What was your favorite book as a kid?

[JitterbugPerfume]

Mine is Good Morning Miss Dove by Frances Priven. It is about a very cool school teacher who loved being challenged .

The kids dared her to eat an ant , and she (of course) ate one . They asked her what it tasted like and she replied "vinegar."

I checked out Amazon for a used copy and found out that a 1954 copy is very costly --dammit

[Chipper Chat]

1. The Island Stallion

by Walter Farley

[peace frog]

2. The Yearling by Majorie Kinnan Rawlings

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

[WCGreen]

3. My side of the mountain...

Or Gone Away Lake...

[asjr]

4. All the Nancy Drew mysteries.

[LibDemAlways]

9. I devoured those too. I have a 17-year-old

daughter. When she was 9 or 10 I tried to get her interested. No way. Times and tastes have changed I guess.

[Mz Pip]

27. I loved those

I have a collection of the very old lavender and orange ones from the 30s and then most of the dark blue ones from the 50s.

I have vivid memories of being 9 years old and getting 5 of them for Christmas. I was so excited.

[Odin2005]

72. Mu 12yo niece loves the Nancy Drew books.

She is taking after my mom in liking mystery stuff, they both watch CSI religiously, LOL.

[mainer]

28. Yep. She was a role model for independent-minded girls

She had a car, a boyfriend, and no curfew! Plus she brought down bad guys.

And she had that friend George who --oh, come on -- just had to be lesbian.

[Luciferous]

42. I read all of those when I was pretty young. My mom had all of them from when she was a kid,

and I bought copies of them for my daughter.

[HereSince1628]

5. The Ghost of Dibble Hollow.

The ghost played a harmonica. I was deeply into harmonica as a 10 year old.

[LWolf]

43. Truly?

I've never heard of ANYONE who read this book besides me. I got it in a book order, read it until it disintegrated, and eventually forgot about it.

Years later, it popped into my head, and I realized that my first child's first and middle names came directly from that book, although I wasn't thinking of the book at the time.

I found a tattered old copy in a used book store; it has a place of honor in the house.

[LWolf]

44. My side of the mountain.

For decades after reading that book, I wanted to BE Sam. I greatly resented his family's intrusion.

I'm 50 years old now, and I STILL want to be Sam on some days.

[Glorfindel]

6. "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn" (tie)

I remember "Good Morning, Miss Dove," too. I also liked the two Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling and anything involving adventure and/or science fiction. I was nine years old in 1954, so I guess I read Miss Dove several years after it was published. Our house was always full of books, and I'll always be grateful to my parents for that.

[JitterbugPerfume]

12. I read the "Just So stories" to my kids

A camels hump is an ugly lump

that you can see at the zoo

But uglier yet , is the hump you get

When you have nothing to do!

My sister gave me the two book set for my birthday last year. It was a book club selection in 1956!

[JitterbugPerfume]

29. the only book my parents read was the Bible,

but all four of my siblings are (were) readers .

[calimary]

7. Eloise.

All things Eloise. There were four books - the original "Eloise," "Eloise in Paris," "Eloise in Moscow," and "Eloise at Christmastime." By Kay Thompson, illustrated by the BRILLIANT Hilary Knight. Man, I poured over every illustration for hours.

[ChiciB1]

8. Great Expectations.... Charles Dickens & Can't Say Why Now! BUT

because of it I named my first dog "Pip" from the book!

[Voice for Peace]

10. harold and the purple crayon.

[FSogol]

11. "Andrew Henry's Meadow" by Doris Burns (1965)

That book launched my creativity and influenced my entire life.

[inademv]

13. The Giver

For some reason the notion of that kind of burden bearing appealed to me.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. Can't remember the title but

it's a story about a little boy with three names like Robert Louis Weatherby. He refused to go to school and issues started coming up. He went for a walk and got lost going home because he could not read the signs. He was hungry and his mother would make him an apple pie if he could bring her 8 apples but it never happened because he couldn't count. Finally, his uncle told him that he would give the kid a pony if he wrote to him but the kid couldn't write a word.

So he went back to school with all due eagerness even though he was a much older child and could barely fit in a desk.

Loved that book because it stressed that if you wanted to be smart, self-sufficient, independent, autonomous, part of the world, you HAD TO LEARN and KEEP LEARNING.

[fadedrose]

23. I sent a copy of your email

to my librarian and asked her to ask the children's librarians if the book sounds familiar to any of them.

Will let you know if I hear from them...

[no_hypocrisy]

24. Wow! Thanks.

[fadedrose]

47. No got - but Library sent a long reply with a suggested title...

... apologize for taking so long to get back to you about your question. I did spend considerable time, searching our various sources to find this title, but I have to admit I was unable to find it. The information given, while pretty much a complete story line, is very general and about broad categories, such as reading and school, for which there are hundreds of titles. Without something more specific to go on, I cannot locate this exact book.

Our library does have a similar title, LOUIS JAMES HATES SCHOOL by Bill Morrison, in which Louis James throws out his books and runs away to find a job, only to find he fails at all the “good” jobs because he cannot read. However, I do not think this is the book you were looking for; the story line doesn’t quite fit.

Again, I apologize for not being able to answer your question.

Sincerely,
Janet xxxxx
Youth Services Coordinator
St. Clair County Library

[fadedrose]

48. Delete

[AngryOldDem]

40. Is it Robert Francis Weatherby by Munro Leaf?

Sounded familiar to me, so I checked the Google. Amazingly, it's still available and is rather pricey.

FYI:

http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/5781778/used/Robert%20Francis%20Weatherbee

[Lochloosa]

15. The Wahoo Bobcat by Joseph A. Lippincott

[LynneSin]

16. Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. I own a 1st Edition copy of it

I was so worried I'd hate the movie. Wes Anderson did a stop-motion animation of the book. The book isn't that long of a story like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so Anderson had to add some back story to get a 2 hour movie. I was worried he'd ruin what I considered the most magical book I have ever read.

So I wouldn't see the movie in the theater, I didn't want to ruin the book. But when HBO showed the movie I finally watched it - and I fell in love with it. Anderson stayed true to the story but enhanced it in a way that made it enjoyable. And it was a killer casting to have George Clooney as the voice of Fantastic Mr. Fox. When I was a kid, Mr Fox was like my idea husband and Clooney fits that role today! Meryl Streep rocked it as the wife.

BTW current copies of the book have crappy artwork. You need to find an earlier edition to get the really great artwork, which is what Anderson used to create the world in the movie.

[left is right]

17. Stone Soup also

The 100 Dresses, I am afraid that my selection marks me as older than most of you all

[Doc_Technical]

18. Falling through space (Wings of War) by Richard Hillary

http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Through-Space-Wings-War/dp/0809496089/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297971577&sr=1-2

[fadedrose]

19. Robinson Crusoe

I was about 12 or so, maybe 13, when I read it.

Any earlier than that, can't recall anything but comic books even though the nuns made us go to the library sooner than that.

I adored comic books.

R

[fadedrose]

20. I saw the movie when I was a Jr or Sr in high school

Looked it up - refreshed my memory and recall that I liked the movie; it was good but sad.

GOOD MORNING, MISS DOVE (1955)

Starring Jennifer Jones, Robert Stack, Kipp Hamilton, Robert Douglas, Peggy Knudsen,
Jerry Paris, Mary Wickes
Directed by Henry Koster

Print: color
Runtime: 107 min.
Genre: drama

Miss Dove is a strict disciplinary, plus a well respected teacher, who has inspired her students to individual greatness. One day during class, Miss Dove experiences great pain in her back, but continues with the class. After class she asks one of her students who is staying after class to get a doctor. Thomas, a doctor, and a former student of her's takes her to the hospital and hospitalizes her. While in the hospital her former students rally around her causing Miss Dove to reflect on her past.

[SheilaT]

21. Almost too many to mention.l

But I did love Good Morning Miss Dove. It's the kind of gentle story that they just don't publish any more, and that today's kids might find boring.

I loved the Susannah series by Muriel Denison: Susannah of the Mounties, Susannah of the Yukon, Susannah at Boarding School (my absolute favorite of the lot and I scored a copy of it on Amazon several years ago), and Susannah Rides Again. A truly dreadful Shirley Temple movie was made of the first, which completely bastardized the meaning of the book.

I also liked the Silver Chief books.

I also read lots of science fiction from an early age.

Oh, and a book called Mysterious Island and another one called Mystery in Old Quebec, both of which came from some kind of kids' book club my sister belonged to.

But one favorite? Couldn't begin to choose. And as others add entries here, I'll be saying to myself, Yep, liked that one too.

[BlueIris]

22. The Pink Hotel.

Or Charlotte's Web.

[JitterbugPerfume]

32. my oldest daughter loved Charlotte's Web

as a child, and now she reads it to her grandchildren!

[DUgosh]

58. I loved

The Pink Hotel

[Curmudgeoness]

25. Black Beauty. I still have my original copy from childhood.

I re-read it about a year ago and it is still a great book.

[SheilaT]

33. I read Black Beauty out loud to my

oldest when he was about four or five, and it struck me quite strongly that the book is about slavery. The evils thereof.

[Curmudgeoness]

34. I never realized it was about slavery, although I can see the connection.

It actually was the first call for humane treatment of animals, and at the time it was written, it was very controversial. It started the animal rights movement.

Sad sad story.

[SheilaT]

36. I have no idea if Black Beauty's being about

slavery is a generally accepted interpretation, but as I was reading the book, it just seemed to be so strong. I think I might have been vaguely aware that it was the start of the animal rights movement, but I'll tell you, the horse, Black Beauty, is not just a horse, but is clearly a representative of all down-trodden and abused people everywhere.

[Curmudgeoness]

37. Your interpretation gives me chills, when I think about it...

that just jumps out at me. I will never read this book again without this thought in my head. Animals treated like slaves, slaves treated like animals.

[DUgosh]

26. Trixie Belden

teen mysteries

[Luciferous]

41. Ha, I remember those.

[Lex]

61. Yes those were great.

Loved those way better than Nancy Drew or the The Hardy Boys.

[Odin2005]

70. We have a huge stack of those books from the 50s and 60s at thrift store i work at.

Along with some OLD Hardy Boys books! :)

[closeupready]

30. A Spell for Chameleon - first book I ever read in one sitting!

Zelazney's Amber books would be an honorable mention, as would Wrinkle in Time and The Hobbit.

[raccoon]

31. What age kid? Eight, nine, I'd say HEIDI. nt

[KC]

35. The

Hardy Boy series

Follow My Leader

Amelia Earhart

[pscot]

38. Call It Courage by ArmstrongSperry

I read it back in the 50's, but I believe it's still in print. Wikipedia tells me a musical version was produced last year. Must be the appeal of the South Seas locale. It's a wonderful book for boys 11 or 12 and up.

[AngryOldDem]

39. Charlotte's Web.

[bread_and_roses]

45. "Old Bones, the Wonder Horse"

The story of the great racehorse, Exterminator. These days printed under the name - I think - "Kentucky Derby Champion" - Mildred Pace something?

[Uta]

51. I loved "Old Bones" ugly ducking makes good story nt

[Uta]

52. Also

When I was very young, I loved, "Make Way for Ducklings"
then later

My Side of the Mountain
Black Beauty
A Wrinkle in Time
The Lions Paw

[Tracer]

46. Three that I loved as a child:

The Secret Garden. Read and re-read many times.

Nobody's Girl and Nobody's Boy. By Hector Malot. These books were written 100 years ago and tell the stories of plucky young French children overcoming tragedy and obstacles in their lives.

Loved them.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

49. The World at Bay

by Paul Capon (had to look up the author)
I must have had that book on permanent check out from the bookmobile
Alien invasion, Earth fights back
But I think it was the end of my SiFi interest
Once I discovered Agatha Christie I was hooked on the "cozies"

[KusaVariola]

50. Four books

Well, for when I was 5-6, I liked Harry Potter. I don't anymore because the slow, boring movie(s) killed it for me.
Later, I liked the whole series (or world)that Tamora Pierce has written. They wouldn't let me check it out at my school library; of course I liked it. It was also very feminist.
When I was eleven or twelve, I liked Before I Die. I was slightly depressed by family issues, and found it comforting that someone could write something more depressing than my poetry.
After that, I liked the Jean Auel books, especially the second one. They were forbidden, with my family, and were also excellent for a developing child like myself at that time.

[Vehl]

53. The Famous five series by Enid Blyton

I loved those books!

The Famous Five is the name of a series of children's novels written by British author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942.

The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and their dog Timmy. Blyton created several similar groups for her detective series, including The Secret Seven, The Adventurous Four (not to be confused with The Adventure Series) and Five Find-Outers, but the Famous Five is the best-known and most popular of these.

Blyton only intended to write about 6 to 8 books in the series but, owing to their high sales and immense commercial success, she went on to write 21 full-length Famous Five novels. By the end of 1953, more than 6 million copies of these books had been printed and sold. Today, more than two million copies of the books are sold each year, making them one of the biggest-selling series for

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_%28series%29

[japple]

54. Sydney Taylor's book, All-of-a-Kind-Family. Lois Lenski's books

and Tales of the Arabian Knights.

[Sequoia]

55. Island of the Blue Dolphin

and, "Heidi".

[Doris32r]

56. "The Outsiders"

S.E. Hinton - just about anything she wrote really. Very powerful books.

[northoftheborder]

57. Little Women, and other Alcott books

[skippercollector]

59. carolyn haywood

Between third and seventh grade I devoured every Carolyn Haywood novel the local library had. As an adult, if I find her books at garage sales or antique shows, I buy them. My favorite was Snowbound with Betsy. I still remember lying on the couch reading it when I was in fourth grade.

[Lex]

60. I read all the "Little House on the Prairie" series and LOVED them.

Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Hardy Boys, Sherlock Holmes.
Kind of a mystery-reader from way back, like 8 or 9 years old.

[fadedrose]

62. The McKeesport Bell Telephone Directory

We got our first phone, a party line, when I was 11. Looked through that that phone book for years. It's still a time waster..

[Free Tibet 2011]

63. Anyone remember...

choose your own adventure books?

When I was in grade school I liked those books. I also liked a lot of Roald Dahl's novels.

[Lex]

64. My little brother loved, loved, loved those

choose your own adventure books. I liked the Roald Dahl novels. Some of those were creepy short-stories too, if I recall correctly?

[cdsilv]

65. Sut Lovingood - the adventures of a 'damn fool...

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, The Mowgli Stories, and most of his other work.

I also inherited my grandfather's 'The Compleat Sherlock Holmes' - all of the Holmes stories that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in one large Volume.

All of the above books I pretty much inherited from him through my mother.

[Name removed]

66. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Sisaruus]

67. The Boxcar Children

I wanted to become a homeless orphan, too.

[jannyk]

68. When I was a little kid it was Enid Blyton's 'The Wishing Chair' then

...when I was about 10, it was the 'Famous Five' series - also by Blyton. I loved those books!

[pitohui]

69. so many wonderful books!

i probably had a different favorite every week for i recognize many of these titles as "flavor of the week," ha ha

[Odin2005]

71. The Boxcar Children and the Magic School Bus books.

We got a Magic School Bus book on dinosaurs that I loved as a kid at the thrift store yesterday and I felt so nostalgic I cried when i ran into the line by the new girl "we weren't allowed to get this close to predators at my old school!"