# Best books from your childhood **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431 "2004-01-28T16:10:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/1 "2004-01-28T16:10:53Z")
Lilly, Queen of the Universe, is really anxious to start reading. She likes to get all of her books out and “read” the stories to me - what she actually does is tell her version of the story while pointing to the words, but it is a start. All of this made me think back to my days as a new reader and some of my favorite books, including: 1. The Five Chinese Brothers. My all-time favorite. The mental image of the brother swallowing the ocean, is still with me. 2. Curious George Goes To The Hospital. I had several surgeries as a kid. Knowing that Curious George made it through told me that I’d be ok. 3. Bread and Jam For Francis. I have no idea why I loved this story so much, but if you had to have a badger for a friend, you’d be hard pressed to beat Francis. 4. Green Eggs and Ham. I am Sam. Sam I am. IIRC, Ted Geissel agreed to write a children’s story using fewer than 100 different words. Green Eggs and Ham is the result. 5. Lyle the Crocodile. Again, I have no idea why this book stuck with me, but for a crocodile, Lyle was the one to beat. How 'bout you? On a cold, rainy day, when you could not go out and play, what book did you crawl up on your bed with as a child? Incidentally, I found Lilly’s version of “Pat the Bunny” while cleaning out her closet and was reminded that when we first got it I thought it was going to be about a rabbit named Pat. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/2 "2004-01-28T17:31:17Z")
The Moomintroll books. My SDMB name might’ve been **Hattifattener** ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/3 "2004-01-28T17:44:02Z")
**Small Clanger** beat me to it. The [Moomin Valley](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Jansson%2C%20Tove/002-4493039-0204863) books by Tove Jansson are brilliant, I still reread them with pleasure. Darker and creepier than most childrens’ books, which is why I loved them. Think of them as _Winnie the Poe_. My favorite chracter was Little My. Snuffkin: “Hello, Little My!” Little My: “Same to you, with knobs on.” ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/4 "2004-01-28T19:51:31Z")
I remember walking home from school when I was nine years old, reading _Bambi_ (I read when I walked, I read when I ate, I was always being told to get my nose out of that book!), and reading the part where his mother got shot. I was devastated - not only by the event, but the effect it had on me. I tried to eat my tomato soup and not cry, but my mom saw that I was choking back tears. She finally got me to tell her - I was embarrasses to be crying over a book - and bless her heart, she taught me that it was okay to cry if a story made you sad and held me till I could stop crying. That introduced me to the power of a beautifully written story, a lesson I’ve never forgotten. The other books I remember are Misty of Chincoteaque and Charlie the Lonesome Cougar. If it was about animals, I was there! ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/5 "2004-01-28T19:51:33Z")
I remember walking home from school when I was nine years old, reading _Bambi_ (I read when I walked, I read when I ate, I was always being told to get my nose out of that book!), and reading the part where his mother got shot. I was devastated - not only by the event, but the effect it had on me. I tried to eat my tomato soup and not cry, but my mom saw that I was choking back tears. She finally got me to tell her - I was embarrasses to be crying over a book - and bless her heart, she taught me that it was okay to cry if a story made you sad and held me till I could stop crying. That introduced me to the power of a beautifully written story, a lesson I’ve never forgotten. The other books I remember are Misty of Chincoteaque and Charlie the Lonesome Cougar. If it was about animals, I was there! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/6 "2004-01-28T19:57:25Z")
My kids like If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and the related books by Laura Numeroff. One of my old favorites was Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. Remember Ferdinand? He was the bull who liked to just sit quietly under the cork tree and smell the flowers. Another old favorite was Mop Top, by Don Freeman. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/7 "2004-01-28T20:20:22Z")
Books from my own childhood include _Frog and Toad Are Friends_ and _Ricki-Ticki-Tavi_. A more recent book I rather liked was about a cat named _Six Dinner Sid_. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/8 "2004-01-28T22:26:39Z")
_Micky In The Night Kitchen_, by Maurice Sendak. (“I’m in the milk and the milk’s in me!”) God, I loved that book when I was four or five. I didn’t realize how much it owes to _Little Nemo in Slumberland_ until I was seventeen or eighteen, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/9 "2004-01-28T22:50:14Z")
The Story of Ping Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel The Story of Ferdinand Millions of Cats Tikki Tikki Tembo Five Chinese Brothers The Amelia Bedlia books And the McGurk Mysteries by E. W. Hildick. I forget which one came first. Probably to local for you Kahala, Where the Rainbow Ends Pua Pua Lena Lena and the magic Kiha-pu The Adventures of Kamapua’a And I loved it when my dad read to me from The Borrowers every night before we went to sleep. We couldn’t wait to hop into bed and be treated to another chapter. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/10 "2004-01-28T22:59:45Z")
> [@Small Clanger](#): > > The Moomintroll books. > > My SDMB name might’ve been **Hattifattener** My Gods, I thought I was the only one to ever hear of the _Moomintroll_ books! **Small Clanger** and **Eve** , you have excellent taste in books! I am a big, big fan of _Winnie the Pooh_ and spent (and spend to be honest) many happy hours reading the stories and acting them out with my own stuffed friends. I also recommend the _Paddington Bear_ series–I still laugh out loud at some of the situations. Both of these series are great read-aloud books that a young reader may well pick up herself. For simple (relatively) read alone books, nothing touches Dr. Suess. Some of his titles are a bit difficult–if only because he uses made up words (as in _If I Ran the Circus_)–but many are specifically meant for the beginning reader (ala _Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham_). The other thing that got me reading books earlier than most is a collection of books that contain maybe one or two chapters from some book–_The Count of Monte Cristo, Three Musketeers, Black Beauty_ and many others. After I mastered the chapter (or abridged version), taking on a “real” book with chapters and everything was not the least bit intimidating. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/11 "2004-01-28T23:20:31Z")
all of a kind family amelia bedelia yertle the turtle little women and all that followed ben and me (a bio of franklin through the eyes of a mouse) judy blume i read tons of biographies as a kid, i really liked history books. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/12 "2004-01-28T23:41:13Z")
All of the Ramona books, How To Eat Fried Worms, The Girl With the Silver Eyes, Anne of Green Gables, all the Nancy Drew books… Hmm ---
**Author:** ![jkusters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jkusters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkusters)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/13 "2004-01-28T23:42:52Z")
For me, it was _The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree_ by Louis Slobodkin. JOhn. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/14 "2004-01-28T23:56:35Z")
Wow, you guys are bringing back memories! I used to love RIF day at school and I always wished I could buy more books. When I was in second grade one of my favorite books was _Half Magic_ by Edward Eager. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/15 "2004-01-28T23:57:36Z")
_Black Beauty Lad, A Dog The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Anderson’s Fairy Tales Little Women Tom Sawyer The Book of Knowledge (a series of childrens’ encyclopedias) White Fang The Golden Book of Dinosaurs The Golden Book of Astronomy_ What powerful memories these conjure up for me. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/16 "2004-01-29T00:17:42Z")
I had four older brothers, so not only did I have all of their children’s books, but I read pretty much all of the books that were in the bookshelves in my room. Some of them were geared for older children, some of them were ancient by the time I came along, but I loved them all anyway. All of them I carry around in my head to this day - either the words or illustrations: _Harold and the Purple Crayon_. I was too young to read this. The only thing resembling a purple crayon I could find was this funky metal pear-shaped contraption that extended a really messy chalky blue string, which I could then pull on to leave a mark and then turn a crank and wind back up again. My parents instantly bought me a washable purple marker after that little incident. _The Carrot Seed_. I found this one at a local bookstore recently and bought it on the spot. (I still have my original Purple Crayon book). _Frederick_ and _Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse_. Both by Leo Lionni. Great pictures and stories. _Harry By the Sea_ and _Harry and the Sea Serpent_. Stories involving a dog just like my dog. _Katy and the Big Snow_ - or something like that. Katy is a neglected forgotten tractor that gets fitted with a plow, then they never need her until one big snowstorm. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/17 "2004-01-29T00:26:52Z")
By the time I was about 8, I was hopelessly in love with science fiction. One of the first SF books I got out of our school library was a cheesy thriller type book where the alien hook turned out to be a hoax, called “The Blue Man.” After that, the book I loved best as a kid was Secret of the Marauder Satellite, which I got from the local public library. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/18 "2004-01-29T00:35:33Z")
When I was Lilly’s age, I was obsessed with the Richard Scary _Busytown_ books. I have a few that both of my sons have just pored over too. [Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0689844999/qid=1075336200/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1922132-0035007?v=glance&s=books) was another one I loved. I was all about the animals too, as I got older. I read all of the Margeurite Henry books, all of the Walter Farley _Black Stallion_ books, all of the Albert Payson Terhune (_Lad, A Dog_) books, and probably all of the others people have listed here. I read _every single_ young reader animal book in our library. Later, I graduated to young adult science fiction. A neighbor lent me some Anne McCaffrey dragon books, and my mom got me started on Robert Heinlein. Sadly, not a juvenile, which would have shocked her, but it did get me hooked! ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/19 "2004-01-29T00:40:38Z")
**Eve** and **Small Clanger** Thank you, thank you, for reminding me of the Moomintroll books! I had forgotten them to the point where I couldn’t look them up, but I’ve always remembered the Little My character. I’m so glad that my brain wasn’t making her up! The memory was so fuzzy that I wasn’t sure. ---
**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431/20 "2004-01-29T00:46:43Z")
The Great Brain series of books by John Fitzgerald [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-books-from-your-childhood/226431.md?page=2)