Childhood Favorites - Top Tuesday

Can you believe it's July? We're halfway through 2019! I've loved reading ever since I can remember --my parents say I learned to read from the paper television listings back in the day ... Though teens can technically still be children since they're minors, I decided my limit my range for "childhood" --any juvenile books I remember reading from when I was a toddler to 10 years old. This Top Tuesday prompt is from That Artsy Reader Girl's blog feature, Top Ten Tuesday.


1. It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw (1941)
--Spilled milk takes on the forms of various objects, flora, and fauna ... or is it? This is one of the first books I remember reading! I really should find a nice copy for my personal collection. And make a felt board version for my Storytime.

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969)
--A peckish caterpillar searches for food and the journey leads to a spectacular transformation. I can hardly believe Eric Carle is pushing 90 years old! This was my introduction to die cut pages (those holes!) and the fruits on all those flaps looked so yummy and Carle's collage art is the best. I also distinctly remember an episode in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood where Fred Rogers visited Carle in his studio and learned some of the techniques Carle uses in his work ...

3. Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (1940) --A cap seller (who transported his inventory by wearing it in a tall stack on his own head) runs into trouble in the form of a group of monkeys in a tree. My mom often read to my siblings and I when we were kids ... from picture books like this one to novels like The Chronicles of Narnia. This was one of my favorites from that time.

4. The Pony Engine adapted by Doris Garn, illustrated by Gregorio Prestopino (1957?)
--Also known as The Little Engine That Could --this is the copy I remember having as a kid!

5. I Spy series by Jean Marzollo, photos by Walter Wick (1992-2012)
--My family enjoyed the Where's Waldo series, but our favorite "look and find" series was definitely I Spy and the crazy-detailed photography from Walter Wick. We'd pour over the photos and pick our favorite objects on each page or make up stories where we'd have to chose a certain number of items from each spread ...

6. Anno's Math Games series by Mitsumasa Anno (1980s) --I remember enjoying these fun books in elementary school along with the Usborne Puzzle Book series!

7. Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Garth Williams (1932-1971)
--These are the first novel-length books I remember reading as a 3rd grader (probably?) It was a sad day when my mom retired our family's box set while I was in college ... Broken and creased spines, discolored pages, those paperbacks were read countless times (mostly by me, once or twice by my younger sister). I want to get a hardcover set someday ...

8. American Girl series by various authors and illustrators (1986-Present)
--Besides the Little House books, I "blame" American Girl for my love of historical fiction that started way back as an eight or nine year old reading these series. My favorite stories were Felicity Merriman's (1770s) and later also Kit Kitteridge (1930s) when she was introduced. I still try to read the historical line of books we get in the library system to keep up (now I have the perfect excuse as a children's librarian)!

9. Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene, various illustrators (1930-Present) --Nancy Drew fed my reading addiction for many years, first the original 56 mysteries, the continuing mysteries, and later spin offs like the Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Super Mysteries. I have so many mixed feelings about the upcoming 2019 CW "adaptation" of these beloved characters ... Reading some of the recent reboot comic book series from Dynomite has prepped me for a darker/edgier Nancy, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna like it! ;-)

10. Boxcar Children Mysteries by Gertrude Chandler Warner, various illustrators (1924-Present) --I actually was introduced to the Boxcar Children after Nancy Drew and that was when I remember learning to search the library catalog when it was a plain black screen with white text. The year my family began reading the series, we also began utilizing the interlibrary loan system and maxed out several family members' cards as we tried to read all of them! Even as a twenty-something college student, I would keep up reading the latest Boxcar Children Mysteries just to say I had read them all (I finally stopped that at #130).

Do you remember any of these books? What are some of your favorite childhood stories? Let me know in the comments!

2 comments

  1. LydiaJuly 3, 2019 at 1:59 AM

    I was a big fan of the Little House and Boxcar Children series, too.

    For July 3: My TTT.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Artist LibrarianJuly 14, 2019 at 5:01 PM

      Yeah! It makes me curious what current children's series will stand the test of time like Little House and the Boxcar Children. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Popular Posts