The children’s book you remember best

My Godmother bought me Little Women for my birthday one year. I loved that book. I read it over and over again.

The Water Babies made me cry inconsolably - my father wondered what on earth was the matter.

An hour or so ago I was going through so many children’s books we’ve kept for ever, and found a vey old, forgotten copy of Heidi, with coloured pictures on every page - I’ve just enjoyed re reading it. Another for the nearly-7 Gdd!

The Water Babies for me

The Secret Garden, I've always loved that book!

Milly Mollie Mandy
The Growing Summer
What Katie Did (although I thought Cousin Helen was insufferably smug)
The Chalet School (ditto Jo and Mary Lou)
Mary Plain
And so many more
But my absolute favourite was Ballet Shoes. I even named our much loved cat after the monstrous Posy.

By the time I was 10 I was allowed to use the adult library. I remember reading the whole of the Jalna series by Mazo de la Roche during the six week holiday.

GrannyGravy13

CS Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia, I know it’s silly but I do get cross when people say The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is the first book when it’s actually The Magicians Nephew.

I also loved The Shoe series by Noel Streatfield

Some years ago, shortly after the first grandchild arrived, I bought a boxed set of these. I’d never actually read any of them as a child and was soon thoroughly engrossed in The Magician’s Nephew.
I’m hoping that Gdcs, the elder now coming up to 7, will soon be able to enjoy them.

When dds were young we had a brilliant cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but were living abroad at the time, where virtually all the videos (then) that you could get were pirate copies, so the quality wasn’t brilliant, and it eventually gave up the ghost.

I later tried to find a proper replacement but could only find one with American voices, and the White Queen’s voice was nothing like so scarily good!

Hello. My favourite book was Alice In Wonderland. It had the most lovely drawings in it and, as I was a keen colourist, my Mum allowed me to colour in the drawings. I really had a good time with that. ?

I thought I couldn’t be the only one PECS! It’s always a difficult one fitting in at primary school isn’t it when a different language is used to the one at home.

I’m lucky to have kept my Welsh and still read the odd book in my mother tongue, the last one being Elfyn Llwyd’s biography (ex Plaid Cymru MP etc) who attended my school.

What a lovely question! Too hard to decide on just one though. I loved The Secret Garden and also The Children Who Lived in a Barn - loved their independence. So many more, thanks for the memories.

pantglas2 my first nursery / finger rhyme I recall was not English. My Palestinian grandma ( & dad!) , with whom we shared a home, sang and played with me a lot. I understood Arabic and could speak some until I went to.primary school but when I realised I was the only child( or thought I was) who lived in a bilingual household I refused to answer in Arabic. Biggest regret. My cousins whose mum spoke Arabic are bilingual.

Shelflife - you have just reminded me of a very precious memory, though slightly strange maybe, of sitting on my darling mum's lap and her reading out loud from her "Women's" magazine an article about the actress Margaret Lockwood. Especially the mention of her daughter Julia Lockwood.
Thank you!

My earliest memory of bring read to by my Mum was listening to Teddy Bear Coalman by Phoebe Worthington. I loved it , anyone else remember this book? I recently found a copy online , lovely to see it again . Loved Enid Blyton and the Secret Garden . I grew up in Yorkshire. Too many books to mention . my Mum read a great deal to us and encouraged my love of books.

A Christmas present in 1959 - this is an exact copy I found in a 2nd hand book shop some years ago.
I loved that book!

I was a bookworm as a child. Still am. But I’m thrilled to get a copy of Heidi by Joanna Spyri, with the same pictures I poured over and loved. Heidi and shared the same love of wind in the trees. Only, I was in a small holding in SouthbAfrica.

Just wondering...am I the only poster who’s first remembered book was not in English? Surely not - I always thought we were more diverse than that on GN!?‍♀️

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

How to be Topp and The Terror of Saint Trinians, introduced by our young English Master were tremendously popular at my French Protestant Boarding School in Normandy.

Black Beauty and David Copperfield and Jane Eyre were my most favourite books when i was about 7 years old 68 years ago.

misty34

Black Beauty for me!

I’ve still got my copy from childhood. It’s the only book I have from my childhood. I remember reading it to my daughter and when I got to the chapter about Ginger I was crying so much she took the book off me saying for ‘ heavens sake mother, I’ll read it myself…’

One of the first books I got from the library at 6 years old was Teddy Robinson. Oh how I loved those books, Ipassed on my love of it to my daughter and now my granddaughter.
When I was a little older it was the Cherry Ames books all about a nurse, I'm sure that's what influenced me to enter a nursing career! It was nothing like the book of course ?
I'll be interested to know if anyone else read these books

Black Beauty for me!

Shandy57

While we are talking about books, does anyone remember which book had the statues moving around the garden in the night?

The Children of Green Knowe?

My son is
called Daniel and when he was small he had a book called "Daniel and the coconut cakes" which he wanted us to read to him over and over again. I wish I could come across a copy now.Although he is in his forties I would buy him a copy. But dont think it is any longer available. Unless anyone knows different.

hicaz46 I still have a slightly battered copy of Children of the New Forest, I loved it too.