# Cherished Children's Books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054 "2008-04-20T00:19:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/41 "2008-04-20T21:32:52Z")
[QUOTE=HongKongFooey] This would be a good spot for some obscure recommendations, you never know what you’ll uncover in some of these places. [/QUOTE] Obscure, you say? As a little girl in the late '70s /early '80s, I absolutely loved the books of Marguerite de Angeli, especially [The Door In the Wall](http://www.amazon.com/Door-Wall-Marguerite-Angeli/dp/0440402832/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product), _Copper-Toed Boots_, and _We Be Scots!_ In addition to writing, she was a gifted illustrator who drew all the pictures in her books. (And the bad cover art in the _Door In The Wall_ edition sold by Amazon is _not_ by her.) When I was a bit older (a “tween”), I loved the Betsy-Tacy books of [Maud Hart Lovelace](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=maud+hart+lovelace). These start when the lead character (Betsy Ray) is about six, and the early books (_Betsy-Tacy_, _Betsy Tacy and Tib_, _Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown_) are geared to a much younger audience. As Betsy ages, the books also get more sophisticated and are aimed at an older audience. I discovered the books at around 12 and was really taken with the ones dealing with Betsy as a high schooler and older (from _Betsy In Spite Of Herself_ to _Betsy’s Wedding_); the earlier ones never interested me much because I was too old for them. The Betsy-Tacy-Tib books are _very_ girly and present a very romantic and idealized world of life in America in the very early 20th century (I think Besty graduates high school in 1910). But despite the fact that Betsy is pretty and smart and very popular, she still has insecurities and makes mistakes and learns lessons. I wasn’t a very girly girl myself, but I adored these books. But my very favorite book as an older kid was [The Brothers Lionheart](http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Lionheart-Astrid-Lindgren/dp/1930900244/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208726774&sr=1-1) by Astrid Lindgren. She was the author of the Pippi Longstocking books but there ain’t no Pippi Longstocking in this one. For younger kids, my favorite picture book is [Arrow To The Sun](http://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Sun-Pueblo-Indian-Picture/dp/0140502114/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208726913&sr=1-1) by Gerald McDermott. I was captivated by the bright colors and linear shapes in the illustrations. I must have read it (or had it read to me) a thousand times. My favorite new one (meaning, as an adult) is [Stellaluna](http://www.amazon.com/Stellaluna-Janell-Cannon/dp/0152802177/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208727274&sr=1-2) by Janell Cannon. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/42 "2008-04-21T01:42:28Z")
Wonderful suggestions! Thanks again, I have a longer list than I expected. I wish I would have thought of this last summer, I’ve probably encountered some of these books more than a few times in various shops and passed them by. I just realized I should add a few of my own for anyone else digging into this thread for some ideas: _A Light in the Attic_ - **Shel Silverstein** my kids never get tired of listening to me recite these. A few poems get belly laughs from them, they love them. I had never heard of Shel Silverstein growing up, I wish I had. _Wolves in the Walls_ - **Neil Gaiman** I’ve read this to my oldest so many times I can almost recite it start to finish without opening it, well-written. _The Cat and the Devil_ - **James Joyce** yes, that James Joyce. We found this in one of my favourite bookshops in Halifax, one of those places where you can barely get around there are so many stacks and piles and shelves of books. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/43 "2008-04-21T03:25:51Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] The books by Beverly Cleary, especially Ramona and Beezus, are good if you have girls. They capture perfectly the trials and tribulations of sisters. [/QUOTE] Oh, man. I totally identified with _Ellen Tebbits_ at one point in my grade-school life; I read the book till it fell apart (it was only a Scholastic paperback edition). The giant beet, the never being picked to clean erasers, the long underwear falling down in ballet class, the rift between best friends, I was totally on board with it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/44 "2008-04-21T13:07:52Z")
_Alice in Wonderland!_ Get the annotated version by Martin Gardner. Second the E. Nesbit and Maud Hart Lovelace nominations. Plus Nancy Drew and, even better, Hardy Boys (because I have an entire set of those a neighbor gave me when I was about 8). ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/45 "2008-04-21T13:26:26Z")
[QUOTE=Dig it out of the ground] Isaac Asimov had a young reader series called Lucky Starr, Space Ranger which was a great intro to the world of SciFi. I even see elements from these Asimov books in the Clive Cussler (?sp) novels. I loved these books as a kid - there were 5 or 6 in the series. I was also going to recommend Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel but I was trumped. This is the only book I can remember my Dad reading to me. (I know he read alot to me but this is the one I remembered). [/QUOTE] Can’t forget **Katy and the Big Snow** , If you’re a Mike Mulligan fan. 🙂 ETA: see I was beat to **Katy and the Big Snow**! Full disclosure- **Dig it…** is my hubby and we chose the spelling of our daughter’s name based on that book! Couldn’t resist! ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/46 "2008-04-21T14:09:18Z")
[QUOTE=maggenpye] Wind in the Willows is great for reading out loud - I have the copy my mum read to me and I read it to my kid when she was about five years old. She wanted to be Toad when she grew up! (I wanted to be Ratty, but suspected I’d end up as Mole.) [/QUOTE] I still read Wind in the Willows at least once a year, just because. Here’s a sample of one of the best chapters: [The Piper at the Gates of Dawn](http://www.classicreader.com/read.php/bookid.132/sec.7/) Yes, it’s also a Pink Floyd reference. I also recommend the sequels (not written by the original author, but very nicely done), “The Willows in Winter” and “Toad Triumphant.” I always loved Rat and Water Mole and even Badger . . . and there’s a little Toad in all of us. (There’s a lot of Toad in some of us.) ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/47 "2008-04-21T14:47:08Z")
And I should also mention the books my own mother read to me – the Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy stories. So sweet. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/48 "2008-04-21T15:04:20Z")
I was always a fan of [Beverly Cleary](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=beverly+cleary&x=0&y=0) and [Judy Blume](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Judy+Blume&x=0&y=0) when I was little. I also loved Alice in Wonderland and [Rudyard Kipling](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=node%3D4&field-keywords=Rudyard+Kipling&x=0&y=0)’s Just So Stories. I also remember [Harriet the Spy](http://www.amazon.com/Harriet-Spy-Collins-Modern-Classics/dp/0007155026/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208789995&sr=1-2) quite fondly. There are so many books from my childhood that I’m recalling the plotlines of, but I can’t remember all the names of the authors and books. These days, I work in a library and am occasionally finding myself picking up juvenile fiction to read during breaks/listen to in the car. I’ve found that Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events are quite funny and (if you’re into audiobooks to go along with regular books) Tim Curry’s audiobook recording of them is really good. I also like [Neil Gaiman](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_4?ie=UTF8&rs=1000&keywords=neil%20gaiman&rh=n%3A1000%2Ck%3Aneil%20gaiman%2Cn%3A4) 's children’s works, including Coraline and The Wolves in the Walls. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/49 "2008-04-21T15:06:15Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] [The Velveteen Rabbit.](http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/williams/rabbit/rabbit.html). This could be the best book ever written for children. [/QUOTE] Thank you for this 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/50 "2008-04-21T16:40:37Z")
A favorite of mine was [Ratsmagic.](http://www.amazon.com/Ratsmagic-Wayne-Anderson/dp/0224012274) I checked that out of our local library dozens of times. Years later, my mother found me a copy (in the 1980s) from a place that specialized in out-of-print titles. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/51 "2008-04-21T16:53:02Z")
I always loved the stories of Beatrix Potter the best, especially “The Tale of Two Bad Mice” and “The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin.” ---
**Author:** ![tallcoldone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@tallcoldone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tallcoldone)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/52 "2008-04-21T17:14:54Z")
“The Five Chinese Brothers” by Claire Huchet Bishop (Author), Kurt Wiese (illustrator). “Fortunately” by Remy Charlip “The Stinky Cheese Man” by Jon Scieszka (Author), Lane Smith (Illustrator) ---
**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:** [April 21, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/53 "2008-04-21T17:21:08Z")
[QUOTE=nashiitashii] These days, I work in a library and am occasionally finding myself picking up juvenile fiction to read during breaks/listen to in the car. I’ve found that Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events are quite funny and (if you’re into audiobooks to go along with regular books) Tim Curry’s audiobook recording of them is really good. [/QUOTE] Squee! (( **nashiitashii** )) I love those! The Chronicles of Narnia are a must, of course, but please read them in the published order (that is, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe should be first). Also, some of my favorite books ever are the John Bellairs books about Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita. The House with A Clock In Its Walls is the place to start. Good spooky stuff! The Secret Garden and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory are also bookshelf necessities. ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/54 "2008-04-22T03:44:09Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] The _Tom Swift Jr_ series of boy’s novels. > **[index](http://www.tomswift.info/homepage/)** Incredibly cheesy, but very fun. [/QUOTE] **YES!** I was an _addict_. My father finally got fed up and forbid me to read another one until I read _Rocket Ship Galileo_ and _Have Spacesuit, Will Travel_ by (who else) R. Heinlein. I had a _terrible_ childhood. Not! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/55 "2008-04-22T03:55:32Z")
For me, it was Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle series and _Charlotte’s Web_, by EB White. ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/56 "2008-04-22T04:00:59Z")
[QUOTE=HongKongFooey] **Astérix & Obélix** [/QUOTE] Well, since you put those down, how about **Tintin**? Must not forget our intrepid boy reporter, Milou, le Capitaine Haddock, les deux policiers Dupont et Dupond, Professeur Tournesol, le brave Nestor, Madame Castafiore, and so forth… My favorite Asterix character is Aplusbeegalix. Here’s my list. I don’t remember the early kids’ books that well, so be kind… [ul] [li]A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle[/li][li]Wind in the Willows[/li][li]Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass[/li][li]Phantom Tollbooth[/li][li]Misty of Chincoteague (I’ve been to Assateague and Chincoteague islands)[/li][li]The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (the original)[/li][li]A A Milne’s Pooh books (there are four: Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh corner are short stories, When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six are collections of poems)[/li][li]Harry Potter (OK, I never read them as a kid. But you’d be criminal not to add them to the list)[/li][li]World Book Encyclopedia (I read it cover to cover)[/li][li]A sentimental favorite: [The Book of Cowboys](http://www.amazon.com/Book-Cowboys-Holling-C/dp/B0008580GI/ref=sr_1_4/105-3820861-3394054?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208836503&sr=1-4) Somebody gave me this book many years ago. Despite its name, it’s a story rather than an encyclopedia, recounting the adventures of a brother and sister in the “cowboy West” that disappeared probably before I was born. I read it until it fell apart.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/57 "2008-04-22T04:12:32Z")
Oh, yeah! I forgot about _A Wrinkle in Time._ That was another big one for me. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/58 "2008-04-22T12:45:37Z")
Some time ago, some doper introduced me to **Asterix** , wherein I have intro’d this wonderful series to my children. A heartfelt thanks for that! [Never Miss A Sunset](http://www.amazon.com/Never-Miss-Sunset-Jeanette-Gilge/dp/B000JVVR16/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208867833&sr=8-3) was probably the book I read the most at the age of 11-15. If you like Little House on the Prairie, this should please. It is the story of the eldest girl in a large family (10 kids or so) whose mother is pregnant again and Ellie will have to miss school to take help out at home instead of go to school. Set in Minnesota, IIRC. I never realized it was a part of a trilogy as well as considered Christian\*. Which explains with the latter why I could never find it in a regular book store until 10 years ago. ( Beleive me, I looked. but I couldn’t recall the authors name.) As a kid in a Catholic school, anything that had anything to do with religion turned me off, so this was Xtian light. \*This was the book that made me realize that there is a segment of the publishing world that has Christian themed printings. So, I lived under a rock. It’s a pretty rock. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/59 "2008-04-22T13:48:21Z")
Just about anything off the [Newbery Medal award](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newbery_Medal) list is a good read. Also, I still smile when I think about the junior high librarian who turned me on to Science Fiction, by introducing me to the Dragonriders of Pern series, by Anne McCaffrey. 6th grade was perfect for those. The wonderful woman lent me her personal copy of one of the books that the library didn’t carry. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054/60 "2008-04-22T14:12:08Z")
So comic books are allowed? _Elfquest._ All ages stuff, great for _teaching_ kids to love reading, and nifty for sitting together enjoying a media experience more wholesome than TV. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cherished-childrens-books/446054.md?page=4)