I can’t believe I forgot to mention this one! My absolute favorite Cleary book. It was the first one I read, in second grade, and the first chapter book I ever read. I love the other two in the series as well, Runaway Ralph and Ralph S. Mouse, although I like the latter one a bit better. Ever see the hour movies made out of them? Only one I’ve seen is Runaway Ralph with Fred Savage and Ray Waltson.
Most of my favourites have already appeared in this thread, so I’ll just add Mr. Popper’s Penguins (Richard and Florence Atwater). I don’t know how often I read that book as a youngster.
I’ll second Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark Trilogy.
The Mid-Wife’s Apprentice by Catherine Cushman
Anything by Virginia Hamilton
Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams–This work is outstanding! 
Anything by Dr. Seuss
The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The Alanna series by Tamora Pierce
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling
This is all I can think of right now.
There was a great book from my youth called “Sinbad and Me” by Kin Platt. Boy hero and his dog – he solves mysteries by his knowledge of architecture. This book has everything, pirate treasure, bad guys, people with secrets, smart kids, more treasure, and even a smattering of actual information about architecture and nuismatics. I still remember one of the chapter headings, “One dark, one light, one future not bright.”
This one seems to be far out of print. On the Amazon auction board, some guy wants $245.00 for a first edition library book. Eek!
One series I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
Keith Robertson’s Henry Reed books – Henry Reed, Inc., Henry Reed’s Vacation, Henry Reed’s Journey, Henry Reed’s Baby-Sitting Service and Henry Reed’s Big Show. I loved those books. I reread them last year and realized, among other things, that Henry and Midge have a sort of presexual – heck, pre-romantic – screwball-comedy relationship (he’s Cary Grant, she’s Katherine Hepburn).
Short premise: Henry’s a diplomat’s kid, living abroad, who spends the summer with his aunt and uncle in exurban New Jersey. He and his new friend Midge Glass try to make money – by dowsing for water and “striking oil,” or running a baby-sitting service – and wacky hijinks ensue.
Robertson’s '90s sequel, Henry Reed’s Think Tank, is probably best forgotten, unfortunately.
Another favorite: Homer Price – apparantly I was impressed by H-named heroes. I still remember the diamond bracelet in the donut machine, and everyone in town getting one song stuck in their heads.
Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The original (or as original as possible) unexpurgated version. (IMHO, it’s no worse than what most kids scarf down off television and/or movies.)
D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths (if this hasn’t been brought up already.)
Kudos for bringing up Virginia Hamilton!
And yes, I remember the Judy Blume days…whoohoo, the fights in the school library about whether to keep HER books on the shelves! Oddly enough, though, my favorite ones that she did weren’t the really controversial ones.
Has Robert Cormier been mentioned yet? If not, The Chocolate War is a must for any late-middle-school aged child.
After this thread, I am definitely going to raid the YA/children’s section.
Just remembered another series:
James Howes’ The Celery Stalks at Midnight, Howliday Inn, Nighty-Nightmare and Bunnicula Strikes Again!. I don’t know now whether they’re really good, but they sure cracked me up when I was a kid.
I remember that one. I read a lot of kids books about that era in junior high. Besides the above, I remember Snow Treasure, Escape from Warsaw, and The Cigarette Sellers of Three Crosses Square.
*Origionally posted by Ukelele Ike ***This poem, as well as most others dear to the child in all our hearts, can be found in Donald Hall’s The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse in America. **
Thanks for the info on the Nash poem, Ike.
I remember liking Conrad Richter’s The Light in the Forest and A Country of Strangers in grade school. I just read them again recently, and found them totally depressing.
Anyone remember Me and Caleb, by Franklin Meyer? If you’ve got a copy, hang onto it, it’s rare.
And Me and Caleb reminds me of a similar book I can’t remember the title or author of, linked stories about a group of kids who form a club and have all kinds of adventures: building a Loch Ness monster, entering a balloon race, finding treasure hidden in an old cannon… ring a bell with anyone?
Others: How to Eat Fried Worms, Thomas Rockwell
The Cricket in Times Square & sequels, George Selden
Doctor Doolittle books, Hugh Lofting
The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Warner
The Search for Delicious, Natalie Babbitt
…and others too numerous to name…
<B>The Diggingest Dog</B> - Don’t know the author.
Good cute story. Lots of life lessons in a single book.
Oh yeah! I forgot about that one. That was one of my favorites.
There could hardly be a thread topic nearer and dearer to my heart . . .
Could you be thinking of The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks? I loved that book!
A few that I didn’t see listed yet:
Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
The Owlstone Crown by X. J. Kennedy
Stuart Little by E. B. White
The White Deer by James Thurber
The Wizard Children of Finn by Mary Tannen
Smith of Wootton Major & Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien
I know I’ll think of more after I post this.
I was ecstatic to see so many of my favorites already posted (like Robin McKinley, Betty MacDonald, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L’Engle, Astrid Lindgren, Maurice Sendak and so many more!), and astonished to find some (like Mr. Bass and the Mushroom Planet) that I remembered reading as a child but had forgotten the titles and authors. I am so happy to find this information again! Thank you, Teeming Millions!
Homer Price, I’d forgotten all about that one! Thanks interrobang!?.
How about some of Roald Dahl’s kids books? The Girrafe, the Pelly, and Me, George’s Marvelous Medicine, Fantastic Mister Fox, The BFG, The Twits, The Enormous Crocodile… The list goes on and on.
There were a couple of books that focused on obsolete technology. The titles that I remember were: Rosie the Snowplow and Mike Mulligan’s Steamshovel. Now that I think about it, Mike Mulligan’s Steamshovel was sort of like an updated version of the story of John Henry (only with a happier ending, if I recall correctly).
Musicians of the Sun by Gerald McDermott
The Lady with the Alligator Purse
Dr. Seuss – The Sneetches and others
All of Lewis Carroll’s poems and riddles
The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey
T.S. Eliot’s Practical Cats
Has anyone read Toni Morrison’s recent children’s book, The Big Box? Not a joyous reading experience and rather heavy-handed.
Based upon your choices, Chronos, will you marry me?
Ditto on many books already named. Also, how about Taash and the Jesters, whose author I cannot recall? Does anyone else remember it? Also, Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea Trilogy (I am trying to forget that the fourth book, Tehannu, exists.) I also loved Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, and Jim Kjellgaard’s dog books (Big Red, Outlaw Red, etc.,) and Jim Farley’s horse books, including The Black Stallion.
For younger kids, I loved Good Dog, Carl, about a rottweiler who babysits.
Whoops! Make that WalterFarley’s horse books. And how about Marguerite Henry – Misty, Stormy and Sea Star? And Brighty of the Grand Canyon. I suspect most of these are out of print.
I absolutely love Ragged Dick and Mark the Match Boy by Horatio Alger. Terrible writing, great fun.
My favorite trashy series was Trixie Belden, a Nancy Drew knock off.
I feel OOoooooold now.
Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars
by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
You must read this book.
Lionors John D. Fitzgerald’s adult novels are wonderful (Papa Married A Mormon, Mamma’s Boarding House, and Uncle Will and the Fitzgerald Curse. Kind of hard to find from a library, but often available from Ebay or ABEbooks.
As for the OP – I think most of my favorites have been mentioned. Except:
the Betsy-Tacy series
anything by E. Nesbit
anything by Rumer Godden
anything by Noel Streatfeild
One book that I read over and over was The Devil’s Arithmatic by Jane Yolen. Ever since then I have had a fascination with reading about the Holocaust.
Another awesome book that I don’t know the title - maybe you can help me out… This is what I remember:
- About a boy entering High School, but he gets applications for 9th and 11th grade, so he takes both so he can graduate sooner.
2 He only lives with his mother (maybe a brother), and she’s an artist who does crazy things like dressing up in jail clothes and complaining all day that she is being worked to death. - He does things like wears a green hat to every (but only) English class, so the students call him ‘the green hat boy’ and don’t recognize him when he is in the other classes.
- He builds a pyramid that his friend sits in and can solve all her problems, but he can’t figure out why this only works for her.
A lot of random details, but maybe one of you has read it?
I read this when I was about thirteen, and even had a copy for a while, but lost it (or Mom threw it out, or something). It was about a girl who would sneak into an abandoned property near her house, and explore the old mansion that sat there. Inside the house were a series of portraits of sisters with the last being the ugliest and the sister wearing a bracelet with pigeon feathers. The girl finds a bracelet just like the one in the portrait, and then starts getting haunted by the woman in the painting who gets out (of the painting, y’know) and stands under the girl’s window at night, saying “I want my bracelet” over and over in a low voice.
There was a garden gnome statue/fountain in the mansion’s yard which would come alive when the girl was there (but never anyone else, so no-one would believe her), and something about the sisters all turning into pigeons. I think even the girl ends up getting turned into one at some point, but that may have been a different book.
I keep wanting to call it “Pigeons from Hell,” but that’s a Robert E. Howard story. Anyone got a clue on this one? I’d love to read it again.