Do you remember the first book you really, really loved? Readers recall their favourite books from early childhood…
Kym says:
Mr Tickle was my favourite book. My mum used to read it to me and every time Mr Tickle tickled, she would tickle me. She also used to read me The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton… those stories were truly magical to me as a child.
Jasmine says:
We have an old book called Fern Hollow; it's twenty four years old and we've kept it in the best condition we could. My dad read it to my eldest sister when she was a toddler and did the same with me… there'd be all four of us sitting with my dad listening to this story. It's about a group of animals who do various human-like things… baking, bonfires etc… and it goes through the seasons. Dad would read the Halloween chapter at Halloween and the Christmas chapter at Christmas and so on. We all know the scenes by heart now and it means so much to my sisters and I… I'm sixteen now and I still love it! My eldest sister is twenty five now and has a baby of her own, and she ordered the book from America so she can read it to her!
Grace says:
My dad used to read me the Pippi Longstocking stories when I was little. Pippi was a nine year old girl with fiery red hair in sticky-out pigtails and she wore long pointy shoes and odd stockings, and she lived alone with her monkey and her horse. She was super-strong and had amazing adventures, and I always wanted to be like her because she was so cool!
Gemma says:
One of my favourite childhood reads was Martin Wanted More, a story about a small sheep who wanted to grow and ate everything he could find. I also loved a book about a fairy who got stuck in a bramble bush and was rescued by a sheep… there's a bit of a sheep theme here, isn't there? She granted the sheep a wish and he wished for wings… that always made me smile. When I was little my parents always read to me, even when I could read by myself.
Cheryl says:
I was given a copy of Cinderella when I was four which is still very precious to me. I couldn't read it myself, but the illustrations were stunning! My grandmother was very ill and bedridden back then and I would get into bed with her each night so that we could read together, usually Little Red Riding Hood. 'Why Grandma, what big eyes you have!' I used to make her do the wolf bits, too…
Emily C says:
I read a book early on in primary school called The Happy Tree. It was about a house plant owned by a little boy, and it grew so tall it towered above everything. I loved it, and when I had some problems with bullying a little while later, my mum took me out and we bought our own 'happy tree' which still stands in our living room now, growing taller and taller by the day!
Emily T says:
When I was small, it was a tradition in our house to read The Night Before Christmas book on Christmas Eve. We would sit curled up by the fire and listen to my father read out of the magical book. Every time I hear it now, I know it is the most magical time of the year…
Natalie says:
My favourite childhood books were Milly Molly Mandy and My Naughty Little Sister, and then later on, The Naughtiest Girl in the School. Now I read to my own daughter Gracie - she loves the Alfie and Annie Rose stories by Shirley Hughes and also Owl Babies!
Cathy says:
Aww… some of these bring back happy memories for me, too! What was YOUR favourite childhood book? COMMENT BELOW to tell us!
Mr Tickle was my favourite book. My mum used to read it to me and every time Mr Tickle tickled, she would tickle me. She also used to read me The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton… those stories were truly magical to me as a child.
Jasmine says:
We have an old book called Fern Hollow; it's twenty four years old and we've kept it in the best condition we could. My dad read it to my eldest sister when she was a toddler and did the same with me… there'd be all four of us sitting with my dad listening to this story. It's about a group of animals who do various human-like things… baking, bonfires etc… and it goes through the seasons. Dad would read the Halloween chapter at Halloween and the Christmas chapter at Christmas and so on. We all know the scenes by heart now and it means so much to my sisters and I… I'm sixteen now and I still love it! My eldest sister is twenty five now and has a baby of her own, and she ordered the book from America so she can read it to her!
My dad used to read me the Pippi Longstocking stories when I was little. Pippi was a nine year old girl with fiery red hair in sticky-out pigtails and she wore long pointy shoes and odd stockings, and she lived alone with her monkey and her horse. She was super-strong and had amazing adventures, and I always wanted to be like her because she was so cool!
Gemma says:
One of my favourite childhood reads was Martin Wanted More, a story about a small sheep who wanted to grow and ate everything he could find. I also loved a book about a fairy who got stuck in a bramble bush and was rescued by a sheep… there's a bit of a sheep theme here, isn't there? She granted the sheep a wish and he wished for wings… that always made me smile. When I was little my parents always read to me, even when I could read by myself.
I was given a copy of Cinderella when I was four which is still very precious to me. I couldn't read it myself, but the illustrations were stunning! My grandmother was very ill and bedridden back then and I would get into bed with her each night so that we could read together, usually Little Red Riding Hood. 'Why Grandma, what big eyes you have!' I used to make her do the wolf bits, too…
Emily C says:
I read a book early on in primary school called The Happy Tree. It was about a house plant owned by a little boy, and it grew so tall it towered above everything. I loved it, and when I had some problems with bullying a little while later, my mum took me out and we bought our own 'happy tree' which still stands in our living room now, growing taller and taller by the day!
When I was small, it was a tradition in our house to read The Night Before Christmas book on Christmas Eve. We would sit curled up by the fire and listen to my father read out of the magical book. Every time I hear it now, I know it is the most magical time of the year…
Natalie says:
My favourite childhood books were Milly Molly Mandy and My Naughty Little Sister, and then later on, The Naughtiest Girl in the School. Now I read to my own daughter Gracie - she loves the Alfie and Annie Rose stories by Shirley Hughes and also Owl Babies!
Cathy says:
Aww… some of these bring back happy memories for me, too! What was YOUR favourite childhood book? COMMENT BELOW to tell us!
I used to love "Milly Molly Mandy" too, Natalie! And lots of Shirley Hughes stuff! :)
ReplyDeleteI also used to love Enid Blyton books - I didn't really read any of the ones set in schools but I loved The Famous Five, the Adventure series and The Faraway Tree (like Kym).
I can't remember what the first book I loved was... my parents read to me from when I was a baby and I've always loved books.
I used to also really like books about Maisie the cat (by Aileen Paterson), especially because they were set in Edinburgh, where I live, and Maisie would travel on the bus route that we normally used.
Ooh, and I also loved Beatrix Potter books and Winnie the Pooh.