# Great kids' books from your childhood (8-15 years or so) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849 "2011-02-10T03:01:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/21 "2011-02-10T13:52:53Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Talking about what people read as children has caused me to realize that my parents didn’t really stop me from reading _anything_ - my selections for this thread would be Heinlein and some Harold Robbins. I come from a family of readers - if it was in the house and it interested me, I read it (and looked up the words I didn’t know). I grew up in the same sort of house. When I was very little, my mom tells me my favorite bedtime book was Dr. Spock’s Baby Book. She’d read to me all about common childhood illnesses and how to feed a baby. I read _Helter Skelter_ when I was 10, then quickly moved into my dad’s Stephen King collection, but I didn’t think those were good suggestions for this thread ;). ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/22 "2011-02-10T13:58:56Z")
_Anne of Green Gables_ and the follow-ups, although they’re totally girl books. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/23 "2011-02-10T14:15:37Z")
The _Little House_ books, especially _Farmer Boy_. I didn’t actually read them until I was twenty, but I wish I’d read them younger. Seconding John Bellairs (who still bloody scares me), Madeleine L’Engle, and _The Phantom Tollbooth_. I recommend _The Dark is Rising_, _A Wizard of Earthsea_, and _The Neverending Story_ and _Momo_, by Michael Ende. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/24 "2011-02-10T14:22:38Z")
Two series that haven’t been mentioned: Lemony Snicket: A series of Unfortunate Events. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and its sequels by Jeff Kinney. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/25 "2011-02-10T14:24:16Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I didn’t really like Freaky Friday - somehow I had an image of the characters in my head and they didn’t look like Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsey Lohan - but it was cool to see an old book get some attention. Try the Disney version with Jodi Foster as Annabelle. TravisFromOR, John Bellairs was one of my favorites! I usually recommend starting with The House With A Clock In Its Walls. I remember being around ten years old, reading a scene set in the snowy woods and looking out the window at a sunny Fort Lauderdale day…and still being petrified. :eek: Another series I loved at that age were the James Herriot books. Not children’s books, but there isn’t anything in them a kid couldn’t read. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/26 "2011-02-10T14:32:32Z")
The two that come to mind first are **Where the Red Fern Grows** and **Hatchet**. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/27 "2011-02-10T15:09:44Z")
Moving from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/28 "2011-02-10T15:42:17Z")
Almost all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder “Little House” books, “A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeline L’Engle, the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, and some books from my Mom’s era: the Bobbsey twins and the Judy Bolton books. I wish I still had those Judy Bolton books, they were pretty entertaining (Judy’s fiance, later husband, was a “G-man,” for the FBI!) and also probably worth a bit of change now. One book that I couldn’t remember the title, but asked about on SDMB and someone answered nearly right away was “City Beneath the Stairs,” in which a couple of kids somehow shrink down to the size of ants and are either held by the ants or are their guests (now I can’t recall which!). They finally regain their normal size. I think. 🙂 Just remembered another favorite: the Walter Farley books - all the Black Stallion ones and some of the other ones as well (Island Stallion, etc.). I dearly wanted a horse, despite that I had only ridden one -once- and we had no place or means for caring for one. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/29 "2011-02-10T15:43:48Z")
The Boxcar Children mysteries ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/30 "2011-02-10T15:51:54Z")
Too many to list all, but I’ll mention Katherine Paterson who wrote Bridge to Terabithia, Jacob Have I Loved, and the Great Gilly Hopkins. The Giver–a dystopian future book that, IMO, rivals the likes of 1984 or Brave New World. (Not that Orwell and Huxley weren’t great and all but I just didn’t really feel for their characters the way I felt for Jonah. Those books were more about ideas and less about plotting/characterization/etc.) Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh and also the lesser known sequel/companion, The Long Secret. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/31 "2011-02-10T16:38:34Z")
Lots that have already been mentioned but I’ll add: _Swallows and Amazons_ by Arthur Randome _The Westing Game_ by Ellen Raskin (the first book where the surprise ending really surprised me, yet I could see how everything was set up and should have pointed me in that direction – humbled!) _The House with a Clock in its Walls_ by John Bellaire - I don’t remember it too well, except that it was really spooky. _I Want to Go Home_ and _No Coins Please_ by Gordon Korman. Re-read each a million times. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/32 "2011-02-10T16:51:36Z")
The Dear America, My American, My Name is America, and The Royal Diaries series–a series of fictional diaries about different times in history. They are excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/33 "2011-02-10T16:57:08Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh and also the lesser known sequel/companion, The Long Secret. OMG _Beth got her period!!!_ :eek: I also read the Melendy books many times over, and most of the Eleanor Estes books. And Betsy-Tacy! ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/34 "2011-02-10T16:57:51Z")
When I was 12 I really liked Gary Paulsen. _Hatchet_ and _The River_ are most memorable. I also remember liking some sports themed books by Matt Christopher. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/35 "2011-02-10T16:59:44Z")
A lot of the ones I (age 42) remember fondly have already been mentioned, so I’ll second: The Great Brain books A Wrinkle In Time (+ sequels) The Chronicles of Prydain The Three Investigators books The Oz books The Alice books Tom Sawyer and I’ll also mention the Chronicles of Narnia, the Freddy the Pig books, and Charlotte’s Web. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/36 "2011-02-10T17:13:34Z")
> [@C3](#): > > I’ve been reading _The Phantom Tollbooth_ to my kids and reliving my childhood. They seem to really be enjoying it, too. ::Shakes fist at C3:: I came in here specifically to mention _The Phantom Tollbooth_! ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/37 "2011-02-10T17:19:34Z")
I’ll second many of those on this list: Henry Huggins Ramona Three Investigators Westing Game Judy Blume’s books Anastasia Krupnik and I’ll add to those - and I’m sure I’m badly dating myself - Little Eddie series by Carolyn Haywood - great for the pre-Henry Huggins stage McGurk series mysteries by E. W. Hildick Alvin Fernald series by Clifford Hicks Henry Reed series by Keith Robertson ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/38 "2011-02-10T17:22:24Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > OMG _Beth got her period!!!_ :eek: Heh. I actually found it one of the more realistic portrayals of menstruation. I do love Judy Blume but the girls angsting over wanting their periods left me cold. I was more ambivalent about it. Part of me would have felt weird if I’d NEVER gotten it but blood coming out of my vagina? Blech! No! Did not want! This is making me want to reread it for about the 1,000th time except I loaned it to a friend last summer who’d never read it… ---
**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:** [February 10, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/39 "2011-02-10T17:26:56Z")
Anne Spencer Lindberg (daughter of Anne & Charles) wrote very good children’s book. Nobody has mentioned Stephen King’s [The Eyes of the Dragon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eyes_of_the_Dragon). Once more work that proves King is not just a horror writer. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/40 "2011-02-10T17:51:41Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > When I was 12 I really liked Gary Paulsen. _Hatchet_ and _The River_ are most memorable. I also remember liking some sports themed books by Matt Christopher. Me too! And I’m a girl! But I flipped for these books. When I got in to high school I discovered Robert Cormier (_The Chocolate War_, et al). Wow, such great stuff. I’ll second… _Caddie Woodlawn Anne of Green Gables Boxcar Children Little House on the Prairie The Westing Game Encyclopedia Brown_ (at the younger end of the scope) Gordon Korman books. I’ll throw in _The Babysitters Club_ (Serial novels. What a rush!) and _The TV Kid_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849.md?page=3)