Top Ten Tuesday: Childhood Favs

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is Books from Your Youth to (Possibly) Revisit. I was very lucky to be a middle school and upper elementary and was able to use some in my classroom and recommend those I loved to students. It was great to see a new generation fall in love with my favorites. These are all books that I owned at one time, and some I still do. The only reason I got rid of any of them was if it fell apart. Some I re-read every couple of years.

The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder I learned so much from these books. I wish they were more popular today.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh I desperately wanted to be Harriet. Eloise had the Plaza, but Harriet had the whole city.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare I received this for my twelfth birthday from family friends who knew nothing about children and probably asked a clerk what they should buy since they knew I loved to read. They hit a home run with this choice! I was so excited to discover that this was a book I would be using for English when I taught sixth grade.

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli A real departure from my more traditional girl favorites, this book was awarded the 1950 Newbery medal and was my first exposure to the middle ages. Set in London and a monastery during the plague, it is about a crippled boy trying to be reunited with his father who is off fighting the Scots. I bought it for 10 cents at a yard sale when I was 10 because I liked the cover and saw the Newbery seal. I still pick books by their covers!

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Even as a child, my cynical seIf found Anne's romanticism goofy, but I was also mature enough to understand that before coming to Green Gables she was a very lonely girl who read a lot. Her new home seemed so beautiful that I still want to visit Prince Edward Island. I've only gotten as far as Nova Scotia.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin One of the best, most complex who-dunnits I've ever read, and really funny too. When we were developing the sixth grade mystery unit I suggested this one and students ended up loving it. Even adults have trouble figuring what's going on.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott I had to read everything she wrote  over and over. I wanted to be Jo, and thought Amy was a brat.

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Every girl coming of age in the 1970s read this one.

Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith Robertson Written in the late 1950s, the 5-book Henry Reed series about a high school boy always made me laugh. 'Although these are all novels, there are sketch illustrations at the beginning of chapter that are drawn by Robert McCloskey, who famously wrote and illustrated the Caldecott-winning Make Way for Ducklings.

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg Her books are great because they're about kids, but she treats them like adults.

From this list it is easy to see how my love of historical fiction, mysteries and chick-lit developed. Did you read any of these as a kid?

Visit The Broke and the Bookish to see everyone's lists. If you have a young person in your life you can make a list of books that keep being mentioned and have some great gifts for the future.