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We're giving away more than a THOUSAND pounds worth of children's books!

(515 Posts)
CariGransnet (GNHQ) Mon 01-Dec-14 10:58:24

One of our very favourite features is our annual round up of the best children's books of the year

This year we've featured you over 30 fantastic books for children of all ages, from babies and preschoolers - to young adults and teens. Great ideas for Christmas shopping. AND three lucky gransnetters get to win the lot...each set is worth over £350 and is sure to keep the family (and the wider family and the neighbours' kids...) happy for a very long time.

Full details on the page

To enter the draw - which will be made at midday on Tuesday 16 December - all you have to do is answer one simple question.

What's your favourite children's book of all time?

Maybe it's one that you loved as a child. One that you read to your own children. Or one that you read with your grandchildren. Old, new, classic or little-known...we look forward to compiling a list of gransnetters all-time favourites.

missdeke Fri 05-Dec-14 09:47:22

My aunt gave me a copy of Heidi when I was about 7, inscribed in the front was the line, 'God give her grace in it to learn, not only learn but understand, when health and wealth and money's spent, learning is most excellent.' This book always held a special place in my heart.

SuzC Fri 05-Dec-14 09:45:46

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - I loved the magic and escapism of it all.

elfies Fri 05-Dec-14 09:41:54

The Magic faraway tree ,which I have always loved.
My daughter loved it too, along with all the other Enid Blyton Books ,and we were scandilized in the mid 1970s when her teacher told us to stop allowing her access to Enid Blyton books as they were influencing her reading and writing. She was FIVE ,and could read and write fluently .

She still has these books and they will now be passed to her own child when he's a little older.

bioniknan Fri 05-Dec-14 09:35:50

The enchanted wood by Enid Blyton

Wen Fri 05-Dec-14 09:24:01

My children loved 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. Now all four of my grandsons have equally enjoyed it. It helps with counting too!

AllTheLs Fri 05-Dec-14 08:59:49

The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat by Enid Blyton. In fact, I blame the Mystery series books for my long-lasting love of crime fiction.

ferrary60 Fri 05-Dec-14 08:55:56

The best book from my childhood has to be Pollyana

CharliesAunt Fri 05-Dec-14 08:49:57

My favourite children's book now and from my childhood is Black Beauty.
I have always loved horses and can remember reading this with tears streaming down my face when I was about eleven. It shows how strong, noble, brave, loving, forgiving these wonderful animals are and how people can use and abuse such creatures. It stands the test of time and I shall be buying a copy for my granddaughter for Christmas as she also loves horses as much as I do.

jillp Fri 05-Dec-14 08:38:05

So hard to choose, but I've always loved reading The Jabberwocky to my children and my grandchildren. The edition we had (its now in the household of one of my daughters) was a little paperback with lovely illustrations (I wish I could remember who did them) and it is now in a very well-loved condition indeed, still rediscovered from time to time and waiting for the next addition to the family to come along and be introduced to the joy of it.

rocketstop Fri 05-Dec-14 08:35:23

'Smith' by Leon Garfield . It terrified me, amused me, and enlightened me in equal measure. My elder sister read it too, and then it was made into a TV series, we were so impressed, we used to walk around ,speaking like vagabonds from Georgian London, our accents slightly dodgy, considering we are Yorkshire lasses! Oh what fun as we acted out line after line of the plot and how we would threaten each other with 'Newgate prison' if we had been mean to the other ! Gone was the cosy world of Enid Blyton, here was the dark and the cold and the underbelly of life, where the Goblins were real !!..Oops have I got a little carried away ?!!!

scrapgran Fri 05-Dec-14 08:12:16

Has to be the Magic Faraway Tree - loved the saucepan man and now my grandchildren like it too

nurseblossom Fri 05-Dec-14 08:10:49

Ann of green gables

scrapgran Fri 05-Dec-14 08:09:45

Has to be the Magc Faraway tree- lo9ved the saucepan man as a kid and my grandchildren like it too.

cikada Fri 05-Dec-14 08:06:58

It just has to be the "Roundabout Horse". My children never tired of having it read to them, in fact they would correct me each time I did not read it correctly. It had something magical about it, and the illustrations were beautiful.

cikada Fri 05-Dec-14 08:00:16

It has to be the "Roundabout Horse"! My children never tired of my reading it to them, it had something quite magical about it, and the illustrations were beautiful.

FriendsofStClares Fri 05-Dec-14 07:56:29

My girls' current favourites are the Bewilderwood stories having been there a couple of times, they recognising landmarks mentioned.

maggiewhite21 Fri 05-Dec-14 07:55:40

'Twas the night Before Christmas '
A lovely old fashioned rhyming story which was read to us as children every night on the lead up to Christmas day.

Voni Fri 05-Dec-14 07:51:11

It has to be
The tiger who came to tea

kymee Fri 05-Dec-14 07:47:35

The Tiger Who Came to Tea It was a favorite of my children and now I read it to my grandchildren

HelenRidley3 Fri 05-Dec-14 07:45:43

Owl Babies
Its so sweet, my kids used to love it and knew all the words off by heart. Lovely pictures too.

Genevieve489 Fri 05-Dec-14 07:38:29

It has to be 'Little Women', a book I read over and over again when I was a child and which I still have. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy became my friends.

sc00ter Fri 05-Dec-14 07:25:04

When my son was a small his all time favourite book for us to read at bed time was "The Little Yellow Digger".
Most nights that chosen from the shelf and even though he must have known the story inside and out (as did I) he would still wait for the story to unfold.
Love this book very fond memories. x

mbody Fri 05-Dec-14 07:17:09

Shadow the Sheepdog by Enid Blyton. Just wonderful!

OanaChi Fri 05-Dec-14 07:14:30

There are so many...The Wind in the Willows for younger days, The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe for older ones.xx

bookdreamer Fri 05-Dec-14 07:12:13

Black beauty. I loved it. Ginger was my favourite "character ". Read it countless times. Want my grandchildren to have the same love of books that I had.