For today's Friday Favorites, I thought I would share my top ten favorite books of childhood. I can't take credit for this idea; I read the post by Laurie on her blog, Crazy Aunt Purl, and thought it was wonderful. Of course, as a lifelong bookworm, my "Top Ten" is actually closer to a list of twenty. And that's only if I count "all the books by..." as just one. My list would have been much longer, but I put a two minute limit when writing it out in order to keep it reasonable.
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle. Meg was the coolest, ever! Although I kept hoping a little of her brother's intelligence would sink in.
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. You can read these for the fun of it, or read them again for deeper meanings. Either way, I loved the series.
Anne McCaffrey. Everything she wrote, but especially the Pern series and the Talent series.
The Blue Lagoon, by Henry De Vere Stocpoole. I read, and reread, the book long before the movie (with Brooke Shields) ever came out. The book was much better than the movie.
The Bobbsey Twins books, by Laura Lee Hope. Actually, I think this was a favorite only because my grandmother nicknamed my cousin and me the Bobbsey Twins. So of course I had to read the entire series. We were nothing like the characters, of course. And we're not the Bobbsey Twins any longer. But I still think it's they're wonderful books.
The Borrowers, by Mary Norton. This book has become family legend, thanks to my story-telling abilities and gullible young cousins.
Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean Auel. Of course, the entire series is included. And it wasn't strictly a childhood favorite, since some of the books came out after I was married. But still. I've read these over and over and over, until I had to buy a second edition of the books because the first was so tattered.
Dr. Suess. I still read these, with the excuse that they're for work. After all, who can resist Green Eggs and Ham, or The Cat in the Hat. I can even quote my favorites from rote!
Erma Bombeck. Okay, I was in love with her columns more than her book (If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What am I doing in the Pits?). I wanted to be Erma Bombeck when I grew up; her writing was funny, easy to read, and real.
The Family Nobody Wanted, by Helen Doss. This is my all-time favorite book. I wish I could find a copy of it; I'd love to read it again as an adult.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg. I wanted to hide in a museum.
Georgette Heyer. I was a very romantically-minded teenager, and these were like candy. They're probably the reason why I still adore romance novels.
Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous. I think this must have been mandatory reading for teenage girls back then because we all read it. It was exotic and threatening, and our parents would have had a fit if they realized we knew anything about it. At least, that was the impression I had.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. I adore all five books in this triology. Douglas Adams' work is absolutely brilliant.
The Jungle Books, by Rudyard Kipling. Classic. And the first bedtime stories that I remember hearing.
Louisa May Alcott. I loved everything she wrote, from Little Women (I wanted to be Joe) to her poetry (I'm nobody, who are you?).
Watership Down, by Richard Adams. An absolutely amazing story. I have an urge to reread it, just to see if it is as good as I remember.
Zane Grey. All of his books, although Stairs of Sand was my favorite. I was given a complete set of his works as a gift one year, and they turned out to be much better than I had expected. Not great works of literature, by definitely appealing to a romantically-minded teenager.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Persig. The first time I read this, it was only because I was trying to impress a guy. The next time I picked it up was because there wasn't anything better around to read and I was desperate. I've been reading it annually ever since.
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