1.25.2011

Books I Wish I Read As A Kid


Let me preface this post by telling you I read a lot as a kid; I was all about Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl, The Babysitter's Club Series and The Borrowers. But as an adult looking back I realize there are a few key titles I wish I'd read when I were small:

1. Little Women (Alcott): This seems to be a childhood favorite among many and I have yet to read it. Although I do have it lined up for my classics challenge for a children's classic.

2. Ramona and Beezus (Cleary): I took my 5 year old niece to see this movie and we both loved it.

3. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Blume): This is probably the most popular banned book in the children's genre. I never read any Blume.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis): By the looks of the movies, I think I would have enjoyed the books.

5. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis): Another classic I missed.

6. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs (Barrett): Another movie I saw with my niece that was adorable.

7. Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery): I feel like this is right up there with Little Women.

8. A Winkle in Time (L'Engle): A fantasy book I think I would have liked as a kid.

9. Le Petit Prince (Saint-Exupery): I read this as an adult in French, but I think I would have appreciated more as a child.

10. Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt): Again, I liked the movie and would have enjoyed the book as a kid.

*The above photo is me and my sister circa 1989. I'm the one wearing the rockin' yellow
suspenders.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

24 comments:

  1. You talk French? You never told me that! Like the new display picture btw!

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  2. Ben, Thanks! I was worried for awhile about showing my face and then I just went for it - green scrunchie and all. Here is the thing about my French - I took it for 8 years (2 of which were in college) and then studied in Paris for a summer. That summer my French was fabulous, but since then (about 4 years ago) I haven't studied it or used it at all, so it is very rusty, to say the least.

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  3. I read A Wrinkle in Time was I was a kid, and then reread it when it appeared on the Lost Lit List a few years ago.

    It was much better when I was kid. That is a book that should not be revisited.

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  4. TNBBC, Good to know! I won't go back and read it :)

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  5. Ne t'en fais pas pour ta photo de display, tu es très jolie. ;)

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  6. You were so cute!!

    Omg. You need to read A Wrinkle in Time and the Anne of Green Gables series. I loved those books growing up. I was never able to devour the Chronicles of Narnia the way I was with the others. Maybe I'll give those a try again next.

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  7. Thanks, Leica! I watched the Anne of Green Gables movie when I was little, but never got around to the book. Maybe after Little Women?

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  8. I would argue all of these are worthy adult reads. The only one I don't still love is cloudy with a chance of meatballs. My kids, however, love it.

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  9. Anne of Green Gables! I was addicted to that series growing up! I love this post! I have been compiling a list to read to my 2 year old daughter and would have forgotten about a few of these :)
    You'll love Judy Blume's books as well, very entertaining, but maybe more so if you were twelve!

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  10. The header picture is adorable and sweet suspenders!

    I don't think I've read anything from your list, as a kid anyway. I read Le Petit Prince in one of my French classes too.

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  11. I totally for got about Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. I should definitely read that. I love Anne of Green Gables. I've been wanting to re-read the series.

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  12. Great list. I read most of these in college and afterwards; I think Alice would have been something more special as a kid. And Little Women.

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  13. Great list -- I may have to post my own list soon, there are some real classics that I somehow never read. You should definitely read the Ramona books, they are hilarious and have really stood the test of time. I have a hard time imagining Selena Gomez as Beezus, though, she's MUCH too old!
    The books are always better. Sigh.

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  14. I loved Narnia, Anne, Little Women and Tuck Everlasting when I was in grade school. It's funny how books can have such a different impact on you depending on when you read them.

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  15. I loved the Ramona books when I was in 3rd grade.

    I tend to think that re-reading a childhood favorite versus reading it for the first time as an adult can be quite a different experience. After a couple of attempts at re-reading childhood favorites as an adult I decided not to do it anymore as it killed the nostalgia - and they were never as good. However, if you're reading them for the first time as an adult then there's no childhood romance to squelch. :)

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  16. +JMJ+

    Ramona Quimby is one of the greatest characters of all time! I hope you get to discover the books with your niece, too. =) (She makes her first appearance in Henry Huggins--and already she steals every scene she's in!)

    And I hadn't known Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was a book! I couldn't be bothered to catch the movie, but now I'm interested . . .

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  17. Wow. You have a great list and I love some of the books on it. Little Women should be read by all girls. Unfortunately a whole generation of kids don't even know about it.

    I also noticed on your profile that you love the book The Elegance of the Hedgehog. So do I! It was one the hardest books I've ever read but also the most rewarding. I head to read it with a dictionary nearby.

    Thanks for dropping by my blog. I'm already a follower.

    Anne
    My Head is Full of Books

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  18. What a great list--I think you will like Little Women and it's never to late to read the Ramona books or some Judy Blue. They were my childhood staples. :)

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  19. Great list! We share a few books. I loved A Wrinkle in Time as a kid!

    Tevya @ Reading Lark

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  20. OMG! You missed so many of the major classics! But it's not too late...I still read Chronicles of Narnia every few years and I did not read Anne of Green Gables until I hit 30....such beloved stories!!! You can start your own challenge with that one list!

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  21. is it weird if i beg you to stop what you're doing, right now, and go and read some of these books? i missed out on a lot of children's classics too (when i saw this topic i first thought, "i didn't miss ANYTHING; i got a good lit education early on," but i'm realizing more and more that that's not true), but...cleary! blume! i'm rereading "ribsy" by cleary right now and OH MY GOD it's so good. even though you've maybe grown out of the intended audience age, these books are so worth reading. but i might just be saying this because right now i don't want to think or debate too much while i'm reading...i just want to read, and enjoy the books for their stories & humor & the memories they bring up of being a chubby and unpopular eight-year-old...well, maybe not that last part.

    -- ellen

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  22. First of all, you look adorable in the photo. :)

    I loved Ramona Quimby when I was a kid. In fact, I still do. If you're looking for more Beverly Cleary books, I highly recommend Dear Mr. Henshaw. It's still one of my favorites even today.

    And I definitely have to read Anne of Green Gables this year. I hope I'll love it as much as I loved Little Women.

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  23. Some good choices, I have read five of the ten and am actually just about to re-read Little Women for The Victorian Challenge I am taking part in.

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