# 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:** 3
**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, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/41 "2011-02-10T17:57:52Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > 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… Never read any Judy Blume, but that sounds awful. I totally dig _The Long Secret_! Alkie piano player Bunny and the holy roller family with the wooden toilets! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/42 "2011-02-10T18:03:45Z")
> [@tarragon918](#): > > 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. Good news: they’re in paperback now! ETA: Nitpick, **Sigma** – only the older daughter, the one the same age as Harriet and Beth **Ellen** , was a holy roller. It seemed to be her way of rebelling against the rest of the People-of-Walmart family. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/43 "2011-02-10T18:07:26Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Lots that have already been mentioned but I’ll add: > _Swallows and Amazons_ by Arthur Randome I loved Arthur Ransome’s books- all of them but _Missee Lee_ and _Peter Duck_. Still got and read them all too 😃 I think I started on some of the Terry Pratchett books at about 8, and _The Hobbit_. I read a lot as a kid, still do really, whatever’s around. Mind you, I read a lot of books that I totally didn’t get until years later when I was a kid, just because I liked the act of reading itself. ---
**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, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/44 "2011-02-10T18:17:16Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > 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. Weird coincidence: My fourteen-year-old is home sick today. I went home at lunch to check on him and thought he needed something to read, so I started rooting around trying to find my copy of Eyes of the Dragon. I couldn’t find it though; bet it’s in his room already… ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/45 "2011-02-10T18:18:31Z")
As an animal lover, I tended to read books about animals, especially horses. The Black Stallion series King of the Wind Misty of Chincoteague Lad: A Dog Where the Red Fern Grows Good-bye My Lady The yearling Gentle Ben I read all of these over nad over and over. Still love 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/46 "2011-02-10T18:21:29Z")
I’ve never cared much for story books. I read a few mentioned but even as a child I was more interested in science and history, and especially books about other cultures. ---
**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, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/47 "2011-02-10T18:24:10Z")
I suddenly remember that as a chld I loved the animal works of [Thornton Burgess](http://www.thorntonburgess.org/ThorntonBurgessBooks.htm). Damn, I hadn’t thought of him in _decades_. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/48 "2011-02-10T18:27:54Z")
I loved the Danny Dunn books. ---
**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, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/49 "2011-02-10T18:29:39Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Good news: they’re in paperback now! > > ETA: Nitpick, **Sigma** – only the older daughter, the one the same age as Harriet and Beth **Ellen** , was a holy roller. It seemed to be her way of rebelling against the rest of the People-of-Walmart family. Yes, I remember her enormous brother whom she constantly berated to Walk with God instead of Walking with Candy Bars or something. ---
**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, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/50 "2011-02-10T18:30:00Z")
Oh! And [The Mad Scientist’s Club!](http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Scientists-Club-Scientist/dp/1930900104) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/51 "2011-02-10T18:39:11Z")
> [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > At around 7-10 I was hooked on the Little House on the Prairie and the Black Stallion books. Basically if there was a horse or cats in it I"d read it. > > The Beezus & Ramona and Madeleine L’Engle books were always in the rotation as well. As I got a little bit older that was when I got into the Chronicles of Narnia and the cheesy sci-fi books from the library. Aww, I came in to say those two series as well! Also, I read _Watership Down_ at around age 14 and absofrickinglutely loved it. If I could only read one book over and over for the rest of my life, it would be that one. For younger readers, I remember really loving _The Indian in the Cupboard._ I started hoarding toothpaste caps after reading it, puzzling my mother to no end I’m sure. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/52 "2011-02-10T18:45:42Z")
I still have a lot of my childhood favorites. I have trouble getting rid of books. 😛 Favorites included: - Trixie Belden series - Three Investigator series - Encyclopedia Brown series - Danny Dunn series - Nancy Drew series - Hardy Boys series - Space Cat (I think there were three or four) - The Rescuers (Miss Bianca and Bernard–again, I think there were three or four) - Jenny and the Cat Club - \*The Hero From Otherwhere \*(by Jay Williams, half of the Danny Dunn author duo) - Various Star Trek novels from the late 70s - _King of the Dollhouse_ - _Mrs. Coverlet’s Magicians_ (I’m still trying to hunt down the rest of this series reasonably priced) - Alvin Fernald series - Great Brain series - Little House on the Prairie series Things I read that weren’t kids’ books but I still liked them: - \*Atlas Shrugged \*(yeah, I first read it at 13–the look on my English teacher’s face dur3A - Anything horror by Stephen King - The Sime/Gen series ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/53 "2011-02-10T18:49:45Z")
Any of \*\*Roald Dahl’s \*\*childrens books: _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator James and the Giant Peach Danny, the Champion of the World_ (my personal favorite) _The Witches Fantastic Mr. Fox_ and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/54 "2011-02-10T19:00:43Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > - Encyclopedia Brown series > - Danny Dunn series I was just going to post that I forgot these two series! Why hasn’t there been an Encyclopedia Brown movie/TV show? I also read a ton of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. Just to be clear, this is more of a nostaglia thread, instead of an active request for recommendations. Hippy Jr. is a ways off from these books, I think. 🙂 I also met Roald Dahl as a kid. He smoked like a chimney and was pretty gruff around us kids… I wonder if we caught him on a bad day, or that’s just how he rolled? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/55 "2011-02-10T19:20:28Z")
I was apeshit for the Freddy the pig series when I was in grade school. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/56 "2011-02-10T19:27:44Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > … I also met Roald Dahl as a kid. He smoked like a chimney and was pretty gruff around us kids… I wonder if we caught him on a bad day, or that’s just how he rolled? If his biographies are anything to go by, you seem to have caught him on a _good_ day. 😉 Would like to recommend Peter Dickinson in general, and _The Dancing Bear_ in particular. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/57 "2011-02-10T19:28:49Z")
Some books that blew my mind as a kid were “The Westing Game” (mentioned), “The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel)” (also by Ellen Raskin), but especially “The Portmanteau Book”. That one really left an impression on me! ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/58 "2011-02-10T19:32:42Z")
ALL of Paul Zindel’s books. ---
**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, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/59 "2011-02-10T19:43:47Z")
William Sleator has written some very enjoyable books (though the quality’s gone down with the last few). My favorite is [House of Stairs.](http://www.amazon.com/House-Stairs-William-Sleator/dp/0140345809) I also recommend the Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher, beginning with [The White Mountains.](http://www.amazon.com/White-Mountains-John-Christopher/dp/0689856725/ref=pd_sim_b_12) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849/60 "2011-02-10T19:57:43Z")
Am I the only one who remembers The _Mushroom Planet_ seeries? Another vote for Walter Farley books(except for the last Black Stallion book.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-kids-books-from-your-childhood-8-15-years-or-so/570849.md?page=4)