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, 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. 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 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 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 by Janell Cannon.
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.
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.
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).
I was always a fan of Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume when I was little. I also loved Alice in Wonderland and Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories. I also remember Harriet the Spy 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 's children’s works, including Coraline and The Wolves in the Walls.
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.
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.
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.
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 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]
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 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.
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.
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.
