What books or authors did you love growing up?

mommy3b2c

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 6:53 pm

BetsyTacy wrote:

I love James Herriot but I only found out about him as an adult. Way too much animal-gyn for a kid. I would have freaked. Granted, if I had grown up on a farm, I guess it would all have seemed normal to me, but reading about bovine uterine prolapses would have been way too much.

I read him starting at age 11. Wasn’t to much for me. But I still Love them as an adult.
I read pretty much every single book and series on everyone’s list. Some that stood out:

A little princess- still read it all the time
Little house series- must buy and reread
Harry Potter- a major part of my life. Started at age 12 finished at 21, already married with a kid. I’m still a crazy obsessed fan.

Another amazing book that no one mentioned-

Watership Down

amother

Powderblue

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:14 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

Watership Down? You've listed the first book in this thread I've never read/heard of...what's it about? Author?

Two more I thought of from early teens:

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
The Witch of Blackbird Pond

BetsyTacy

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:22 pm

If you reread the Little House series, there are so many new books to add. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure describes one woman's journey to all the LHOTP sites. Pioneer Girl is the original manuscript of the book that Wilder wrote with a bunch of annotations. There is a new book about Caroline which I haven't read yet.

Mommyg8

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:24 pm

BetsyTacy wrote:

Are those real or made up?

mommy3b2c

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:25 pm

BetsyTacy wrote:

I’ve only ever read the original 9 by Laura herself.

tigerwife

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:26 pm

So many books mentioned already, and also
Edgar Eager
Gerald Morris (Love Arthurian era!)
Holes was a favorite, and other books by Louis Sachar
The Phantom Tollbooth I loved- forgot the author? And I'm pretty sure the illustrator of the Phantom Tollbooth also wrote a few books but I'm blanking at his name.
Sigh... my reading is so rusty these days... miss the days when I used to pick up a stack of books at the library each Friday and finish them over the weekend.

amother

Powderblue

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:27 pm

BetsyTacy wrote:

Yes, when I read the Little House series to my girls, we read those newer books too, and almost went to visit one of her homes (didn't working out unfortunately). They also wrote biographies about Laura's mother and grandmother, and tried to do so in the style of Laura Ingalls Wilder. My daughters enjoyed those, but I didn't think they were very well done.

mommy3b2c

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:30 pm

tigerwife wrote:

Love Edward eager! Half magic was my favorite.

Holes is probably one of the best books ever written!

And both me and my son just read the phantom tollbooth. His first time, my gaszillionth.

BetsyTacy

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:40 pm

The Wendy McClure book is hysterical. Pioneer Girl is Wilder's own words complete with historical annotations and references from the works of Rose Wilder Lane, definitely more scholarly. The Caroline book is a newly released adult book but I haven't read it yet.

Mommyg8

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:41 pm

BetsyTacy wrote:

Thanks for the info! I will look into this!

Raisin

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 7:53 pm

amother wrote:

watership down is life changing.

it's about rabbits. not cartoon rabbits. real rabbits and the dangers they face.

I could care less about rabbits and animals in general but watership down is one of the most beautifully written books you will ever read.

you have to read it. now.

trixx

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 8:24 pm

so many favorites have been mentioned...

animorphs
secrets of droon, wow I was obsessed
a-z mysteries
encyclopedia brown
boys against girls series
classics like bobbsey twins, hardy boys and nancy drew, little lord fauntleroy, little princess,
little house series, anne of green gables (my mom made us read all those haha)
phantom tollbooth
everything by roald dahl
the royal diaries - series
narnia series

I devoured the library, I can't remember specifics, but if I walked through the kids section guarantee theres a book on every single shelf that I have read

mommy3b2c

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 8:34 pm

Raisin wrote:

Yes it is. It’s been so many years and I don’t remember details I just remember being captivated. The rabbits were people to me.

SpottedBanana

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 8:38 pm

cbsp wrote:

I'm actually (re)reading Caddie Woodlawn now, trying to decide if it's appropriate for my 2nd grade daughter. Love it as an adult...

Please wait until she's older! I remember being so freaked out about the aunt having to sit perfectly still for two hours a day with a rod strapped to her back and other scary parts of the 19th century. My point is, make sure that she can understand that we don't do that kind of thing anymore -- harsh punishments etc.

amother

Slateblue

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 8:58 pm

Harry Potter of course- it holds a special place in my heart because I was growing up as the books were still coming out. I was always within a year or so of Harry's age in each book, so I really feel like I grew up with him.

Then of course the classics like Little House on the Prairie, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables and a bunch of others mentioned here. I'm surprised no one mentioned A Wrinkle in Time- loved that one!

Now, does anyone remember the Dear America series? It was a series of fictional diaries by young teen girls living through different events in American history- American Revolution, Civil War (there were a few on that period, including one from the perspective of a slave who had taught herself to read), the Oregon trail (that one was my favorite), the Alamo, and there was even one about a Jewish girl on the Lower East Side who had come from Russia at the turn of the century. I LOVED that series, it really made me into a history buff, and to this day my favorite genre is historical fiction.

amother

Powderblue

Tue, Nov 14 2017, 9:20 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

Yes it is. It’s been so many years and I don’t remember details I just remember being captivated. The rabbits were people to me.

Ok, now I'm so excited to read this, and tell my ddaughters to read it, too. Thanks!