A book loved in childhood: do you remember?

as a small child, milly molly mandy!

I read the first and second Mallory Towers by Enid Blyton and loved them. I never got round to the rest of the series until a few years ago when my daughter bought me the full set for my birthday. I finally got to read them from the beginning to the end.

The impossible journey by Sheila Burnford.
About three pets who travel hundreds of miles to be reunited with their owners.
Also The Silver Sword by Ian Serallier - probs spelled his last name wrong.

Not as a child, but I am reading now all those books I missed: Minnow on the Say, A Stitch in Time, Tom's Midnight Garden etc. I am now starting the Green Knowle series. Oh, and Enid Blyton's Famous Five. Just love them as they are pure escapism. From my childhood: The Coral Island, Treasure Island, The Wind in the Willows, Black Beauty, etc.

I also loved Mallory Towers.

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield, I am going to reread it when I have finished my current book.

I am going to see the play at the National Theatre this Christmas with my sister who also loved it, cannot wait.

Little women. I used to read bits that I really liked to my older sister tbh I don't think she was interested!

I avidly read The Famous Five books and was a real old tomboy much to everyone’s horror at the time. My children reckon they had a ginger pop childhood!

Heidi was a book I read over and over when I was young also loved The Famous Five books.

My favorite children's book was "The Happy Prince and other tales" by Oscar Wilde. I loved the irony of his stories. There was one in particular called "The Birthday of the Infanta".

When my school had their music and poetry festival I was given the job of doing what was called the unseen reading. That meant that you were handed a random book and had to read the marked passage out loud. The idea of course was to test your reading skills of an unknown piece. Mine was from the Infanta story which I had read so many times. If course I didnt tell the teachers why I was able to read it so faultlessly.

Heidi for me too and Little Women.

Ballet Shoes and everything else by Noel Streatfeild. What Katy Did and What Katy Did at School.

I loathed Enid Blyton, except for her nature books.

Many of those mentioned above but my favourite series was The Chalet School by Elinor M Brent Dyer.

I wasn’t good at picking up languages and thought speaking three fluently was an amazing achievement. Maybe that’s why I enjoy Duolingo now!

As a horse-mad child, mine was Black Beauty, the Jill series of books (Jill's Gymkhana etc) by Ruby Ferguson and Christine Pullein-Thompson's books. But I was an avid reader as a child (still am) and would devour anything I could get my hands on.

I am another who loved Milly-Molly-Mandy. I still have a copy of one of those stories.

Then most of those mentioned - Noel Streatfeild, Louis Alcott and also the Katy Did books by Susan Coolidge

I also enjoyed the boarding school books, even though i was at boarding school - and it was nothing like the books painted

But my favourite of all wereSwallows and Amazons, and all that series. After I read them all i wanted to do was learn to sail, which I finally did when I went to university - where I met DH at the sailing club.

The children of Green Knowe series.A bit spooky, modern day children and Tudor children.
Black Beauty, a real classic.
The Owl Service.

The Water Babies, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, What Katy Did, Wind in the Willows, Heidi. Practically every Enid Blyton, starting with Noddy and the Faraway Tree ending with Mallory Towers and all the various series she wrote with groups of children having scrapes and adventures.

This thread is evoking beautiful memories of my childhood.

I lived opposite a very big London Library, I remember the doors into the children’s section which looked like ornate gates which was my happy place, I think I have read all the books mentioned on here and then some C S Lewis Narnia series over and over again.

When I was 5 and at school, I clearly remember Miss asking us kids what we wanted to be when we grew up.

All were saying ''Please, Miss, I want to be a train driver.'' ''Please, miss, I want to be a nurse. ''

Not me! Oh No! My response was ''Please, Miss, I want to act in horror movies!'' ... Which, sadly, I never did!

Fifty-five years later, I can still see the frozen, horrified expression on her face!

At the age of 11 to 13, I was a huge fan of House of Hammer from 1976 to 1978.

As a horror fan from aged 5 when I watched my first movie, I found House of Horror riveting!

Hammer House of Horror wasn't actually turned into a book series, but House of Hammer was associated with it.

I always had, and still do, have my hooter permanently stuck in horror books and films!

I never had the slightest bit of interest in ''kids' books'' such as Narnia and ''children finding things'' and ''John and Jane go out to play'' etc., I loved things with BITE!

The Weirdo have you read any Adam Neville books? The Ritual is fantastic and so well written.Set in the forests of Norway.He writes folk/ horror so well. Not a kids book so apologies for that on this thread.

GrannyGravy13

This thread is evoking beautiful memories of my childhood.

I lived opposite a very big London Library, I remember the doors into the children’s section which looked like ornate gates which was my happy place, I think I have read all the books mentioned on here and then some C S Lewis Narnia series over and over again.

The old fashioned library buildings were great! All that polished wood leading into a magical kingdom.

Oh I am devastated, I have just googled that beautiful library, it has been done it is now plastic, glass and open plan, why?

Heidi

The Silver Sword, by Ian Serrallier. I loved that book. I did have a copy but have lost it recently, or given it to my DGDs.
I also loved the ‘What Katy did’ series, and best lived in my teens Jane Eyre ’ Little Women,