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I’ve been a reader since I was a very little girl. It started with my mother and father reading me stories, but then it was I who would curl up with a book and lose myself in a make-believe world. Reading changes when you become an adult, it’s more difficult to suspend disbelief, it’s more challenging to completely tune out the world around you. But when I was a child, reading was nothing short of magical. I re-read books back then, haven’t done that much as an adult (with the exception of Harry Potter) and I can’t really explain why. There were a couple of books, though, that I read often. One of which was Judy Blume’s coming of age novel, “Are You There, God, It’s Me, Margaret,” I don’t even know how many times I read this book. My copy is worn and tattered and hopefully someday I’ll have a daughter (or two) who will also love that book. There was another one though that I read again and again, but somewhere along the way I lost my copy or loaned it to a friend because I no longer have it. It’s a Wildfire series book, a young adult romance, and it was my favorite for so many years. And I’ve pined the loss of that book. Last night my parents arrived after a rather lengthy drive and we had our Christmas with them. There in my stocking was a used, but still kept together, copy of Brian’s Girl by Diane Hoh. I don’t know that I’ll read it again, as I don’t want to mar my memories of it. Because I can close my eyes and still remember the feelings that book evoked within my adolescent mind. I’ve always credited Kathleen Woodiwiss’ “A Rose in Winter” as the book that made me want to write romance, but perhaps that desire goes a bit further back and Ms. Hoh deserves my gratitude.
Do you have any books from your childhood that still stir great memories?
Filed in: Jaunty Post
Dec 27th
2006
11:40 am
Dorothy Said:
I remember reading ‘The Boxcar Children’ when I was young. I loved that book. I sat and read that book and could visualize and feel just what they were going through. I introduced it to my oldest son and he loved it as much as I did.
Thanks Robyn for bringing back some great memories.
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Dec 27th
2006
12:00 pm
Isabel Said:
Judy Blume’s books and especially the one book you mentioned on this blog, Robyn. I loved the Babysitters Club and several YA novels that unfortunately I no longer have nor the remember the names of those talented authors. I’d say that Judith McNaught’s Whitney, My Love is the reason why I’m writing today. I read my original copy of “Whitney” so many times that if anyone in my house sneezes or even blinks the book will fall apart.
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Dec 27th
2006
1:11 pm
Jennifer Y. Said:
I was a big fan of Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, the Sweet Valley Series, and the Babysitter Club books. I also loved Charlotte’s Web…I gave my nephew a copy of it for Christmas this year.
I recently found a box of books in the attic that had several Young Adult romances that were my sister’s. One was part of a series called “Caitlin.” I haven’t read it though.
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Dec 27th
2006
1:35 pm
Linda Said:
I was really into The Babysitter’s Club & Goosebumps. The Secret Garden was probably my favorite book when I was younger. I just bought a new copy, to read to my kids.
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Dec 27th
2006
1:39 pm
Danny Said:
I loved the books by Enid Blyton or the Anne of Avonlea series by Lucy Maud Montgomery
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Dec 27th
2006
1:45 pm
ellie Said:
I read the entire Anne of Green Gables series when I was ten. Loved every minute of it
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Dec 27th
2006
2:49 pm
Helen Sibbritt Said:
Reading has always been a big part of my life as well as a child I read all the Enid Blyton books and then The Secret Garden is another book that I remeber well.Reading is my favourite past time
Have Fun
Helen
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Dec 27th
2006
4:26 pm
AndreaW Said:
I’ve read all that have been mentioned, but my all-time favorites (before I was hooked on romance) were my Nancy Drew books. I still have them and am saving them for my daughter.
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Dec 27th
2006
4:41 pm
Lois Said:
I read some of the ones mentioned above, but the one book from my childhood that I still do have so I mention it as a favorite is Miss Nelson is Back, and I got it because it was a favorite episode of Reading Rainbow that it was in. And I still have a book of Snow White – it was always my favorite Disney movie, even though I didn’t see the movie until they rereleased it for an anniversary. But I remember some of the Judy Blooms (unless I”m thinking of is it Beverly Cleary or someone to that effect), Encyclopedia Brown, I remember Nancy Drew, but not the originals. . . but after a while, I just was in the science section, even as a kid.
Lois
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Dec 27th
2006
6:25 pm
Margo Maguire Said:
This is really weird, but I can’t remember any favorite books from my young childhood. I’m sure we did lots of reading, because my mom was a schoolteacher and felt reading was very important. But I can’t recall what we read.
The first book that made an impression on me was Mary Stewart’s THE MOONSPINNERS – it was exotic, romantic and full of adventure. I think that was the first book that tuned me into Romance.
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Dec 27th
2006
7:35 pm
Robyn DeHart Said:
Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me. It was great learning about your favorites.
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Dec 27th
2006
9:08 pm
Tawna Said:
I liked “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. “White Fang” by Jack London. “The Hobbit” by JRR Tolkien, and any other book I could get my hands on by these writers. I liked all books about Abraham Lincoln.
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Dec 27th
2006
9:29 pm
Shana Said:
Okay, I was a strange child. Just understand that now. I read and re-read Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. I lvoed those books (and movies). My copy of ESB is dogeared at all the spots where Han and Leia kiss
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Dec 27th
2006
10:53 pm
Rainy Said:
Fairy tales were my absolute favorite. Also, I had a copy of Aesop’s fables that I loved. Wonderful, colorful stories that explained the reasons for things. And isn’t that the most asked question of kids….why?
The Secret Garden and Little Women made an impact, but one of the first books that completely transported me into another world was “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.”
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Dec 28th
2006
9:27 am
Kimberly Logan Said:
As I’ve mentioned before, the Trixie Belden series was big for me. I think of those books as the ones that first stimulated my interest in reading AND in becoming an author. After that, I got so I spent more time at the library than I did at home, LOL! Throughout grade school and junior high, I got a little taste of everything. Some of the more memorable children’s books for me were Little Women, Tom Sawyer, and Anne of Green Gables. It was also around this time that I discovered Barbara Michaels. Wings of the Falcon was the book that started my interest in romance and influenced me to swipe A Rose in Winter from my mom’s nightstand drawer to read. And we all know where that led…
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Dec 31st
2006
8:46 am
Mary Said:
Trixie was my favorite, too. Most of my books were destroyed when my mom stored them in the attic of the shed and bugs got to them. I had two favorites that I don’t remember the titles – one was about ghost children who’d died in a fire who still haunted the nursery and saved the real children who moved in, and another was about two best friends who were writing a romance, and the book contained the story they were writing. All I remember is that they wrote about the Rhein River flowing the wrong direction. I sure wish I knew what books they were.
I also checked out Lois Lenski books from the library, and my grandmother had me ina horse book club. My favorite was Dark Sunshine, about a girl with polio who tames a wild horse.
Wow, opened me up, huh??
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Jan 8th
2007
11:24 am
Corinna Said:
I absolutely loved the Laura Ingalls “Little House” books, and credit them with beginning my life-long love of history. Although I enjoyed the television series (Michael Landon was still so yummy-looking back then!) I remember being disappointed because it didn’t really follow the storylines from the books.
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