Your favorite childhood book series or book?

[Go_Blue88]

For a class I just read The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, which I had read ten years ago. This got me thinking about my favorite book or series back when I was growing up and I'm interested in hearing what some of yours are...

Mine is Redwall by Brian Jacques. Actually, ever since this series I've been hooked on fantasy novels.

[shant]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0060256656.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[smurfitup]

anything by roald dahl.

[Gary Stevenson]

the chronicles of narnia...not sure what they were about and i don't remember why i liked them...just saw a commercial for the movie and it reminded me that i enjoyed reading the books

ZZzzZZzz

[diebitter]

I'm waiting for the DVD of the Phantom Tollbooth...

Younger, I liked the 2 charlie/chocolate factory books, and asterix comic books.

Around 10, I was into this cool series called '<whatever> adventure' (eg Shark Adventure, Underwater Adventure, Africa Adventure) about 2 brothers that roamed the world, capturing animals for sanctuaries, zoos etc

Around 11, James Bond!

Around 12, Dune series.

[istewart]

Roald Dahl is key.

[Vish]

I'll second anything by Dahl and the Chronicles of Narnia. Also, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh was damn good.

[rusellmj]

http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/7241/windup4cn.jpg

[chuddo]

http://www.university.mccsc.edu/book/mrsfrisby1.jpg

http://int.cysd.k12.pa.us/tyson/drseuss_files/Mrs.%20Frisby.jpg

[goofball]

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[imported_anacardo]

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander.
The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper.
The Lord of the Rings, of course.

Eilonwy, I still love you.

[diebitter]

Oh, and 'Stig of the Dump'.

[Malachii]

"Big Friendly Giant." "The Littles." "The Animorphs." I read a lot as a kid. Those are just some of what I remember. "The Boxcar Children" had its moments too.

[tonypaladino]

The frog and toad series was the best.

The first book I ever read by myself was Danny and The Dinosaur. I /images/graemlins/heart.gif that book.

When I was like 7-10 I read the Encyclobedia Brown, Boxcar Children, Hardy Boys and Little House on the Prarie.

[diebitter]

Oh I remember at about 4 or 5 reading these learning to read books about pirates called stuff like 'Roderick the Red' and 'Beauregart the Blue'.


ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

[Reef]

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[tonypaladino]

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man, everyone loved them, but I thought they were disapointing. None of them were scary at all, even when I was 9

[JackWilson]

Anything by Roald Dahl
The Adventures of Tintin
Discworld novels (the ones with Rincewind in at least)
The Hardy Boys (when i was younger, about 8 or so)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

[Vavavoom]

[ QUOTE ]
Your favorite childhood book series or book?

[/ QUOTE ]

Any Enid Blyton book or Roald Dahl book.

started reading young.. have a damn library.

hardy boys,
narnia... rereading it now, its good
Nimh
LOTR
Where The Wild Things Are
Bernstein Bears
Dune
D&D
Wheel Of time (only one more book left, book 12!!)

[MyTurn2Raise]

[ QUOTE ]
the chronicles of narnia...not sure what they were about and i don't remember why i liked them...just saw a commercial for the movie and it reminded me that i enjoyed reading the books

ZZzzZZzz

[/ QUOTE ]

second the Narnia Chronicles

they had better, and I mean better not screw up the movies. the great part is that the characters dont come back in EVERY book, so you can space out the movies.

this has potential... as long as the God-Aslan thing isnt too overwhelming.

[Schneids]

Encyclopedia Brown, and when I was younger yet, The Bernstein Bears

[ozyman]

Anything by John Bellairs.

[Reef]

[ QUOTE ]


man, everyone loved them, but I thought they were disapointing. None of them were scary at all, even when I was 9

[/ QUOTE ]

reading them at night, alone in the dark helped

[JaBlue]

I liked goosebumps a lot and absolutely loved Calvin and Hobbes

[pudley4]

http://www.vpr.net/camelshump/library/images_season4/The_Great_Brain.jpg

[miajag81]

No mention of Indian in the Cupboard yet? Man, I loved those. Also:

- Redwall series, which OP mentioned
- Hatchet (probably read this about 20 times)
- Narnia series
- anything Dahl

[daveymck]

I read all of ther famous five and secret seven enid blyton books.

[Mars357]

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These books were wonderful. I attribute my love of reading to this series....

[krazyace5]

I always liked choose your own adventure series. Also there was a series about a boy with a chemistry set that could do all kinds of magic stuff. Can't remember the name. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[Lazymeatball]

http://mc.clintock.com/second_floor/bookcase_2/ICON-images/tropic_of_cancer.jpg

[M2d]

The Kid from Tomkinsville

[TheTROLL]

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This is fantastic, big childhood fave of mine, though it originally came out in the early 1960s I think. It was re-released a couple of years ago in the UK packaged in a box with a little cuddly troll. My parents bought it for me for Christmas and the little troll now adorns my desk. I may even post a picture of him later :-)

[pokerdirty]

sorry for ending the thread, but...

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[vulturesrow]

The Xanth series by Piers Anthony really got me into the fantasy genre. The Tripod Trilogy got me into sci-fi. Many of the other books listed here were favorites as well.

[Shajen]

[ QUOTE ]
sorry for ending the thread, but...

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[/ QUOTE ]

Excellent. Also:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553250426.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[TheTROLL]

[ QUOTE ]

This is fantastic, big childhood fave of mine, though it originally came out in the early 1960s I think. It was re-released a couple of years ago in the UK packaged in a box with a little cuddly troll. My parents bought it for me for Christmas and the little troll now adorns my desk. I may even post a picture of him later :-)

[/ QUOTE ]

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/2864/monster3zg.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/2864/monster3zg.jpg)

[vulturesrow]

I thought I was the only one here nerdy enough to read Auel books as a kid. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Shajen]

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I thought I was the only one here nerdy enough to read Auel books as a kid. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, I'm a huge nerd.

But those books are gold.

[Georgia Avenue]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0064401847.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[asofel]

[ QUOTE ]
Encyclopedia Brown, and when I was younger yet, The Bernstein Bears

[/ QUOTE ]

nice, same here. now if only i could also figure out how to take these beginnings and turn them into poker hawtness...

[Blarg]

For real little kid stuff, I was crazy for Seuss, but my favorite was by Maurice Sendak -- Where the Wild Things Are. Great theme, incredibly imaginative drawing and concept. This book really has it all.

For a little older, like late elementary school, I loved the Tarzan series. I read a ton of those. Then I loved the James Bond stuff in junior high.

I agree with the guy who loved Roald Dahl. That guy is really great and terrifically inventive and entertaining. I didn't get exposed to him until I was an adult, though. He's still incredibly worth reading, and often repeatedly.

Where Wild Things Are will always stick with me as my favorite childhood book.

[swede123]

Being Swedish I have very fond memories of all the stories by Astrid Lindgren. You Americans probably recognize Pippi Longstockings, but she wrote dozens of other great childrens' books. At an earlier age I was a big fan of this little fella:

http://reylab.bidmc.harvard.edu/people/curious-wedfafds.jpg

Swede

[tolbiny]

This book and Watership Down.
I can't think of anything that hasn't been mentioned half a dozen times already in this thread.

[KKbluff]

I probably read all 176 of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series.
( I do remeber cheating on a few of the books now and then.)
I wasnt the only one who did this was I?

http://www.gamebooks.org/gallery/cyoa005ncthumb.jpg

[RustedCorpse]

Some of them you could NOT reach all the endings. I loved those books but in later years I finally sat down with a notebook and back tracked every ending and there were quite a few where you couldn't reach every ending. You were meant to cheat, that destroyed my concept of honor and I never read another again. True Story, I like potatos.



In other news my fav

All the C.S. Lewis Chronicles
Ender's Game
Where the Wild Things Are
The Rats series
The Forgotten Realms books, I seriously have almost every one of those books published.

[Blarg]

Oh, I LOVED Curious George too! Good reminder. I was nuts for this little dude. The Curious George books were almost impossible to check out at any library, and were overly expensive, from what I remember, so I never really did get my fill of him.

[goofball]

[ QUOTE ]
sorry for ending the thread, but...

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[/ QUOTE ]

Very nice choice. I also loved berenstein bears.

I liked the Boxcar Childeren books the best until I discovered my dad's Playboys.

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]

The Rats series


[/ QUOTE ]

Domain is a fantastic book, James Herbert is one fo m favourite authors although his later stuff hasnt been as good.

[WDC]

I read all the Hardy Boys;
A Wrinkle in Time was very good;
Encyclopedia Brown;
all the SE Hintons when I got a little older

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

The Rats series


[/ QUOTE ]

Domain is a fantastic book, James Herbert is one fo m favourite authors although his later stuff hasnt been as good.

[/ QUOTE ]

This brings back memories of 'The Fog'. I still can't see a pair of garden shears without feeling uneasy /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

[daveymck]

Fog is another great book, is a shame the films based on his books have all been crap (Survivor, Fluke and Haunted). I think his stuff is much better than Stephen King, but Shaun Hutson is the king of british horrer to my mind.

[codewarrior]

The entire Wizard of Oz series. And if you still have the books, they are quite valuable.

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]
Fog is another great book, is a shame the films based on his books have all been crap (Survivor, Fluke and Haunted). I think his stuff is much better than Stephen King, but Shaun Hutson is the king of british horrer to my mind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Haven't read Hutson, but no way is Herbert better than King!

Read any Guy N. Smith, with the giant crabs, and stuff like that. Talk about grand guignol pulp horror. They were the horror equivalent of tabloid papers, and I used to love em!

[Go_Blue88]

[ QUOTE ]
"Big Friendly Giant."

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh man this book gave me the first fear (that I remember) that I ever had to conquer. For a few years I was afraid to look out the window b/c I thought I'd see a giant and he'd take me to his village. So I never looked out the window during the night.

Underrated terrifying book.

[Go_Blue88]

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Woah, I forgot about this one; this book was the coolest.

[Go_Blue88]

[ QUOTE ]
Ender's Game

[/ QUOTE ]

This is still one of my favorite books. I re-read it pretty much every year.

[Go_Blue88]

[ QUOTE ]
The Xanth series by Piers Anthony really got me into the fantasy genre. The Tripod Trilogy got me into sci-fi. Many of the other books listed here were favorites as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh nice, I forgot all about this series. The Xanth series was fukin sweet. I can still see random images in my head from cool scenes in these books--ie-the castle with the cool protective entities. However, I only sort of liked the Tripod Trilogy; I remember thinking some parts were kind of lame.

[Go_Blue88]

[ QUOTE ]
This book and Watership Down.
I can't think of anything that hasn't been mentioned half a dozen times already in this thread.

[/ QUOTE ]

Watership Down was awesome. It was like a more advanced version of Redwall; more gruesome n such.

[Ulysses]

Some series and authors that spring to mind:

A Wrinkle in Time
Encyclopedia Brown
Choose Your Own Adventure
Judy Blume
Lord of the Rings
Asimov
Heinlein

Scanning the thread, the main one from my childhood I missed:

NIMH

[Go_Blue88]

[ QUOTE ]
I liked the Boxcar Childeren books the best until I discovered my dad's Playboys.

[/ QUOTE ]

I always thought Boxcar books were overrated. However, I love boobs so good choice.

[Go_Blue88]

The only one that no one mentioned is the Goosebump series by R.L Stine. He definitely wrote too many, but some of them were pretty cool. One of the better ones was "Deep Trouble."

[IndieMatty]

http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~aahobor/Lucy-Day/Images/Covers-50/Bunnicula.jpg

[SL__72]

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Wow, this is an excellent choice.

Where the Red Fern Grows and Where the Wild Things Are are also both solid choices.

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Ender's Game

[/ QUOTE ]

This is still one of my favorite books. I re-read it pretty much every year.

[/ QUOTE ]
I first read Ender's Game as an adult (it wasn't written yet when I was a kid). I can see why it would apeal to kids because the hero is a kid, but it is definitely an adult novel, and IMO one of the ten best science ficion novels ever written.

[imported_anacardo]

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HOLY [censored] I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THESE.

I was a huge, huge fan.

Thank you, Matt. Thank you.

The "Great Brain" series by John D. Fitzgerald. "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin. Lots more, including many noted by other posters.

[Gary Stevenson]

wayside school is falling down...who remembers it?

ZZzzZZzz

[imported_anacardo]

[ QUOTE ]
wayside school is falling down...who remembers it?

ZZzzZZzz

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, hell yes. So ridiculously surreal - well, to a ten-year-old.

This thread pleases me greatly.

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Fog is another great book, is a shame the films based on his books have all been crap (Survivor, Fluke and Haunted). I think his stuff is much better than Stephen King, but Shaun Hutson is the king of british horrer to my mind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Haven't read Hutson, but no way is Herbert better than King!


[/ QUOTE ]

MAybe i havent read the right King books It and the Dark half and maybe misery and graveyard shift (if thats even one of his) but I find Herbert better. I feel the same about Dean R Kootz never really liked his writing style neither.

[jstnrgrs]

[ QUOTE ]
they had better, and I mean better not screw up the movies. the great part is that the characters dont come back in EVERY book, so you can space out the movies.

this has potential... as long as the God-Aslan thing isnt too overwhelming.

[/ QUOTE ]

In the books, the God-Aslan thing is about as subtle as a sledge hammer to the head.

[MrMon]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, I LOVED Curious George too! Good reminder. I was nuts for this little dude. The Curious George books were almost impossible to check out at any library, and were overly expensive, from what I remember, so I never really did get my fill of him.

[/ QUOTE ]

When they published The Complete Adventures Of Curious George a few years back, I made sure I got a copy. My 4-year-old is now a huge fan.

However, saw a preview for the upcoming Curious George movie. Some things should remain as books. Oddly enough, my huge fan did not ask to see the movie when he saw the preview. The kid can detect a stinker.

[Los Feliz Slim]

With all the Boston people I'm surprised this is the first time anyone's posted:

http://picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org/images/timelineducklings.jpg

[imported_anacardo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
they had better, and I mean better not screw up the movies. the great part is that the characters dont come back in EVERY book, so you can space out the movies.

this has potential... as long as the God-Aslan thing isnt too overwhelming.

[/ QUOTE ]

In the books, the God-Aslan thing is about as subtle as a sledge hammer to the head.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is the whole seventh book, which is one long anti-Muslim screed, falling especially hard on those who would claim to find common ground between "Tash" and "Aslan."

Stuart Little. in 4th grade. it was the first book i found where i wanted to keep turning the pages.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
sorry for ending the thread, but...

http://www.vpr.net/camelshump/library/images_season4/WhereRedFernGrows.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

I remember reading this as a kid and liking it but can't even remember what it's about now. Guess it didn't make that big an impression. Or at least, not for long.

[Blarg]

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Woah, I forgot about this one; this book was the coolest.


[/ QUOTE ]

Never bettered. Only Seuss came close, but he was in a bit of a different direction.

[Blarg]

Here's something hyper-gay. I thought the Madeleine book, or was it books?, had a sort of eerie wistfulness.

Oh, and there was a really great book about three Chinese brothers that was incredibly inventive, I thought. I really dug it huge. One could swallow up the whole ocean, the other could create storms or something, and I forget what the other one could do. Anyway, they used these bizarre powers in a remarkable way in the story. I think this one has come back into print recently. I would love to read it again. It was very simple, but incredibly cool. Wish I could remember the title.

[gamblore99]

I browsed over this thread and didn't see any doctor Seuss which is suprising.
This summer I was reading "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss to a kindergarden class, and that reminded me of its awesomeness. I think that has to be my favourite book.

[ QUOTE ]
I browsed over this thread and didn't see any doctor Seuss which is suprising.
This summer I was reading "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss to a kindergarden class, and that reminded me of its awesomeness. I think that has to be my favourite book.

[/ QUOTE ]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/scorev1/seuss-cat-hat.gif

[Rootabager]

I loved the barenstein bears. I had like 30 of their books.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day
anything by Shel Silverstein
Chronicles of Narnia (so ready for the movie!)
anything by Roald Dahl
Encyclopedia Brown
and my favorite - Choose Your Own Adventure!! - do they still make these?

ScottieK

You gotta cheat the Choose Your Own Adventures...how else are you gonna cope with an eight-option choice (one book had this, it freaked me out.)

I think my favorite was about a kid with a supercomputer.

We need adult CYOA's. That would be awesome.

ScottieK

[TheBlueMonster]

Chronicles of Narnia and Hardy Boys

[Boris]

I liked the Frog and Toad books. Especially the one where Toad plays violin for the seeds he planted in the garden. That rocked.

[Go_Blue88]

[ QUOTE ]
I liked the Frog and Toad books. Especially the one where Toad plays violin for the seeds he planted in the garden. That rocked.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ohhhh haha I forgot about those books. I really liked those stories too.

[masse75]

Chronicles of Narnia, and anything by Judy Blume.

My mom brought home a bunch of Blume books for us when I was in 3rd grade. Reading "Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret" is a little heavy at that age.

Then I found a copy of "Wifey" in the 4th grade. That was pretty damn cool.

Where the red fern grow was awesome, I wanted to go racoon hunting so bad after that...even though I have never hunted in my life, or even camped.
Encyclopedia Brown owned.
Life on the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer, Huck finn, loved all those.

There was also this kids series about mormons that was good, not weird mormons. I think it was called The Great Brain, it was very awesome.

Curious George, Dr. Seuss books, and Shel Silverstein books.