My favourite has always been 'the wishing chair' by Enid Blyton. Such a magical story!
Bereavement wipes out everything
By special request, let’s discuss our favourite Classic Music and why?
Being the granddaughter of a successful author isn't always easy, as Ottilie Kark knows. Through her grandmother, Nina, Ottilie enjoyed a privileged look into the world of publishing, and saw the on-screen creation of Nina's most famous book - Carrie's War.
Nina and Ottilie on a family holiday.
My granny, Nina Bawden, and I were not always close. When I was six years old I lived with my grandparents in their Islington home while my mother was on tour as a stage manager in Australia and Japan for six months. As I was so close to my mother, being abandoned and left to live with my grandparents made me a very angry little girl.
My granddad would spoil me rotten but my granny was strict and made me brush my teeth and hair. After one big row I stormed upstairs, stomping on each step as I went. I got to my room, which was the very top room, slammed the door and wrote in the biggest writing I could ever do, "Granny is a pig!". I stuck it on my bedroom door and slammed the door extra hard.
A few moments later, granny came up and stood outside my room laughing. I said in a very cross little voice, "What you laughing at?". She then pointed out that the sign I had written actually said "Granny is a pag". Not pig! We laughed a lot about this small mistake and from that moment on we became closer and we started writing a book together called "Granny the Pag". I was very lucky to be so close to my granny in her later years. We only lived twenty minutes away and I would see her nearly every weekend and talk to her every day.
Growing up with an author as a granny you get the privilege, but also the embarrassment, of having them asked to come into your school to talk to your classmates.
Growing up with an author as a granny you get the privilege, but also the embarrassment, of having them asked to come into your school to talk to your classmates. Everyone used to find it exciting that I was related to someone famous, but I would find it embarrassing when she would tell stories about me in assembly... Though looking back on this, it was rather cool! It meant that I was lucky enough to be part of book launches, press nights and, very excitingly, I was able to see the filming of Carrie’s War.
When my mother was growing up she went with my grandparents to see the filming of the 1974 television series and then in 2004 me, my granny and her evacuation friend Jean went to see the filming of the latest version. It was wonderful to be able to see the process and to feel part of this really amazing story has not only lasted for generations, but is also part of my own family history. For Jean and granny to revisit one of the places they were evacuated to, is something I am so pleased to have shared with them.
From Charlotte’s Web to Goodnight Mister Tom, Watership Down to Tarka the Otter, we have a full set of Puffin's 20 beautiful A Puffin Book children's stories to give away, as well as five individual books, all with newly designed covers and previously unseen extras. To enter into the draw, just let us know your favourite childhood books below. Giveaway will end on the 15 July at 5.30pm.
By Ottillie Kark
Twitter: @PuffinBooks
My favourite has always been 'the wishing chair' by Enid Blyton. Such a magical story!
I loved all the Enid Blyton books but my favourites had to be The Magic Faraway Tree, The Magic Wishing Chair and The Adventures of Pip.
The Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton.
Mine was Milly Molly Mandy,loved those books and also a book I read over and over was called The little match girl.
Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery was my favourite, read at the age of 11. Like Anne, I did not have a happy childhood, but I related to her ability to put a happy face on situations. I also loved the sequels when everything worked out.x
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Faraway Tree, The Secret Seven.
My favourite books were The Famous Five by Enid Blyton and also The Water Babies.
My favourite books were - The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter, Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild and anything by Arthur Ransome and Enid Blyton. I was [and still am] an avid reader and would read anything I could lay my hands on. When I was a child, books were very expensive [full price only - not the reductions one can find these days] and my birthday and Christmas lists were for books - I didn't want anything else! My poor Mother spent a lot of time taking me to the library every few days so I could have a fresh supply of books to read.
I loved reading, I remember reading all the Endi Blyton books, some of the classics like Black Beauty but my favourite was and still is Winnie the Pooh. He may be a bear with little brain, but he is full of wise words.
I always loved the Little Red Hen - such a clever way of teaching a child
What about chicken licken and the world fell on his head.
Did anyone read about (sorry this seems so wrong ) the black boy who melted into butter running around the tree when they were at school.
Famous Five by Enid Blyton I loved these stories, full of adventure a wonder I every fell asleep.
I loved all the winnie the pooh stories, my favourite being the blustery day!
I also remember reading "The Diary of Anne Frank" when I must have been much the same age as she was when she wrote it, and what a big impression it made on me. I was still a child at 13, way back in 1962.
i adored enid blytons books they always had a great sense of adventure in them i spent many nights under the covers with a torch reading at night, and i loved the wind in the willows and black beauty, we were lucky and lived two minutes form our local library so my mum always brought me and my sister there at least once a week to exchange books and try new ones. this routine has stayed with me and i bring my grandson leo every week to the library, at the minute he enjoys stories about bugs and spiders etc, reading with children is so very important.
Three Billy Goats gruff when I was very young, then moved on to Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe 
Yes V Billy Goats Gruff, was read and re read by my 3 Children and Grandchild. We loved it so much.
My absolute favourite as a child was Heidi by Johanna Spyri. I loved that book but my grandchildren are spoilt for choice compared to the books on offer to children then. I love reading with the grandkids and try to extend their range as much as possible. Who knows,maybe one day my grandaughters will also fall in love with the story of Heidi!
My absolute favourite as a child was Heidi by Johanna Spyri. I loved that book but my grandchildren are spoilt for choice compared to the books on offer to children then. I love reading with the grandkids and try to extend their range as much as possible. Who knows,maybe one day my grandaughters will also fall in love with the story of Heidi!
I remember reading a series of books with my granny about or called Fattifers and Thinnifers, we both loved them.
I loved Anne of Green Gables x
The Catweazle stories. We had gone on a family holiday to Cornwall and I was ill. Whilst everyone else went to the beach every day my dad sat in my bed with me reading the stories. He would read a chapter then I would read a chapter. Last year after he died, I spent some of the money he left me on getting a dyslexia test. The results were that I am dyslexic but I had learnt to read through"sheer determination". Determination and my dads love I like to think!
The classics - Alice, Wind in the Willows, Little Women, Ballet Shoes and Swish of the Curtain. I saved up really hard to buy Lorna Hills books -Dream of Sadlers Wells - and named my son after one of the characters in Jane Leaves the Wells.
When I was very little I loved Enid Blytons Mr. Pink Whistle stories and used to look for him everywhere.
I loved all the famous five books!
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