Top Ten Tuesday: Childhood Favorites

I'm late, I'm late! But this week's Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and the Bookish is too good to miss. It's all about our childhood favorites, and I'm excited to share 10 of the best books I grew up with.

1. White Fang by Jack London - Okay, maybe it started with the movie with young Ethan Hawke, but I liked the book quite a bit, too!

2. Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder - When I was a kid, I had one of those tiny chalkboards, and one of the things I did to pass my lonely only child time when I was young was to transcribe Little House in the Big Woods on my tiny chalkboard, in small pieces of course. Is that weird? Okay, yes, but in short, I loved these books. I can't believe I gave them away when I got older!

3. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg - I love Chris Van Allsburg's books. This was my first one given to me by my aunt for Christmas. She was always the best at picking me out a decent book or few for the holidays. Van Allsburg's books are just magical. This one, Jumanji, Just a Dream...loved them when I was a kid, and I still love them now!

4. Animalia by Graeme Base - This is another great book my aunt got me. It's got it all. Stunning illustrations. A clever animal alliteration for each letter of the alphabet. And if you didn't feel like reading or ogling the pretty pictures, you could always search for the kid in the striped shirt hidden in every picture.

5. Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine - I devoured these when I was a kid. Couldn't get enough of them.

6. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz - There's plenty of kids books out there with sugary sweet messages. This one tells it like it is. Some days just suck, but maybe (hopefully!) you'll laught about it later like you'll laught at this book.

7. A Break With Charity and pretty much anything else by Ann Rinaldi - I credit Ann Rinaldi with a healthy portion of my love for historical fiction. When I read her books, I felt just like I was in whatever portion of history she was telling about. A Break With Charity is about the Salem Witch Trials which are very interesting to start with!

8. The Cat Who... books by Lilian Jackson Braun - For whatever reason, when I was in middle school, the library just began getting nice, new copies of these books in, and I was totally hooked on them. I'd never even *had* a cat, but I had a great time reading about Jim Qwilleran and his feline sleuths.

9. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - I can't believe I almost forgot this one. This story, told by a horse, is one I'd gladly read again.

10. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli - "Maniac" is an orphan who becomes a legend in his small town. He's super-fast, he can untie impossible knots, and hit the pitches no one else can. Here's another one that's due for a re-read!

Honorable mentions (meaning, I forgot them, and remembered them after the post went up and couldn't believe I'd forgotten them in the first place): Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky (I can still recite the title poem from memory!) and Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hope, a prayer, a magic bean buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire... Love this book, too. Sooo much!)


What books do you have the fondest memories of reading as a kid?

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