to give me permission to read everything else there. No YA at that time, really. There were children’s books and older children’s books.
I love love love children’s and YA books. Harry Potter for sure, I grew up on, but that’s an obvious choice. Maniac McGee is probably one of the books I loved as a kid, and loved even more as an adult. I may read it tonight when I get tired, because it’s the kind of book that once I pick it up and start reading, I can’t stop. I’ve also always loved From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I have a bunch of children’s books and YA in my pile to chose from. I may grab The Westing Game, Ramona the Pest, The Giver or Break. I’m going to be like a puppy with too many new kids to play with today.
Such a great idea – I love talking about books people loved as children!
I’ve written about this mini-challenge in my central read-a-thon post.
Answered on my blog, but I’ll copy/paste it here:
My favourite books as a child were the Narnia books, especially Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and Anne of Green Gables — how many times did I read that? Probably far too many! When I was a little younger than that, it was Enid Blyton. They always made me hungry: so many midnight feasts!
Now, my favourite children’s book is probably Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising. I read that first when I was sixteen or so, and it’s been a favourite since.
(Hm, I hope HTML works here…)
I posted my answer on my main round-up post – http://deadbookdarling.blogspot.com/2010/10/readathon.html
I loved Anne of Green Gables as well, I could have kicked myself for giving away those books when I grew up. I also loved The Box Car Children and Encyclopedia Brown. For this read-a-thon I am going back and reading a childhood favorite, Seaward by Susan Cooper. Actually the whole reason I remembered it to look up and read was thanks to a different mini-challenge back in April. Funny how that all worked out!
Growing up, I loved Anne of Green Gables, the Baby-Sitters Club, and plenty of books by Judy Blume. There are so many great children’s books being published now that it makes me so happy that I have an interest in this genre and that I’m a parent.I love Maurice Sendak, Duck and Goose by Tad Hills, Charles R. Smith Jr. has plenty of great books with poetry.
I posted on my blog too, but I’ll paste here
My favorite book as a child was Euphonia and the Flood by Mary Calhoun. In fact, when I was pregnant with my first child, I paid entirely too much money to find that book and have it shipped to me. It’s been out of print for many years. Her saying in the book was “If a Thing’s Worth Doing, It’s Worth Doing Well.” It made a big impact on me, I still feel that way as an adult. Perhaps that’s why my blog being broken is irritating me so much. *laughing* I still read this book to my children and I still use the silly voices that my mom used with me. It makes me feel nostalgic for sure. As an adult… Okay, I’m going to admit it. I really love Wimpy Kid. I truly am a 12-year-old boy stuck inside of a 35-year-old woman
From childhood: Charlotte’s Web
From adulthood: Hans Brinker
I also did a short post.
http://bookpsmith.blogspot.com/2010/10/elizabeth-at-miss-wisabus-is-hosting.html
Thank you for hosting!
What were some of your favorite children’s books when you were younger? I have always been a voracious reader. I particularly liked Heidi and Pollyanna. As I got older, I read as many Nancy Drew books as I could get my hands on.
Do you have any new favorites now that you’re an adult? Oh my! They’re writing such wonderful books for kids now. I’ve enjoyed Harry Potter — though I’m not sure that they count as “children’s” books.
Have you included any children’s or YA titles in your Read-A-Thon stack this year? Indeed. I’m going to read Into the Labyrinth by Roderick Townley. Last April, the last book I finished during the Read-a-Thon was The Great Good Thing, and it just seems fitting to read the sequel this time.
My favorite books when I was younger were The Babysitter’s Club series, Boxcar Children, and Dear America series. I plan on reading at least a book each from all of these series at some point during the Read-a-Thon.
As an adult, I very much enjoy YA. I just wish I had read more of these books when I was 14 or so. Some of my favorite YA books are Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
My favorite children’s book is “The Theif of Always” by Clive Barker. It’s one of those books where it’s wonderful when you were younger, and it still has a lot of great meaning when you are an adult. The theme is be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. There is a reason we have rainy, dreary days and the month of February…
It is always a toss-up between “Wind in the Willows” (the ultimate book about friendship and adventure) or “Alice in Wonderland”. I have read both many times in my life and each time I do, they take on richer meanings.
When i just started reading, I liked to read winnie the pooh. I liked to sing along with him in” Pooh’s Favorite Reading Games” When I was about 10-12 I liked to read Nancy drew, the Bobbsey twins, Beverly Cleary and The boxcar children. Right now I like to read a variety of things, but I like” A Series Of Unfortunate Events” ( I have quite a few of those picked out to read today) and lots of unusual ones.
I adore children’s and young adult books. Many of the multitudes of books in my read-a-thon piles are children’s or young adult titles. I’m starting with Maureen Johnson’s 13 Little Blue Envelopes.
Favorites from childhood include Harriet the Spy, which I re-read with my 11yo son’s school book club last year, and A Wrinkle in Time. I belonged to a Nancy Drew book club in elementary school too; I’ve still got all those books in a box in the basement.
I’m with you – I am 100% an Anne of Green Gables girl. Those books are amazing, and have never failed to lift me out of a bad mood if I pick one of them up and read just a few chapters.
Other than that, the Boxcar Children and Baby-Sitters Club series were my two biggest addictions. I also loved anything and everything by Beverly Cleary
My favorite children’s book was Beautiful Joe by Marshall Saunders about a once-abused dog who finds a family and a wonderful life. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell was a close second. Can you tell I’m an animal lover?
I still love these books and as an adult I also love The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett.
I’ve included the following YA books in my TBR pile for this read-a-thon:
Massive by Julia Bell
The Friskative Dog by Susan Straight
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
Leon and the Spitting Image by Allen Kurzweil
My favorite books growing up where The Babysitters Club series definitely. During college I volunteered at a local library doing a kid’s reading hour and fell in love with Rainbow Fish and other kids’ picture books. Within the past year I read The Phantom Tollbooth for the first time and was amazed by it’s simplicity.
Some of my favorite books were ones by Beverly Cleary. My absolute favorite was Mouse and the motorcycle. After that I would have to say the Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis. Then later in life I managed to make it through some of his more adult books with thicker and more thoughtful themes. Some of my favorites now are Harry Potter simply for the fun the the writing. Granted I am 22 now but, I did enjoy the writing. This year I am attempting to read through some of the Twilight Series to see if its worth all the chatter it is receiving.
As a first grade teacher I read lots of children’s books. In the past few years, I’ve really gotten into Leo Lionni’s books. I just love them! A few weeks ago I read a book that was new to me called, The Little Old Woman who Loved to Read by John Winch. What a great book!
I loved the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I also loved the Trixie Belden books and have recently shared those with one of my nieces who loves those too. No YA books in my tbr pile for the read-a-thon but I do love them.
I have fond memories of my father reading The Lion’s Paw by Robb White to me as a little girl. I reread it as an adult and wasn’t as impressed but it is a wonderful memory.
I have a few YA books for today. I started with Juniper by Monica Furlong and also have the following in my pile for today: Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, The Sea of Monsters (Percy #2) by Rick Riordan, Mister Monday by Garth Nix.
My favorite series of books were called the “Betsy” books . They wer each about a time in Betsy’s life like vacation and firat day of school. I also loved the book Are you there God? It’s me Margret. Today I have Karma Bites a Ya read by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas on my stack
Great question! I loved (and still do) books for all ages. I spent years with my friend Nancy Drew and even those crazy Hardy boys.
I loved Dr. Suess, Charlotte’s Web…. oh so many!
Don’t forget your favorite childhood books, as I can still remember I grow up in a non-reader family and my mom like to collect encyclopedias and McGraw Hills books but never read them even a word. I can still remember my mom bought me something special, if I could still remember it was Peter Rabbit Series and I’ve lost it. Below are the list of my favorite childhood books including my present childhood books.
1. Peter Rabbit Series – I’ll kill you if you can’t remember him, his one of my favorite book characters when I was still young including Winnie-the-Pooh. I’m not being gay or something but being a child you had no preference of favoritism, whether a character can be a girl looking or an ugly looking character as long as adorable and cute.
2. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne – One of the cutest bear exist in this world. I can’t deny it I’ve read a lot of books including some non-fiction related to Pooh. So far his on the top list of my favorite childhood book and character.
3. Nancy Drew Carolyn Keene by Hardy Boys Franklin W. Dixon – O God! No one can ever missed them. They’re the best detectives of all time plus Sherlock Holmes. Currently I’m still looking for more copies of the series and collected them as if superbly rare in the market. Hehe.
4. The Series of Unfortunate Event by Lemony Snicket – I can’t missed my first book I’ve ever read before I become a serious reader. Lot of misery and still the end the Baudelaires are still in trouble. No one can fix destiny except you.
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl – I love this one, I’ve read it last month and I can’t still move on, looking for the second book. Weee. I wish someone would like to share his or her copy for me. Haha.
http://kwesifriends.blogspot.com/2010/10/hour-2-introducing-meme-and-my.html
What were some of your favorite children’s books when you were younger? I read constantly as a kid. I used to bring home 30 books at a time from the library. Some of my favorites were Cam Jansen Mysteries, The Bobbsey Twins, The Babysitter’s Club, Choose your Own Adventure books and about a million more;-)
Do you have any new favorites now that you’re an adult? I love the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games & The Twilight Series.
Have you included any children’s or YA titles in your Read-A-Thon stack this year? I typically read a lot of YA, but I don’t actually have any in my stack this time. I’m kinda bummed about that, I love YA.