# Books from your childhood that hold up well **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 22, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465 "2006-10-22T18:08:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/41 "2006-10-23T19:26:29Z")
Oh wow, agree ten times over on Roald Dahl. My teacher red us the one about the foxes in 2nd grade (out loud) and I read every last one after that. Even My Uncle Oswald, which is most definitely not a children’s tale. Before, I forget, Gerald Durrell. My dad gave me My Family and Other Animals on my 7th birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/42 "2006-10-23T20:26:58Z")
I just re-read the first book in John D. Fitzgerald’s _Great Brain_ series, and it held up remarkably well. I can’t wait to read the rest of them now! I loved _The Mad Scientists Club_ years ago, and I think it would hold up. I will second the Trixie Belden books. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/43 "2006-10-23T21:07:43Z")
I just read **The Secret Garden** by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and found it hauntingly beautiful–not at all treacly-sick, as I thought when I was a child. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/44 "2006-10-23T21:49:19Z")
[the Little Prince](http://www.amazon.com/Little-Prince-Sixtieth-Anniversary-Gift/dp/0152048049/sr=1-1/qid=1161639934/ref=sr_1_1/104-3026459-6143966?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. [the Bunjee Venture](http://www.amazon.com/The-Bunjee-Venture/dp/0590301624/sr=1-2/qid=1161640053/ref=sr_1_2/104-3026459-6143966?ie=UTF8&s=books). ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/45 "2006-10-23T21:50:18Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] I just read **The Secret Garden** by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and found it hauntingly beautiful–not at all treacly-sick, as I thought when I was a child. [/QUOTE] I first read that as an adult, and I agree. _The Little Princess_, though, is pretty saccharine. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/46 "2006-10-23T21:54:24Z")
A Taste of Blackberries A Separate Peace Superfudge Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing Ditto Encyclopedia Brown, although I do wish Bugs Meany would have really beat the shit out of him once, just on principle. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/47 "2006-10-23T22:32:27Z")
Wow, all these posts reminded me of more books from my childhood/teen years I would like the kids in my life to read: [ul] [li]Most of Judy Blume’s children’s/YA books. My niece liked **The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo** and I plan to read it to my daughter as well. I think my niece will be ready for **Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret** sometime in the next couple of years. (Still not sure about **Deenie**.) In the meantime, I will see if I can find a copy of **Blubber** for her. (She’s neither bullied nor a bully, but has seen it happen). I may also make **Then Again, Maybe I Won’t** available to my nephew when he’s ready (though maybe Grandpa or his uncle should be the ones to get the book to him).[/li][li] **Where the Lilies Bloom**. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about the story, but my sisters saw the film in school, and we spent the rest of that school year addressing each other as “Mary Call” and “Ima Dean”. 🙂 [/li][li] **Bridge to Terabithia**. My sisters loved it, I thought it was OK until the ending. [/li][li] **Dear Mr. Henshaw** by Beverly Cleary. One of the more realistic books she’s written, besides the Ramona series.[/li][li] **The Pigman** by Paul Zindel. I liked the intergenerational friendship of the kids and Mr. Pignati, and was upset to see how they betrayed him by having a party at his house, which was trashed by the other kids, all while he was in the hospital. (sorry about the spoiler, I don’t know how to make spoiler space.)[/li][li]The **Choose Your Own Adventure** series, if it’s still in print. Sometimes cool, sometimes frustrating, always fun.[/li][/ul] I also like the Harry Potter books, and have been buying them as they have been released, to pass on to my daughter. Now, some books I’d rather they stay away from - not forbid or censor, merely discourage on account of poor quality, although there’s no accounting for taste: [ul] [li]The Sweet Valley High series. The first couple of books were OK, but they went downhill fast. Also, I got sick of the constant harping on the Wakefield twins’ blond hair, blue eyes the color of the Pacific, and perfect size-6 figures. Not to mention their little white car.[/li][li]Most of Blossom Elfman’s work, including **The Girls of Huntington House** , **The Sister Act** , and \*\*A House for Jonnie O. \*\* I found the last one particularly depressing, because you just knew all the characters’ lives were going to suck afterward. [/li][li]That series (I forget what it’s called) where the protagonists are all dying girls.[/li][li] **My Darling, My Hamburger** by Paul Zindel. I read it when I was 12 and found it depressing and dated as well (and a bit sexist to boot).[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/48 "2006-10-23T22:33:32Z")
I cut my scifi teeth as a kid on Heinlein and Asimov. Timeless reads. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/49 "2006-10-23T22:40:04Z")
[QUOTE=Lucky 13] That series (I forget what it’s called) where the protagonists are all dying girls. [/QUOTE] I believe that’s the “One Last Wish” series by Lurlene McDaniels. And you’re right. It didn’t hold up well. My favourite childhood book was “The Hundred and One Dalmations” by Dodie Smith. Very excellent. The dogs had an entire language and history and culture - absolutely charming. I do not find myself lacking anything when I reread it. Next would have been “The Chronicles of Narnia”. Although I loved them, the books were clearly written for kids. My imagination filled in a lot of stuff that I later realised didn’t actually happen. Last would have been anything by Monica Hughes. I think my favourite was “Invitation to the Game” or possibly the entire Isis series. The concepts still hold up, even if the books were a little simply written. ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/50 "2006-10-23T23:00:25Z")
I’d just like to add The House with a Clock in it’s Walls, and even moreso The Face in the Frost, both by John Bellairs. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/51 "2006-10-24T00:28:28Z")
[Island of the Blue Dolphins.](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0440439884/ref=dp_proddesc_0/102-7504463-6500911?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books) Required reading in California, of course. Anywhere else? Magnificent book. ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/52 "2006-10-24T06:47:37Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Roald Dahl’s works are modern classicals. Especially Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. [/QUOTE] Agreed, agreed, agreed. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed any book as much in my life as I enjoyed The BFG. As for other books, I’ve barely reread any that I read as a child. One in particular that I’m interested in checking out is There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom. Absolutely adored that one, and can’t for the life of me remember why. ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_With\_Words](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weird_with_words/32/385_2.png) [@Weird\_With\_Words](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_With_Words)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/53 "2006-10-24T10:11:41Z")
Homer’s Odyssey and Edgar Allen Poe. I kinda wish I was kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/54 "2006-10-24T10:52:11Z")
Louisa May Alcott’s **Little Women** Jane Langton’s **The Diamond in the Window** ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/55 "2006-10-24T12:48:04Z")
I didn’t read Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables books until I was an adult. They hold up amazingly well. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/56 "2006-10-24T16:27:01Z")
**anu-la** , I still love the Besty-Tacy books. When I’ve had a bad day, they’re like snuggling under a down comforter with a mug of warm milk. Although it’s not a kid’s book, I read _To Kill a Mockingbird_ as a young’un, and it’s still one of my favorites. Every time I read it, I take away something different. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/57 "2006-10-24T16:34:50Z")
_The Collected Works of Robert Service_ and most of Kipling’s _Barrack Room Ballads_. _Lord of the Rings_ as a great first 'grown-up book. All the Hornblower books. Every boy wants to be Hornblower. And of course the model and blueprint for all correct morality, _Starship Troopers._ ---
**Author:** ![parsnip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parsnip/32/4564_2.png) [@parsnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parsnip)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/58 "2006-10-24T20:42:23Z")
[QUOTE=lokij] Rascal by Sterling North My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O’Dell The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare The Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne Yep… apparently I hungered to live the rugged life alone with nary an adult in sight, well.. what kid doesn’t growing up? [/QUOTE] lokji, You posted my list except I beg to differ on those Boxcar Children… too saccharine sweet! I was the brisk, bossy big sister, but they don’t hold up for me. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/59 "2006-10-24T22:05:16Z")
Ursula Le Guin’s original Earthsea trilogy {ignore the later additions to the series} actually gets even better when you read it as an adult. I must have first read them when I was ten or so, and they still get dusted off at least once a year. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465/60 "2006-10-24T22:13:37Z")
I started reading Stephen King when I was in 4th grade. \*Christine \* was the first one. _The Stand_ was the only one I couldn’t get through until high school. I also had a passion for Grimm’s Fairy Tales (the real ones with the unhappy endings). _How to Eat Fried Worms_, _Bridge to Terebithia_, and _Witches Sister_ all stand out as excellent reading. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-from-your-childhood-that-hold-up-well/377465.md?page=4)