Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Top Ten Books from My Childhood/Teen Years I'd Like to Revisit





It's Tuesday and that means it's Top Ten day over at The Broke and the Bookish! Head over there and join in on the fun. I love top ten lists and used to do my own Tuesday list, even before this meme began, but I haven't had enough time to participate lately, so I'm enjoying this today.


Today's topic is Top Ten Books from my Childhood/Teen Years I'd Like to Revisit. Great! I loved reading when I was a kid. Only one problem: I have already revisited almost all of my childhood favorites as an adult, many of them to share with my own two sons.

So, I am splitting my list into two parts - first, those old favorites that I have already reread and then a shorter list of those I still want to revisit:

Childhood Books I Have Enjoyed Revisiting:
  • Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren - one of my all-time favorites when I was a kid. Who didn't want to be Pippi? I read it aloud to my sons who loved it just as much as I had.
  • The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - My 2nd grade teacher read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe aloud to us, and I was hooked - I ran to the school library and read all the rest of the series! As soon as my boys were old enough, my husband and I read the entire series out loud to them, and of course, they loved it!
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - my all-time most favorite childhood book. I read it over and over again and even starred as Meg when our 4th grade class put on a play of the story. I was so excited to read this to my sons that I started too young, and they got scared, but a few years later, they each read it and loved it and read the rest of the series (all of which I still have!)
  • The Borrowers by Mary Norton - Again, what kid didn't want to be a Borrower? I also read this one aloud to my sons, and they liked it just as much.
  • Harriet the Spy by Louis Fitzhugh - another favorite of mine when I was in elementary school, but when I excitedly read it to my sons, they didn't like it much. They thought Harriet was mean to her classmates, which just goes to show they are much better people than I was at their age!
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - No, I didn't read this one to my sons! But I loved it as a teen and re-read it a few years ago, after March by Geraldine Brooks peaked my interest. Just as good as I remembered.



Childhood/Teen Books I Would Like to Revisit:
  • Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene - oh, the hours I wiled away with Nancy, Bess, and George! It's been decades since I've read one and would love to revisit them. I have a few here somewhere. My youngest son loved to read the Hardy Boys and developed a serious obsession with the 70's Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys TV show!
  • The Rest of the Series That Starts with A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - as I mentioned above, I read the whole series when I was a kid, as did my oldest son years later. I still have all the books on my shelf and would love to revisit the rest of the story.
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - This was my first Dickens' novel, read for 9th grade English, and I remember enjoying it but only vaguely remember the plot and details.
  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - Read for my 10th grade English class, with one of my favorite teachers. I remember I loved it and have been meaning to reread it - again, it's right upstairs on my shelf!



How about you? What books from your childhood or teen years would like to revisit or have you enjoyed rereading?

8 comments:

  1. Sandra martin8:39 PM

    Nancy Drew! Loved loved loved every single book. I may just read one for old times sake! Thanks for reminding me!

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    1. Me, too, Mom! I need to re-read one. You got me some vintage Nancy Drew books a while back - I can share them with you ;)

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  2. I loved Little Women and also some of Louise May Alcott's other books - Eight Cousins, An Old Fashioned Girl. Good times.

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    1. I haven;t read any other Alcott novels, Kay - thanks for the tip!

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  3. Pam Patrick9:40 PM

    The Borrowers? Really? I had a very hard time getting through that book. And that was as an adult. I actually read it to my kindergarten class one year. It was a difficult read-aloud.

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    1. That's funny, Pam. I loved it so much as a kid, that I read more books in the Borrowers' series. And when I read it aloud to Jamie and Craig, they both loved it! Maybe kindergarten is a bit too young (and adult is a bit too old - ha ha!) I guess you have to hit the sweet spot, age-wise!

      Sue

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  4. Yay! I'm glad that you took part of TTT!
    It is so bad--I haven't read so many of these! :( I need to fix that one day.

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  5. I just wanted to let you know that I featured this post at the new #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup! http://themadmommy.com/small-victories-5

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