Each of us in this bookish community develops a love of reading at different times in our lives. Luckily, my parents encouraged reading from a very young age. I remember greeting my dad when he came home from work with a stack of books for him to read to me. Of course, he inevitably fell asleep on the couch after eight or nine books so I learned to flip through the pictures myself : )
Once I was able to read on my own, I began devouring books and working my way through the small but delightful options at our local library. In honor of Throwback Thursday, I took a trip down memory lane to pick out my favorite children’s books. Make sure you vote for your favorites in the poll at the end!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
A book about eating tons and tons of food – no wonder I liked this one a lot! Sure there was a moral in that story somewhere, but I mostly remember the pictures of endless delicious treats. I dare you to read this and not end up snacking on anything nearby.
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Ah Rainbow Fish, the source of numerous art projects in elementary school. Those shiny scales on the cover are pure beauty. To be honest I can’t even remember the story, just that it was a gorgeous book.
The Jolly Pocket Postman by Janet and Allan Arlerg
The ultimate interactive kids book. As an adult, I still adore getting mail and apparently that’s a trait that has stuck with me since childhood. In this book, the postman delivers letters to the community – letters you can actually pull out and read!!
Mr Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
Christmas trees are a classic holiday tradition, but sometimes you end up getting one just a smidge too big for your house. Lucky for the animal folks in this adorable book, that leftover bit might be the perfect size for someone else.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
My brother had this series in a nook above his bed, but I always stole them to read myself. These siblings start out as homeless orphans, but I definitely wanted to join the family and go on adventures with them.
Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Just like every other girl, I dreamed of traveling around the country with Ma and Pa. These are timeless books that are just as enjoyable as an adult.
Island of Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
A 12 year old girl is stranded on an island and must learn to survive there for years. Karana is a courageous, strong, and admirable female character. Apparently it’s based on a true story, too!
Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Think of this as Game of Thrones for kids. A medieval fantasy series starring animals as the main characters. As a kid I was overjoyed to discover the huge number of books in this series because I wanted to live in this world forever.
[socialpoll id=”2496536″]
5 comments
Can’t beat Little House! Becky and I lived fairly close to the house you can go visit in Pepin, WI where Laura was born, so her parents drove us there. It was awesome!
That’s AMAZING!! I will certainly be visiting that house if I ever make it out to your part of the country.
I voted for Redwall, but I would have voted for all of them except The Jolly Pocket Postman and Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree. Only because I haven’t read them yet!
It’s hard to choose a favorite!
I have to vote for Little House, too. I’m from Southwest Minnesota and Laura’s sod house is about a 30 minute drive from my parent’s house. Hard to choose though – so many of these are great!