What was your favourite book/books as a child?

We didn't have many books when I was a child as we were rather hard up so books were a luxury. One of the very few we possessed which I used to pore over was Odhams Illustrated Encyclopaedia for Children - the pictures of dinosaurs fascinated me.

It was beautifully illustrated - different continents of the world, diagrams of the inner ear, depictions of a town or a city, etc. I'd love to see it again.

I suddenly remembered Mary Plain. She was a little bear who lived in the bear pits in Bern in Switzerland. When I went to Bern in my teens, to me it was still the home of Mary Plain.

What Katy Did, mentioned by quite a few of us, was written in 1873, I think. Yet those children just leap off the page, real people, who could easily live today.

Heidi, Mallory towers, the Moomins , Paddington , Wind in the willows , Little women,The family from one end street . Happy memories of carefree times .

Little Women
Anything by Enid Blyton but especially Mallory Towers
Molly Molly Mandy
Black Beauty

I meant to buy the DVD’s for both to watch at Christmas time hoping that my younger grandchildren would like them. My pet name for my youngest grandson is Tolly even though he doesn’t like it so I just keep it to myself. I well up when I think of Feste the pony! In fact I’m going to order the DVD’s now! The books are beautifully illustrated and many people on Facebook talk about visiting the actual house. There’s something magical about it.

Maybe70, the appreciation group sounds interesting.
I did write to Lucy Boston, ages ago, and had a lovely postcard in return. It lived on a bookshelf for ages, but after decorating one year, it disappeared. I do miss it.

Re Susannah of the Mounties, it was first published in 1936. The copy I have was published since ‘decimalisation’ in the early 70s. Eek.

Greenfinch

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. I was living in Australia at the time.

I had that!
My aunty had an Australian pen pal and when she visited she gave me the book and a toy koala.
(I was living in Dudley at the time )

I absolutely loved Susannah of the Mounties by Muriel Denison, read to the class by my favourite teacher, in 1963 I think. I told my own daughter the stories in it, and we laughed at many of Susannah’s escapades and sayings. My daughter surprised me with an original copy once she was grown and we were both so shocked throughout the book, not least by the blatant racism, but I have no memory of any of that at the time. Does anybody else remember this book?

I read anything I could get my hands on and most of those already mentioned. Also Ray of the Rainbows which I stood have and The Eagle of the Ninth which got me hooked on history.

Oh yes. All those lovely lists of homes, languages, countries etc. Mine had a blue stiffish cover if I remember. Loved ‘First Aidin English’. Very handy also if you played Fish, Fruit, Flower’. I als spent a lot of time reading ‘Arthur Mees Children’s Encyclopaedia’.

I spent hours with "First Aid in English" when I was at primary school c1956-58, does anyone else remember it? I'm sure it had lists of capital cities, longest rivers etc as well as all sorts of help with English. Have I misremembered?

Books by Allison Uttley
Milly Molly Mandy

I don't think I had a favourite book but probably the books about William.

I used to read all the time, and still do.
Famous Five/Seven
William books
Heidi books
Little Women, Little Men
Tom Sawyer
Huckleberry Finn
Jennings and Derbyshire books
Billy Bunter books
Cherry Farm books
Bobby Brewster books
Dr Dolittle
Cherry Ames [always a nurse somewhere doing something different, a relative wanted me to become a nurse. I never was]
Rupert Bear
Beano, Dandy, Bunty, Roy of the Rovers, Eagle....

Much as I loved almost any book put in my hands, the ones that live in my memory are Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazon series which I must have read and re-read time and again. My DS1 also remembers these books as his favourites.

I liked Heidi and the Famous Five and Little Women. We didn’t have that many fiction books and I remember reading a medical encyclopaedia from cover to cover. I can still remember a lot of it. I found it fascinating.

I loved Milly Molly Mandy and I bought the box set for my granddaughter for Christmas but they read so old fashioned now and she doesn’t understand some of the terminology.
The only book my Mum read to me was Anne of Green Gables and I have her copy of it.
Also I still have my copy of Little Women which is falling apart as it was read so many times.

I Enjoyed Enid Blyton Books, strted with One O Clock Tales then graduated to Famous Five & Secret Seven. But as I got older my very favourite was The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe, I felt this was magical and have loved all the series and the film now I am older and my grandchildren also love it.

Brer Rabbit written by Enid Blyton,and i used to read them to my sons,they too enjoyed them.

I too caught the reading bug very early but of the books I read and still read 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' was the favourite. I read all the usual classics for children of the time well before others of my age and starting on the adut books as soon as I could get hold of them. I longed to go to Boarding School so read anything that included children at boarding school. a particular favourite was 'Dormitary Wistaria' I don't know who wrote it and I have never heard of it since. Re-reading the Cazalet Chronicles now- I read that years ago but I felt like some comfort reading.

I went through a phase of reading all the Famous Five and Secret Seven books, also anything with a pony in it but the two books which I remember best were Little Women and Jane Eyre. I remember waiting for my older sister to come home so I could read her long passages of Little Women which made me laugh and I sobbed when Helen dies in Jane Eyre.

I’m on a Green Knowe appreciation group on Facebook. I haven’t read the books but loved the tv series, especially at Christmas, and keep meaning to buy the books.

Has anyone read the Lucy Boston "Green Knowe" books?
My son read them at school and introduced me to them. Lovely.

NotAGran55

All the Famous Five books. I wished it had been the Famous Six to include me.

Me too and the Mystery of... books.
I devoured them.

The Famous Five, Four or Seven.
The Silver Swoed
The Family at One End Street
Call of the Wilde
What Katy Did. and What Katy did Next
Malory Towes
The Girl Annual

I could go on. I read a great deal.