Since yesterday was Dr. Seuss’ birthday, I figured it would be pretty fitting to do a post on kids’ books and some of my personal favourites.
I didn’t actually read/or get read a lot of Dr. Seuss, but I do have an absolute favourite.
I didn’t actually have a copy of this book at home, but every time I’d go to the doctor’s or dentist’s office, I’d always search for Green Eggs and Ham among the many kid’s books piled on the tables. I don’t know why I liked it so much, because the idea of green eggs and ham is kind of gross, but I used to have a blast reading it.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember my first book, and neither does my mom. She claims there were too many of them. >_>
But I do know that I grew up on a steady diet of fairy-tales and fables. The book that I have the fondest memory of is one that I sadly can’t remember the title of; it was this big, massive book of fairy tales that my mom had bought for me and that she used to read to me every night.
It had these big pictures, the most gorgeous drawings and it was filled with a mix of stories from Grimm and Perault, which is something I know now. I still remember falling asleep to dreams of the Pied Piper and all the rats.
My grandparents also bought me hoardes of Little Golden Books; I still have a Barbie one somewhere in my basement. ^_^
I think one of the first books that I started reading on my own was the Amelia Bedelia series.
It features this sort of silly maid, Amelia Bedelia, who works for this rich, well-to-do family and gets into all sorts of silly trouble. I still have my copy of Come Back Amelia Bedelia, filled with scribbles, spelling mistakes and doodlings. 😀
My mom’s best friend was forever buying me piles of books; they weren’t the most educational, but they’re some of my best memories of my childhood. Once she found out that I loved The Babysitter’s Club, she started buying me those.
Embarrassingly enough, I only donated my huge collection of Babysitter’s Club books about five years ago, from where they had been sitting on my bookshelf since I was a kid.
Another book that I got from her is Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, a story about this strange woman who lives in an upside-down house and seems to be able to cure all the kids on her street of their strange habits.
Random other favourites include: Nancy Drew mysteries, Goosebumps, and Arthur.
There’s so many books that I loved growing up, and that I’m suddenly remembering as I’m writing this, but I’m going to stop now, in case this post gets super long.
I can’t show a picture of them, but my absolute favourite stories that I heard growing up were ones that my parents made up. Before falling asleep, my mom would take bits and pieces of other stories, combine them with my favourite Disney characters and spin off these amazing tales of trickery and bravery, of fun and laughter. Even though there were no pictures to accompany them and they were all in my head, I can still remember the images I conjured up myself and the pictures that went with her words. I used to think they were movies I had seen, before finally realising it was my imagination
My dad, on the other hand, used to tell my brothers and I these completely fantastical tales of talking animals that took place in the wild jungles of Pakistan and India, of wimpy lions, clever foxes, and brave bears, who were all trying to trick each other. He would tell them to us during dinner time, when my brothers and I would refuse to eat, but somehow they still made their way into my dreams when I went to sleep hours later.
What are your favourite childhood stories and books?
Ikhlas
Awesome post! I also looooved Babysitters Club/Little Sister books. I had so many and I read them again and again.
Yeah I used to reread them too! And what was funny was that the Little Sister books all had the same second or third chapter, about how her parents were divorced and how she lived sometimes with her mom and sometimes with her dad. I read so many that I just started skipping that chapter altogether to get to the story. LOL
Yep I remember Amelia Bedelia. Roald Dahl’s books were among my favourites as well because they were so damn funny and twisted. Also liked Clifford the Big Red Dog, the Babysitter’s Club, Goosebumps, Narnia, Eric Wilson’s books (“Vampires of Ottowa”), Nancy Drew mysteries, Curious George, the Hardy Brothers, and Arthur.
Then of course there are the standard fairy-tales and Disney film-companion books.
I actually never read Narnia as a kid…I read it for the first time in Children’s Lit.
And yeah I loved Goosebumps and Nancy Drew too! I just added those 😀
I didn’t read much of Narnia either but they did have “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” which is the most famous one, and that was pretty exciting.
I forgot to add the “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories to the list. Loved those! I think all books should come with alternative endings, LOL.
Now I have the urge to go back and read “Green Eggs and Ham” since you mentioned it. The only Seuss books that I really remember are “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Cat in the Hat.”
I’ve never heard of the ‘choose your own adventure’ stories! The first time I heard of narnia was when the movie came out -_- Pretty sad, I know lol.
I also liked ‘The Cat in the Hat’ 🙂
Great idea for a post! My favourites were all of the Roald Dahl books and I also loved Narnia. Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie
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Thanks for replying! 🙂 I also remember my teacher reading Witches by Roald Dahl to us as a kid…good times!