Hi, all! Thanks for checking back here! This was a really fun post for me to work on.
One afternoon, I started mentally compiling a list of my favorite childhood chapter books. (“Childhood” = read when I was a child). Here is the annotated version, listed alphabetically by author:
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Men. The second book in the March sisters trilogy (Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys), it’s always been my favorite. Full of anecdotes about life running a boarding school for boys, lots of love and life lessons, and yes, moralizing. (Honorable mention by this author: Eight Cousins).
Baum, L. Frank. The Marvelous Land of Oz. Sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. A Little Princess. Of course!
Clements, Andrew. Frindle. The quintessential “school story.” And I also loved The School Story.
Enright, Elizabeth. Gone-Away Lake. This book and its sequel give me the feeling I get listening to my mother’s stories about her childhood summer home.
Gilbreth, Frank B., and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. Cheaper by the Dozen. So this book made me want a dozen kids. I listened to it on tape at my best friend’s house when we were Pesach cleaning together at least fifteen years ago. I can still quote passages from it in the inflection of the narrator. I have a copy of the sequel signed by three of the Gilbreth siblings (garage sale).
Haywood, Carolyn. Eddie and Gardenia. My sisters and I grew up on Carolyn Haywood’s many early readers, but this one, about a boy and his pet goat, is the one I remember most fondly. Out of print now, occasionally you can find it used on Amazon (or at the library).
Kassirer, Norma. Magic Elizabeth. I read this for a book report in second grade. A sweet story that straddles the border between fiction and fantasy, it’s out of print, but try to get your hands on a copy (if for no other reason then to peruse the illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush, who, incidentally, are the illustrators of several books on this list).
Konigsburg, E.L. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I read this and then visited the Met with my aunt. And visited again and again as a teen and adult.
Korman, Gordon. I Want To Go Home. This is the only book I’ve ever read that actually made me cry tears of laughter. It was so hard to choose just one by Gordon Korman…you have to read No Coins, Please, and Go Jump in the Pool!, too. Also, last spring I met Gordon Korman at an author talk. Just saying.
Lofting, Hugh. The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle. Every time I think about planning a trip, I have an urge to open up an atlas, close my eyes, and jab a pencil down on the page to choose my destination – just like Dr. Dolittle.
Lovelace, Maud Hart. Betsy and the Great World. The truth is, I own and love every single book in this series and chose only one for this list with some difficulty. (In high school, I probably would have chosen Heaven to Betsy as my favorite). The series begins at Betsy’s fifth birthday party and spans the next twenty years of her life. I grew up along with these stories and found so much to relate to in them. (If you haven’t ever read them, I suggest you work your way through in chronological order, even though the first few are written for very young readers. The books in order: Betsy-Tacy, Betsy-Tacy and Tib, Betsy-Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, Betsy-Tacy Go Downtown, Heaven to Betsy, Betsy in Spite of Herself, Betsy was a Junior, Betsy and Joe, Betsy and the Great World, Betsy’s Wedding).
By the same author, I have to mention Emily of Deep Valley. I read this at around age 20 (okay, so I’m breaking my own rules here) and the timing was perfect. If there is one book you read from this entire list, let this be the one. Emily of Deep Valley influenced how I see myself as an adult and how I live every day. It’s about the transition from adolescence to adulthood, developing confidence in yourself, taking responsibility for your own happiness…and it’s such a sweet story!
Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of Green Gables, Rilla of Ingleside. The first and last books of the very beautiful series (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne’s House of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside). Who can forget Marilla and Matthew? Rachel Lynde? Josie Pye? Cornelia Bryant? If I had to choose only one book from the series, I’d suggest you read Rilla as a good stand-alone story.
Nesbit, Edith. The Railway Children. I love this book about a close-knit family in the English countryside, fallen on hard times. (Once, en route to the Netanya beach, I picked up a copy of this for 20 shekel in tachana merkazit. Classic children’s lit = beach read?).
Norton, Mary. The Borrowers Avenged. The last in a series (previous four are The Borrowers, The Borrowers Afield, The Borrowers Afloat, The Borrowers Aloft), this book made me want to visit England and explore old country villages and houses.
O’Brien, Robert C. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. I read this in fifth grade for some kind of reading competition and it set my imagination on fire! My friend and I (yes, that friend who is always full of fun and wisdom) attempted to teach her pet hamster to be a genius. We had a notebook for recording observations and everything. But he was always just a hamster.
Peterson, John. The Littles to the Rescue. This was my very favorite in a great series of easy readers.
Robertson, Keith. Henry Reed’s Babysitting Service. This is part of a series. It’s funny and smart and my brother read it to me when I was seven.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Can we just say that it’s crazy how it’s been ten years since the last book in the series was published? I didn’t eat or change out of my PJs for about two days after it came out, all I did was read.
Sewell, Anna. Black Beauty. It’s a sad book, but it taught me so much about compassion and seeing the world through a different pair of eyes.
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver. About the unlikely friendship between white and Native American boys.
Spyri, Johanna. Heidi. What a beautiful story. A few years ago I had a stopover in Zurich. As the plane descended over the mountains, my friend suddenly exclaimed, “Let’s look out for Heidi and Peter!” It’s that kind of book.
White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web. Probably the greatest book ever written in English. If you’ve never read it, you must, but know that you’ll cry (hard).
Wiggin, Kate Douglas. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. A beautiful, touching coming-of-age story.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little Town on the Prairie. I read them all, but this was my favorite. I think I was just relieved that the Ingalls family had finally settled down.
Are your favorites on this list? Anything you’d add or recommend?
(Image from Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown)
