favorite children's novel
- Thread starter Torkuda
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Last time I went into Waterstones, I noticed that the 'His Dark Materials' series was counted as "Teenage Fiction". Same in the library. I was a bit surprised. I'll go for either that series (if it counts), or the Harry Potter books.
If I had to pick novels for younger kids, then the Beaver Towers books are my choice. Swing, swang, swung, swong, listen to my swinging song...
If I had to pick novels for younger kids, then the Beaver Towers books are my choice. Swing, swang, swung, swong, listen to my swinging song...
Holes was a fun read, I remember reading it in a single afternoon. Wasn't too crazy about the film though.
Harry Potter was easily my favourite but since I expect that will be a common answer I'll list some of my other favourites.
The Hobbit - could never get into LOTR as a kid but found this much more accessible; it probably helped that my parents bought me a hardback edition with great artwork.
The Giver.
Goodnight Mr Tom - learning about Evacuation and history in general was cool as a kid and Goodnight Mr Tom served as a good backdrop for that.
Holes.
The Witches, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Boy, just Roald Dahl in general.
Also Horrid Henry (Our teacher used to read us this from 3:10-3:30).
Yeah I read a lot as a kid.
The Hobbit - could never get into LOTR as a kid but found this much more accessible; it probably helped that my parents bought me a hardback edition with great artwork.
The Giver.
Goodnight Mr Tom - learning about Evacuation and history in general was cool as a kid and Goodnight Mr Tom served as a good backdrop for that.
Holes.
The Witches, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Boy, just Roald Dahl in general.
Also Horrid Henry (Our teacher used to read us this from 3:10-3:30).
Yeah I read a lot as a kid.
I probably won't gain any friends on this site by saying this but The Chronicles of Narnia in particular The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and his Boy.
Like one of the previous posters to this thread I loved The Hobbit but couldn't get in to Lord of the Rings.
Like one of the previous posters to this thread I loved The Hobbit but couldn't get in to Lord of the Rings.
I loved the novels about the Tillerman children by Cynthia Voigt. I still consider those novels literary masterpieces.
And while I love pretty much all the kids books by Roald Dahl, I have a special soft spot for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. (And I did read the books before wathing the movie, thank you very much.)
And while I love pretty much all the kids books by Roald Dahl, I have a special soft spot for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. (And I did read the books before wathing the movie, thank you very much.)
Tom Sawyer was really boring. Huck Finn is great, though.Torkuda said:
OT: The Phantom Tollbooth is such a great children's book. I just recently got a hard-cover special edition because just to read it again.
My parents made me read it when I was about ten, I think. I found it pretty boring but it had its moments.Torkuda said:
As for my favourite children's books, I loved all of Roald Dahl's stories. My favourites were probably The Twits and Danny the Champion of the World.
Also, this is kind of a weird one, but I'm going to say Matthew Reilly. His books are awesome, exciting and easy to read, which I think makes them great for kids. Most of them are pretty violent, but in an over the top 80's action movie way which I think makes it okay. I read his books when I was about ten and I... know people who read his books as kids who turned out okay.
He came to my school once and I got to meet him, he was a pretty cool guy, he even gave me a free book for being the only one in the audience who could answer a question he asked. Again, cool guy, whose cool books are a good way to get into reading.
Several already mentioned (including Goodnight Mister Tom which is an absolute must-read, although it's pretty harrowing), but I'd also mention Jacqueline Wilson's books. She's an absolute genius for first-person character-driven narratives, although I only read them as an adult.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and other books by Alan Garner - best kids fantasy out there; also Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising, simply butchered by the movie.
Watership Down is pretty amazing.
In more recent years I've looked at quite a few young adult books my kids have got into - the Charlie Higson zombie series starting with The Enemy is pretty terrifying; I like Artemis Fowl too, and my daughter loves Hunger Games but I haven't read it yet.
I read all kinds of crazy things as a kid, though. 'Fattipuffs and Thinnifers', for example - a social satire about a world divided into a nation of fat people and a nation of thin people. 'Sponge, X and Y' - an adventure story about three fish and their friend the Hobgoblin (who has magic boots that he can use to turn monkeys into Supermonkeys). 'Bottersnikes and Gumbles' - a series of books about little squashy creatures who keep getting captured by big fierce creatures and kept in jam jars. I devoured that crazy shit.
I was also a fan of E Nesbit - I still think she was an incredibly revolutionary children's author. 5 Children and It was great, and a lesser-known one called The Enchanted Castle.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and other books by Alan Garner - best kids fantasy out there; also Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising, simply butchered by the movie.
Watership Down is pretty amazing.
In more recent years I've looked at quite a few young adult books my kids have got into - the Charlie Higson zombie series starting with The Enemy is pretty terrifying; I like Artemis Fowl too, and my daughter loves Hunger Games but I haven't read it yet.
I read all kinds of crazy things as a kid, though. 'Fattipuffs and Thinnifers', for example - a social satire about a world divided into a nation of fat people and a nation of thin people. 'Sponge, X and Y' - an adventure story about three fish and their friend the Hobgoblin (who has magic boots that he can use to turn monkeys into Supermonkeys). 'Bottersnikes and Gumbles' - a series of books about little squashy creatures who keep getting captured by big fierce creatures and kept in jam jars. I devoured that crazy shit.
I was also a fan of E Nesbit - I still think she was an incredibly revolutionary children's author. 5 Children and It was great, and a lesser-known one called The Enchanted Castle.
That would be Coriolis by Gerben Hellinga. It was the first book I read from cover to cover without putting it down (making it way past my bedtime at that time).
I think that book is responsible for my love for sf&f and reading in general.
I really should try to find it again now that I think of it... off to the library it is..
I think that book is responsible for my love for sf&f and reading in general.
I really should try to find it again now that I think of it... off to the library it is..
Animorphs was a pretty awesome series. The TV show sucked, as did the games (the PC game did, at least; I've never played the others), but the books were awesome.
Agreed, the books were one of my major encounters with science fiction as a kid and I was always making reservations for the upcoming books at the library when they were scheduled for release. The TV show... never happened.Christopher Parker said:
OT: I'm going to be really original here and say Harry Potter, I still consider the series pretty amazing years after finishing it.
The Phenomena serieswas also pretty good, but the final book seriously sucked. It was just painfully obvious that it was only written to finish the series rather than because he wanted to write it. He was talented, but he had written himself into a storyline where he was out of his field of comfort. He was unable to write a good battle. The war scenes were all finished in minutes and were too unrealistic to be good, especially after reading The Wheel of Time. The series was good up until a point, but it left me very disappointed.
A few, but I'm going to go with the 'Temeraire' series. I fucking love the hilariously naive and blunt dragons. They're written so well.
Well Harry Potter was an all time favorite, but the amount of fanfiction I have read on it has made me hate some of the characters.
As said above, The Hobbit was incredible (so was the game actually) when I couldn't get into LotR.
Otherwise, though I don't enjoy them now, I read the shit out of The Secrets of Droon as a kid. Its basically what got me into reading along with Harry Potter. I was living at the Snow for a season when I was 5 or 6 and our teacher would read us the books for half an hour a day or so. Eventually I just got them myself and would read them cover to cover in one sitting over a night.
As said above, The Hobbit was incredible (so was the game actually) when I couldn't get into LotR.
Otherwise, though I don't enjoy them now, I read the shit out of The Secrets of Droon as a kid. Its basically what got me into reading along with Harry Potter. I was living at the Snow for a season when I was 5 or 6 and our teacher would read us the books for half an hour a day or so. Eventually I just got them myself and would read them cover to cover in one sitting over a night.
Doubt you'd lose any either, if anyone gives you a hard time for enjoying fantasy stories inspired by theology... well they have issues.Little Woodsman said:
Lets see now;
Harry Potter, Animorphs, The Hobbit, Edge Chronicles, Roald Dahl, Narnia, Enid Blighton, Nancy Drew /SHUDDUP I'M A GUY OKAY/ Artemis Fowl, Goosebumps.
FUCKING REDWALL!!! Does that even count as a children's book? I read loads when I was small.
Ever since I was a young little child my favorite books have always been "A series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket.
Why? well, to quote the man himself: ?In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.?
The writings, the dark humor, and the characters, all amazing. Hot damn I wish I knew where my collection was
Why? well, to quote the man himself: ?In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.?
The writings, the dark humor, and the characters, all amazing. Hot damn I wish I knew where my collection was