Great Books Week Day 3: What childhood book captured your imagination?

Great Books Week 2010- sponsored by Excellence in Literature and the National Association of Independent Writers and EditorsI grew up in a quiet home with no television or other young people. My grandparents liked to read, and so did I. Books were my trusted friends and companions throughout childhood, and I loved many of them for many reasons. So…. all that to say that narrowing it down to just one book is asking a bit much, so I’m going to share some overall favorites. I’m pretty sure that the Great Books Week police aren’t on patrol!

Picture Books

  • Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
  • Johnny-Go-Round
  • Madeleine
  • Babar
  • Illustrated Fairy Tales

Non-Series Books

  • David and the Phoenix
  • The Secret Garden
  • Island of the Blue Dolphins
  • The Little Princess
  • Mary Jane
  • Prudence Crandall: Woman of Courage
  • Brighty of the Grand Canyon
  • My Side of the Mountain
  • Little Women
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • Crazy Horse (Landmark Biography)
  • Florence Nightingale
  • Helen Keller
  • The Little Lame Prince
  • Bedknob and Broomstick

Series

  • The Oz books
  • Raggedy Ann and Andy
  • The Burgess Books (animal stories)
  • Bobbsey Twins
  • Happy Hollisters
  • Pippi Longstocking
  • Heidi books
  • Harriet the Spy
  • The Black Stallion
  • Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys
  • Cherry Ames
  • Beverly Grey

Young people’s books I didn’t discover until adulthood, and still enjoy:

  • The Chronicles of Narnia
  • The Boxcar Children (early books in the series)
  • Hank the Cowdog audio books
  • Wrinkle in Time trilogy

This is far from a complete list of the young people’s books that sparked my imagination, but it’s at least a start.

2 Responses

  1. Jimmie says:

    Great ones there. Many of those I didn’t discover until homeschooling my daughter.
    The thick Winnie the Pooh was a winner for me. I remember poring over the map as if I were there.

    And the Oz books and Madeline L’engle books are imprinted on my mind. Anything science fiction or fantasy really spoke to me as a child. I truly entered those magical worlds through books.

  2. Ticia says:

    There is no way I will remember most them but a few are: Judy Bloom: the pain and the great one.
    Where the wild things are, the whole v.c. andrews flowers in the attic series: I can’t believe my mother let me read those at 12 !

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