Favorite Children's or YA books.

[Eileen]

What are your favorite children's and/or young adult books?

[Solo]

I really liked I,Houdini and The Indian in the Cupboard books.I also read a lot of Goosebumps. They wayside stories were good. Friendle was awesome. Lizard Music was great. I liked the Dark Materials trilogy. I read a lot of the Redwall books.

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

[Niflheimian]

Two of my favorites are the Harry Potter series and The Phantom Tollbooth. Tico and the Golden Wings, by Leo Lionni, was one of my favorite books as a youngster.

Oh, I almost forgot the Series of Unfortunate Events books. They're superb.

[Solo]

Oh! I intend to read those.

As for me, two of my favorites are the Harry Potter series and The Phantom Tollbooth.

I can't believe I forgot the Harry Potter series. All I have to do is turn my head to the left and I can see them on my shelf. :lol:

[Eileen]

As an adult, I have loved C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia (I read many things as a child, but never got around to those). As a child, I loved Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door.

I was also very fond of Beverly Cleary's Ramona books.

[songbird36]

The Deltora Quest series - Emily Rodda.

Great fantasy/adventure for 8-13 yr old competent readers.

[jimkopelli]

The younger-oriented Heinlein books... gets them started on liking him for when they move up to the more serious ones.

[Elro]

I loved the Animorphs series (but then never got around to reading the final books). Have something like 40 of them collected back at home.

Others: as mentioned above, Harry Potter, the Wrinkle in Time series, Narnia, and when I was REALLY little, Winnie the Pooh. Also several of Roald Dahl's works, like The Witches.

[coffeezombie]

I read the Harry Potter books now as an adult and still like them a lot, so those would have to be my favorite. As a kid, my favorite were Hardy Boys mysteries (dated even back then in the 80s) and the Encyclopedia Brown books. I read adult fantasy long before I read kids' fantasy, although I suppose The Hobbit counts as kids' fantasy, and I read and enjoyed that as a kid.

Does Watership Down count as a YA book? I loved that one as a kid too.

[nBT]

we had an assortment of fairy tales, still have that. i have a kids encyclopedia, a popup book about insects. then i was very fond of the thick elven book illustrated by alan lee. i would read all kinds of electronica technical books from my dad, and books on photography (wich was/is my dads hobby). i also remember the great 'how things work' book. with mammoths!
if there were no images in it. i woudnt read it. COMICS!

edit: young adult books would be theoretics, of anything that my attention was on longer that usual. if i ever got in a bookstore id run directly to the sience or art corner.

[indie]

As a child, I loved Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door.

Yes, I loved those, too. . . L'Engle was a fantastic author. The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Wilo Davis Roberts also stands out in my mind as a memorable childhood book.

[Geoff]

The Hobbit. We got this far in and no-one had mentioned the author of the last century!

-Geoff

[Eileen]

The Hobbit. We got this far in and no-one had mentioned the author of the last century!

-Geoff


Somebody did, I think. coffeezombie did.

The Hobbit, I did read as an adolescent; I didn't read the other LotR books until I was in college. I enjoyed them, but I can't imagine reading them over and over again like some of my friends have!

[ApeTheDog]

Mathilda and Big Friendly Giant by Roald Dahl.
Anything by Dr. Seuss.

Some Dutch books which I won't waste your time with.

[tragula]

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander were very good.

I also like the Series of Unfortunate Events. Although they seem to taper off in quality a bit later on in the series. (Haven't read the last two.)

I saw Daniel Handler give a talk. Darn interesting guy.

[Eileen]

Mathilda and Big Friendly Giant by Roald Dahl.
Anything by Dr. Seuss.

Some Dutch books which I won't waste your time with.

Oh, you should waste our time, even tell us a little bit about the plots!

[Eileen]

The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Wilo Davis Roberts also stands out in my mind as a memorable childhood book.

I remember reading that, but don't really remember the plot.

I read The Secret Garden a couple of times over. I had a wonderful illustrated version that I fear got tossed when we were frantically working to empty our house this past fall...

I recall enjoying some books by E.L. Konigsburg and Avi, as well. I was also very into The Babysitter's Club and the Anne of Green Gables books.

[songbird36]

The Earthsea Trilogy - Ursula Le Guin
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

The Magic Faraway Tree (Blyton)

[Geoff]

The Earthsea Trilogy - Ursula Le Guin
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

The Magic Faraway Tree (Blyton)

Ah yes, I had forgotten The Earthsea Trilogy. I loved that as a youngster. I can even remember being a little scared by it. I think the best childrens books inspire a little imaginative 'thrill' fear in them.

Swallows and Amazons - you should go visit the Lake District in NW England.

-Geoff

[songbird36]

Ah yes, I had forgotten The Earthsea Trilogy. I loved that as a youngster. I can even remember being a little scared by it. I think the best childrens books inspire a little imaginative 'thrill' fear in them.

Swallows and Amazons - you should go visit the Lake District in NW England.

-Geoff

We had both read to us aloud by Mum and Dad, putting on scary voices too!

I'm going to start on the Earthsea Trilogy with my older son as soon as I can locate a second hand copy.

[ApeTheDog]

Okay then!

In Dutch:

De Kleine Kapitein (the small captain). They were adventure novels featuring a young boy and his friends sailing their own ship through every one of the seven seas in the world, getting into a different adventure every time. These were my favourite books.

De Heksenkring by Paul Biegel (The Witches Coven): When a young boy's parents are killed in an accident, his aunt who lives out in the forest adopts him. He discovers that she is a witch and that she will be forced to drink a cup of poison at the next witches coven for breaking their rules. They come up with a daring gambit that will make her the head witch of the coven.

English again:

Everything by Anthony Horrowitz.

[Boneca]

Phew...I read everything I could get my hands on. But some favourites that spring to mind immediately are The Hobbit, the Narnia Chronicles, several stories by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, and the Five series by Enid Blyton.

[songbird36]

Did anyone see the hilarious TV spoofs - "Five go mad in Dorset" and "Five go mad on Mescalin"?

[Arioch]

Doesn't anybody read mother goose anymore?

[Claverhouse]

Of all time: The Wind in the Willows.

The late Joan Aitken; Diana Wynne-Jones especially. Richmal Crompton.

( Illustrated books: Graham Oakley's 'Church Cat & Church Mice' series. )

But I went on to older literature too fast too young.



Claverhouse :ph34r:

[Solo]

In read The Hobbit when I was younger. I didn't like it then. I haven't taken the time to reread it. I did enjoy the LotR trilogy.

[songbird36]

I find Roald Dahl a bit scary and creepy for my kids.

I read them "Mathilda" and then we got it out on DVD and they were pretty upset by the themes. Same goes for the "Twits" and "James and the Giant Peach" (although the latter is not so bad).

[booyalab]

I read so much as a kid it was sick. During the summer I'd go to the library probably 3-4 times a week on my bike and return with between 5-20 books each time.

I also liked: The Secret Garden, Wind in the Willows, The Hobbit, A Wrinkle in Time, BSC (was a guilty pleasure), mother goose, Narnia chronicles, Beverly Cleary, Edward Gorey, the Berenstein bears when I was very little.

fiction: Grimm fairy tales, folk tales from different cultures..especially Russia, spaghetti westerns, mysteries, historical fiction, American Girl series, Dear America series, Choose your own Adventure series, comic books (if those count as books) especially x-men, Beatrix Potter, Rudyard Kipling

Non-fiction : Architecture, art, forensic science, espionage, optical illusions, astronomy, history, geography, psychology, natural history, Isaac Asimov

Specific books I liked: Arabian Nights, Great Expectations, one called The Wolves of Willoughby Chaise (sp)cant remember the author, one about a magic dollhouse that brought this girl back in time..and there were some murders i think...cant remember the plot very well but it had rich historical detail and it was a very sophisticated style of writing for a kid's book..but not pretentious..ever since i've read it (like 10 years ago) I've been trying to find it because i forgot the title and author..
edit: ooh and I forgot to reiterate one book I mentioned in another thread: The Worst Person in the World..by James Stevenson

The best book that I read as a "YA" is still my favorite book: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

[Eileen]

BSC (was a guilty pleasure)

Was it a guilty pleasure then or just in retrospect?

[booyalab]

Was it a guilty pleasure then or just in retrospect?

both. (mainly because I didnt like that I was conforming......but at least I didnt read Sweet Valley High!) like, you know, totally

[cjs55]

Does 'Calvin and Hobbes' count? If I had to pick out the one piece of influential literature from my youth, it would be that. It still influences me when I read it as an adult in fact...

[booyalab]

Does 'Calvin and Hobbes' count? If I had to pick out the one piece of influential literature from my youth, it would be that. It still influences me when I read it as an adult in fact...

whoa, me too. I also forgot The Far Side, Katzenjammer Kids, and Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

[Boneca]

......but at least I didnt read Sweet Valley High!) like, you know, totallyI did! :rofl:
Although to me they were a sort of scary science fiction...I was very glad my school wasn't like that.

[jyakulis]

ehh I read mostly jules verne when I was little......a lotta fantasy books too.

[songbird36]

whoa, me too. I also forgot The Far Side, Katzenjammer Kids, and Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

"Sons and Lovers" is an interesting choice. It was DH Lawrence's first (and arguably greatest) novel, and was the first truly "working class" novel ever to make it into the echelons of high literature in the UK.

Prior to that the literary scene in the UK had been dominated by upper and middle class writers who seemed determined to sweep the existence of the working classes largely under the carpet (the likes of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Rudyard Kipling etc).

The relationship between Morel and his mother in that book is very moving and is largely autobiographical.

[CoHo]

Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-A-Zoo
http://buy.overstock.com/images/products/bnt/FC157768687X.JPG

Loved it when I was a kid, I still have the book too.

["InsertNameHere"]

When i actually started reading for fun in forth grade, Anne Rice books became my favorites. I also liked Linda Lewis "boy" series and Rosa Guy books ("Friends")

[Geoff]

Did anyone see the hilarious TV spoofs - "Five go mad in Dorset" and "Five go mad on Mescalin"?

Yeah, done by the same group of people (the Comic Strip) behind "the Young Ones" and moving through a number of creative and comedic works and perhaps most famous worldwide with Absolutely Fabulous. At least I expect that it is the best known.

Five Go mad in Dorset was on the opening night of our 4th TV Channel in the UK (Channel 4, funnily enough).

And as I live in Dorset can confirm to you that it really is like that here...

-Geoff

[Serotonin]

The "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques.
About a group of woodland creatures living in an Abbey.
I read the first seven or so. Then I reached adolescence and wasn't interested anymore.

www.redwall.org (http://www.redwall.org)

[songbird36]

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander were very good.



I had the Chronicles read aloud to me as a child, and am currently reading it to my kids.

I vividly remember Googie's "crunchings and munchings" and Eilonwy with the "long blonde hair".

Great read.

[Ascending]

Artemis fowl. Come to think of it, I really should read that last book.

[Avengardh]

The Giver - Lois Lowry.
Momo- Michael Ende.

[gypseymothlee]

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, and Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Number the Stars and The Giver by Lois Lowry
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, Many Waters, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet by L'Engle

I also read the Babysitters Club and the Sweet Valley books. I thought they were good time savers, you could always skip the second chapter because they were exactly the same in every one of the books.

[Dunearhp]

Prior to that the literary scene in the UK had been dominated by upper and middle class writers who seemed determined to sweep the existence of the working classes largely under the carpet (the likes of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Rudyard Kipling etc).


I will have to disagree with you in the case of Kipling. A lot of his lesser known works had working class protagonists. His subject matter was quite wide ranging; he even wrote a little science fiction. I can't remember the titles at the moment (my books are elsewhere).

It is strange, because I was going to mention The Jungle Book. Great for boys.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series was something I enjoyed immensely as a child. I then read many of the classics from the "golden age" of science fiction.

I think we lose out if we try to be too strict about the threshold between adult and childrens literature.

[Biff_Loman]

As a child, I loved Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door.

These were the first books I thought of. A Wrinkle in Time proved haunting enough that I read it again last year.

[jimkopelli]

I'm a big fan of a lot of the things mentioned... I read a lot as a kid. Have about the same amount of Animorphs too.

Enders Game by OS Card was a good one... for YA, not childrens.
Ferdinand the Bull, however... loved it.

[Biff_Loman]

I read Ender's Game when I was ten. . .

[jimkopelli]

As did I.

Mostly young adult. My reading level was higher than a lot of my teachers...

[Mariel]

Harriet the Spy.

[nonsequitur]

well, some people have already mentioned madeleine l'engle.. but not my favourite madeleine l'engle book. i'll admit that "A Wrinkle in Time" was what got me hooked, but my favourite of the time quartet was always "A Swiftly Tilting Planet". I did enjoy "A Wind in the Door" too. there's another series by her, about the Austins, which i think is also rather well written. my favourites from that series are "A Ring of Endless Light" and "The Arm of the Starfish". for other favourite children's or YA's books.. i read quite a bit, but can't remember being obsessed with any other than those above and Harry Potter. Other series that i've been obsessed with probably don't count as "children's books"..