Friday 13 November 2015

My Favourite Childhood Books - Books That Sparked My Love Of Reading

I  was instilled a love of reading from a young age
 my parents are big readers 
and from a very young age I was always read a bedtime story
(something that I have always done with Oisín)
 I picked up there love of reading and asked for presents of books for birthdays and Christmas.
 I joined the local mobile library and remember going every week 
with my two green tickets to take out two books!
When I had almost read everything in that little mobile library
my Mam brought me on a bus ride to our local library where I still go today!
Where Oisín now has his own library card and we take out two books
each month for him. He is already showing signs of enjoy books
one of the child care workers in his day care commented only yesterday how he loves
to be read too! He will also pick out a book and sitting on his own look at the pictures!
Hopefully my love of reading will be passed down to him!

Here are the books that I remember reading and re-reading through out my childhood

The Magic Far Away Tree - Enid Blyton

This is one of the first books I read along and was able to get through it alone!
Enid Blyton was my Mam's favourite author's as a child, so she read allot of her to me when I was little. The Magic Faraway Tree series was my favourite I loved the idea of an enchanted tree with secret doors and the magical creatures that live in it! Moonface, Silky and Saucepan Man to name but a few! I do think it's funny that new reprints names of some of the children have been changed to less saucy names! A live action movie is in the works!

The Famous Five - Enid Blyton

Another Enid Blyton series I read allot in childhood was The Famous Five
I remember always asking for one of these books for a treat luckily for me there was
a local book show on the way to do our weekly shop
so every second week I would get a new famous five book.
The book features a group of children and their dog who get into all sorts of scraps
The children must of came from well to do families as they adventures where set on holidays from board school! I really enjoyed these although I didn't read all 21 books I did get through 13 of them!

The Worst Witch - Jill Murphy

I was a little older when I started The Worst Witch series I asked for it for a birthday present after one of my friends told me about it in school. A young witch called Mildred who goes to a boarding school of magic, gets her own broom and pet (sound familiar?!) Her best friends Maud a small sensible bright and brain girl (sound familiar?!) and Enid a practical joker (sound familiar?!) Each book is one term at school and it follows Mildred through her school life as she tries not to be the worst witch. If I remember there was also a TV series which I think I might have watched a few times.

The BFG - Roald Dahl

There are a few Roald Dahl books I loved as a child, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, Matilda but the one I went back to again and again was The BFG
My Dad loved this book and I remember asking him to read it to me again and again, this story just got to my nine year old imagination The Big Friendly Giant is discovered by a little girl named Sophie. He tells her that every night he blows dreams into peoples houses so that everyone will have sweet dreams. The BFG is not liked by the other Giants as he will not eat people and so it's up the Sophie to help save him from the others. An live action movie of this is also in the works!

Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

I remember reading this when I was about 11 and
it was the start of me leaving children's books behind and starting young adult books
I read this because at the time a TV show version was airing
and I went out to the library and found this book
I loved the story of strong willed red haired orphan Anne with an e!
Who is mistakenly sent to brother and sister Matthew and Marilla who need a boy to help on there farm. We follow Anne as she gets settled in her new life in Green Gables, makes friends, and starts school. Anne is very strong willed but also sensitive of the fact she is an orphan. My 11 year old self loved Anne and I read the follow ups Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of the Windy Willows, Anne's House of Dreams and Anne of Ingleside.
I would actually like to go back and read them all again!

Little Women - Lousica May Alcott

This book reminds me of my Summer holiday off school sitting
in my parents back garden under a tree reading. I read this on school holidays and loved it!
The story of four sisters while there Father is off fighting in the America Civil war.
The four sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy find ways to keep themselves busy and to help as there Mother doesn't have much money. The book follows the sisters from little women into wives.
I have watched the two movies my favourite is the one with Clare Daines as Beth my favourite character of the book. I have also read the sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys
but it was Little Women that brought me from childhood reading into young adult reading and
ensured that I would be reading all my adult life.

Do you have an childhood favourite books that you re-read or read to your children now?


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