The children’s book you remember best

Gosh, far too many to list, but one of my loves was Rev. Awdry's series about the railway engines. I even had a crush on one of the engines, Gordon, I think . My father was a railway enthusiast so I expect the initial interest came from him...

All the books I read came from the local library as my family was in no position to buy many books (I've made up for that now, though)

I loved Little Grey Rabbit, too.

I read so many books in my childhood but the one that I still occasionally read ( my children loved it too ) Is "Susan Pulls the Strings" by Jane Shaw. The children in it seemed so normal and I would love to have known them. Sure , the adventure was far fetched but definitely possible.

I loved The Famous Five, then the What Katy Did series and Heidi.
As a mother I liked reading Stig of the Dump to my children.

Like FannyCornforth, I can trace several books/authors which impacted me at different ages: starting with Alison Uttley's Little Grey Rabbits, followed by Edin Blyton's Faraway Trees. Aged 9, I was transfixed by Rosemary Sutcliff's 'The Eagle of the Ninth'. How I ached to be Marcus, the young Roman centurion heading into the wilds of Caledonia in search of the eponymous emblem of his father's Legion, which years previously had marched north of the Wall on an expedition against the 'painted people' there - and had never returned. As with Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows', I still read my original copy from time to time, and am transported into both narratives: that of the book, and that of my childhood.

Dear Witzend,
I like your father's style!

‘The Silver Sword’ by Ian Serrallier. Was my absolute favourite for ages when young. I found a copy in an Oxfam bookshop several years ago and I treasure it.

I may be unique - I didn’t like Enid Blyton. I found her characters boring and one-dimensional. Same with Arthur Ransome, though my brother loved Ransome.

I make an exception for Blyton’s nature study books. It’s the fiction I couldn’t stand.

There are so many! My absolute number one would be "The Water Babies" Closely followed by both the Alice books. My earliest memory of being read to was "Little Grey Rabbit" and "The Magic Faraway Tree"

I also still have my original "Wind in the Willows" wished I had some of my other early ?

‘Del Du’, the Welsh translation of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty which I remember my mother reading to us before bed, and before I learned to read.

Hated having to wait for the next chapter so learned to read myself in double quick time and have had my head stuck in a book ever since!

Bodach

Dear Witzend,
I like your father's style!

Thank you, Bodach - he was a great reader of bedtime stories - all the different voices, etc. He also excelled at amateur dramatics, and was a wonderful singer, esp. much of G&S in the bathroom! Long gone now, RIP ❤️

Puck of Pook’s Hill by Rudyard Kipling. Already an old book when I was born. There was a copy in a pile of old books given to me during a prolonged absence from school due to illness. It’s a collection of stories at different periods in history. The story ‘On The Great Wall’ gave me a lifelong fascination with Romano British history.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis.

I absolutely loved it and can remember sitting outside my Nan's wardrobe for hours, in hope!
To be fair she did bring me a glass of milk and cheese sandwich.

The Wind in the Willows - I still read it occasionally

Oh so many of these mentioned are lovely

My Mum wouldn't let us read Enid Blyton she was woke before it was even invented

Like many, the Little Grey Rabbit series were the first books I loved. As I began to read for myself, Malcolm Savages ‘Lone Pine Five’ series especially ‘Green Dolphin Adventure’, Noel Streatfield’s books ‘Ballet Shoes’ and others. The one I still read is, ‘Wind in the Willows’. So many were introduced to me through Children’s Hour on the radio. How I loved Anthony Buckley’s Jennings stories, I still have a copy.

Down the Bright Stream, The Secret Garden, Royal Chase by Joan Selby Lowndes, The Great House by Cynthia Harnett. Still have them all. Never managed to interest my DDs in any of them.

What Katy did (next, and at school, too)
The secret garden.
The famous 5 books.
The wickedest witch in the world.
Anything by Enid Blyton.
Books about Brer Rabbit and co.
Also a book about 3 children in Sweden who lived on a farm; Lars, Olaf, and Pip.

I was a precocious reader and read loads from a young age. I enjoyed the famous five and the five find outers. But the novel which stands out was 'When Marnie was there' by Joan Robinson. It was the first slightly spooky book I read and I was enthralled.

That sounds vaguely familiar...

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett.
At the end of each schoolday, our teacher used to read part of a book to us and I remember her saying that she had chosen it as it was based in Yorkshire, which was where she had grown up.
Many years later when I was at work and she had retired, she was really surprised that I remembered it.
I also was really disappointed when they made a film - nothing like i expected it to be!
Oh I know that the subject is "a book" but I still would like to add The House at Green Knowe by Lucy Boston

Joseph E Chipperfield books about wives and wild mustangs. It took me years to find a copy of my favourite, Ghost Horse. At the time ( in the fifties) they were going to protect the mustang herds but recently they’ve started to round them up by helicopter and send them to kill pens. There are several sanctuaries trying to find family groups and reunite them. The government say it’s for the well being of the horses but it’s because they want their land

wolves not wives!

When I was 4 or 5, I had one book. It was still wartime...just...and everything was in short supply.
I had a book called...the Adventures of Polly Peppermint, which was in rhyming couplets and I learned by heart..a very unconventional girl.
About ten years ago, I had trouble sleeping, and tried to see how much I could remember. I did then track down a copy of this book, and found I was quite close.
Anyone else remember this one?