Favourite books when you were a kid

[Ronnie_Pickering]

Can't remember if there's been a thread like this. I used to read a lot of fiction books as a kid.

Bible aged 5-10 because of a religious mum.
Enid Blyton to aged 10. Enchanted forest, secret seven, Famous Five and all that.
Then it was stuff like treasure island, stig in the dump, Z for Zacchariah, To kill a Mockingbird.

I think my favourite book was Swiss Family Robinson. This captivating idea of being stuck on an Desert island, and getting on with things.

What were your favourite books?

[Dougella]

^ What was the Enid Blyton one about the magic tree? I remember liking that one a lot when they read it to us in primary school.

I liked The Chronicles of Narnia.

[Appear]

^ The Magic Faraway Tree! I think there were a few of them - I remember reading a couple.

I really liked Goodnight Mister Tom and the Chronicles of Narnia.

[anxiouslondoner]

^ was that the one with the elf or gnome or something called Moonface in? What a grade A tosser he was, always promising the kids their wishes which always went horribly wrong. Nowadays they'd just knife him for lolz and burn the tree to ashes.

[Ronnie_Pickering]

Chronicles of Narnia! I was a fan of those too.

[Percy]

The Redwall series by Brian Jacques

[biscuits]

Crummy Mummy and Me

Not Now, Bernard!

The Babysitter's club. Claudia was my favourite and I was thrilled when I got a bookmark with her details on and found out that her birthday was the same as mine.

My Granny: Was a Frightful Bore (but she isn't anymore)

My actual Nan had Beryl Cook books that I loved looking and giggling at

George's Marvellous Medicine

The Magic Finger

The Paper Bag Princess

[Appear]

Originally Posted by anxiouslondoner

^ was that the one with the elf or gnome or something called Moonface in? What a grade A tosser he was, always promising the kids their wishes which always went horribly wrong. Nowadays they'd just knife him for lolz and burn the tree to ashes.

Haha. That's the one! I remember finding the illustrations of him horrifying. I think there was also a dude made of saucepans? Clearly product placement for Tefal.

[anxiouslondoner]

I remember reading a few Roald Dahl books.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
James and the Giant Peach
The Witches
Some of them scared me though, I remember being afraid of the weird alien things in CatGGE and The Witches was really dark. I think I read The Twits as well, which I think was similarly disturbing.

[Mr. Nobody]

I do recall quite liking those Enid Blyton books mentioned earlier, when I was quite young.
They seemed to inspire a spirit of adventure in us young kids at the time,

I always liked ghost stories when I was young,
I think I got a book called Uncanny Tales by Ursula Leguin out of the library about 6 times,

[Your Mum]

Originally Posted by Appear

^ The Magic Faraway Tree! I think there were a few of them - I remember reading a couple.

The Folk of the Faraway Tree was another. Shame Enid Blyton had to spoil it by giving the characters names like Dick and Fanny.

[biscuits]

Gahhh, I could never take to Enid Blyton books. They were always a bit boring and too goody-goody!

[Merritt]

I remember getting books out of the school library, and from the book bus that would come around, but I don't remember actually reading many of them. Too distracted by the telly and my Super Nintendo.

Not Now, Bernard was brill.

Changes by Anthony Browne. Mad stuff happening all over the place, also brill.

Tim Kipper, about a bloke who smokes too many cigs and a chimney grows out of his head. I used to think that 'what's she gonna do with a...' song was about that book. Was a bit disappointed when I realised it wasn't.

This was my favourite by far though



Blinkin' loved flicking through that.

[Your Mum]

Originally Posted by biscuits

Gahhh, I could never take to Enid Blyton books. They were always a bit boring and too goody-goody!

You should've read Noddy. There was one particular book where he was carjacked by... ahem... Golliwogs, who stole his clothes and left him naked in the woods as they drove off in his little yellow car.

[Appear]

Originally Posted by Your Mum

The Folk of the Faraway Tree was another. Shame Enid Blyton had to spoil it by giving the characters names like Dick and Fanny.

You need to read the more recent editions. They've updated Dick to Rick and Fanny to Frannie. (I'm not making this up.)

Being able to read out 'Fanny' was part of the appeal to me I think.

[Jam do Bronx]

^^ Can't wait for the Netflix adaptation.

[Percy]

Originally Posted by Merritt

I remember getting books out of the school library, and from the book bus that would come around, but I don't remember actually reading many of them. Too distracted by the telly and my Super Nintendo.

Not Now, Bernard was brill.

Changes by Anthony Browne. Mad stuff happening all over the place, also brill.

Tim Kipper, about a bloke who smokes too many cigs and a chimney grows out of his head. I used to think that 'what's she gonna do with a...' song was about that book. Was a bit disappointed when I realised it wasn't.

This was my favourite by far though



Blinkin' loved flicking through that.

I had a copy of that book

[Merritt]

Originally Posted by Appear

You need to read the more recent editions. They've updated Dick to Rick and Fanny to Frannie. (I'm not making this up.)

Being able to read out 'Fanny' was part of the appeal to me I think.

It's woke lefty political correctness gone mad. I bet Sherlock Holmes doesn't even ejaculate any more

[Jam do Bronx]

^ And I bet he's called Sherlock Council-Holmes these days.

[Mike.Kzov]

It's strange to say, but for me also the old Bible in my early years. I particularly liked the Old Testament stories about God smiting various unbelieving tribes.

Then it was Roald Dahl, especially The Twits.

Also those choose your own adventure stories. The ones that go "if you turn left in the maze, turn to page 12. If you pick up the enchanted beaker, turn to page 49".

[Merritt]

I never read any of those choose your own adventure books, but at school we did have every other text book having 'turn to page xx' scribbled in the corner, and if you followed them all the way you'd be treated to a doodle of a willy. If it was a history book, the willy might be attached to Hitler or Marie Curie.

[choirgirl]

I had a graphic novel version of the new testament given to me by some religious relatives. I was disappointed at the time but I ended up getting really into it. Wouldn't put it in the top ten though.

Roald Dahl, Narnia are the ones that stand out. Rats of Nimh, the Demon Headmaster, grisly versions of fairytales, E. Nesbit. Enid Blyton, the school stories. Why? Who knows.

[Mike.Kzov]

^^ I suppose turn to page xxx is a kind of choose your own adventure

[Ronnie_Pickering]

Originally Posted by Mike.Kzov

It's strange to say, but for me also the old Bible in my early years. I particularly liked the Old Testament stories about God smiting various unbelieving tribes.

Then it was Roald Dahl, especially The Twits.

Also those choose your own adventure stories. The ones that go "if you turn left in the maze, turn to page 12. If you pick up the enchanted beaker, turn to page 49".

Oh you read the whole proper bible. I think the one I was made to read was a children’s one with pics. And it might have been New Testament.

[Scurrilous Rumour]

I used to read a lot of fiction books as a kid.

Bible aged 5-10 because of a religious mum.

Are you saying the bible is fiction? Surely not, lol. But having the bible rammed down your throat up to the age of 10 strikes me as both horrifying and quite useful at the same time. It depends, though, whether you were just reading the gospels or exploring the whole bible, because there's masses of stuff in the bible I only have a vague awareness of, and would love to be familiar with, but can't be bothered to read. And the bible is the basic text of Western civilisation, so would be quite useful to know.

Enid Blyton to aged 10. Enchanted forest, secret seven, Famous Five and all that.

Girly books.

Then it was stuff like treasure island, stig in the dump, Z for Zacchariah, To kill a Mockingbird.

Robert Louis Stevenson shows a glimmer of hope. But where is Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Kidnapped?

I think my favourite book was Swiss Family Robinson. This captivating idea of being stuck on a Desert island, and getting on with things.

Rather than Robinson Crusoe? Or Lord of the Flies...OK, I see your point.

What were your favourite books?

Probably the Just William books early on. Then I became obsessed with Sherlock Holmes when I was about 13. After that I guess it was science fiction through my mid teens.

[Ronnie_Pickering]

oh bugger, Robinson Crusoe, not Swiss Family Robinson. Think I read both. And Kidnapped I remember that one, or it was Long John silver.

And I just remembered old HG wells books as well. Early sci fi.

One book I couldn't read- Lord of the Rings.

Girly books. Dude I read Heidi.

[Scurrilous Rumour]

I loved H G Wells too. My dad had a book of his short stories which included 'The Time Machine', 'The man ho could work miracles' and 'The new accelerator.'

I've also never read Lord of the rings. Like you, I couldn't get into it. I've seen the movies and still don't know what the fuss is all about.

[Ronnie_Pickering]

I could see the fuss with the movie, but just the book for me did not engage me.

The Time Machine- was a classic. And the invisible man.

[Dougella]

Harry Potter.

[Ronnie_Pickering]

Out of this thread! take the door! Bloody Harry Potter.