Because I love talking about books almost as much as I enjoy reading, I thought it would be fun to start a series of posts about favorite books.
Here are five series I loved as a child:
1. Little House on the Prairie — Laura Ingalls Wilder
2. Ramona Quimby — Beverly Cleary
3. Prydian Chronicles — Lloyd Alexander
4. Dr. Doolittle — Hugh Lofting
5. Anne of Green Gables — LM Montgomery
My son is very interested in sharing with all of you that his favorite is the Hank the Cowdog series.
What childhood series were your favorites?
This comment has been removed by the author.
I loved Trixie Belden! I just found some old books in the basement and have had a lot of fun going down memory lane!
I loved Ramona Quimby, remember how she made a cat out of her Q?
I also loved the Nancy Drew and Hardy boys and Boxcar Kids 🙂
I loved Trixie and Nancy, too. Ramona books make such good read alouds. Beverly Cleary really gets young children. I found I had more patience and compassion for my boys (and their behavior!) while reading Ramona books to them.
I loved the orginial Boxcar Children (and have included it in my third-grade book club)and read a few of the mysteries, though none held the wonder of the first for me.
The Great Brain series!
I wasn’t much of a series reader when I was a kid but I read everything Roald Dahl ever wrote– does that count?
My favorite childhood series was R.L. Stine books.
I know many of you remember how scary I am, but for some reason I loved the mystery behind his books.
Carrie, The Great Brain, yes! I found a cassette recording of the first book at a library sale and had to bring it home.
Natalie, I love Dahl, too. I have specific memories attached to those books (mundane ones), like reading The Great Glass Elevator while in a dentist’s waiting room. I didn’t read the BFG until I started teaching, at the recommendation of one of my students. I remember laughing outloud during our reading workshop time (as I read to myself).
Loved the books being mentioned, but probably my all-time favorite was the Little Women series. Jo is (and continues to be) a fabulous inspiration.
Definitely Charlie and the Chocolate Factory series. Also I enjoyed Black Beauty.
And what about the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books? I loved them as a kid and love ’em even more as a mom.
I read everything I could get my hands on, but I think my absolute favorites as a child were ‘Jo’s Boys’ and ‘Little Men,’ both by Louisa May Alcott. Outstanding books.
Now that I’m older (I’m 4), I still mostly read books for kids because I love them (the books and the kids) best. Some of my favorites are ‘Black Suits From Outer Space,’ ‘Cam Jansen’ series, (I never heard of the ‘Little House On The Prairie’ series until I was married, I love ’em. I love ‘Anne of Green Gables,’ but I never heard of that until I was grown, either.
Right now, some of my favorite series are ‘Junie B. Jones’ and ‘Magic Treehouse.’ And even though they aren’t series books, exactly (some have continued stories), I try to read EVERYTHING by Barbara Brooks Wallace. What an amazing writer!
And, by the way, ‘Hank the Cow-Dog’ is also one I love to read with my grandies. ~ Yaya
http://yayashome.blogspot.com
I love all those too! Plus you can tack on the Junie B Jones series for me. (I read them all to my kids, with replacement words) =)
A lot of my favorites were named but one I didn’t see that is a MUST mention on any series list is The Chronicles of Narnia!
I was just a big fantasy nut, so like you, I loved the Prydain chronicles, plus Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and the Susan Cooper books. I also loved Anne McCaffrey’s dragon novels, though I really should not have been reading them in fourth grade. Just a *little* inappropriate content that would have been better for a high schooler, I think.
Narnia series, Anne of GG, Little House, Beverly Cleary. I also loved Dr. Seuss. Thanks for asking!
Jen
Audience of ONE
My son used to LOVE Hank the Cowdog, but now that he’s older he’s gotten into more of the Sci-Fi books!
We just watched Anne of Green Gables! It was one of my fav’s as a child!
Yes! I loved Little Women, Jo’s Boys, and Little Men. I was horrified to learn in my early twenties that I had only read an abridged copy of LW up until that point.
Narnia, of course, how could I forget? I look forward to sharing these with my boys when they’re a little older.
And Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. I never forgot that boy who didn’t bathe and had radishes growing on his arms. My boys loved listening to these stories.
Hi Caroline!
Lovely blog you have here! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the Little House books & Ramaona series as a kid, too! I also loved reading Amelia Bedelia, Pippi Longstocking, and the Betsy-Tacy stories by Maud Hart Lovelace. 🙂
Hi Crystal:
Thanks! How did I foreget Pippi and that horse that lived in the house??