While I have always been a voracious reader, my tastes have always run towards mysteries. Nancy Drew was my first book heroine, and I soon moved on to all things Agatha Christie. I visited the library frequently, both public and school, and was gifted books for every occasion. Yet somehow I missed reading all the standard children’s classics. So today’s Top 10 Tuesday post is all about missed opportunities 😉 . My daughter didn’t like to read as a child, so I missed some vicarious reading. Her brothers made up for it, but Poulson and Dahl were their favorites. I have another chance though — my first grandchild ( a girl) will have all the books!
What books do you wish you had read as a child?
Find out more bloggers’ lists at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Books I Wish I Had Read As A Child
Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Eleven-year-old Anne Shirley has never known a real home. Since her parents’ deaths, she’s bounced around to foster homes and orphanages. When she is sent by mistake to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she wants to stay forever. But Anne is not the sturdy boy Matthew and Marilla were expecting.
She’s a mischievous, talkative redheaded girl with a fierce temper, who tumbles into one scrape after another. Anne is not like anybody else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special, a girl with an enormous imagination. All she’s ever wanted is to belong somewhere. And the longer she stays at Green Gables, the harder it is for anyone to imagine life without her.
The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis
Four adventurous siblings — Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie — step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.
Open the door and enter a new world! The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the second book in C. S. Lewis’s classic fantasy series, which has been captivating readers of all ages with a magical land and unforgettable characters for over sixty years.
Little House on The Prairie series (this book is actually #3 in the series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls and her family are heading to Kansas! Leaving behind their home in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, they travel by covered wagon until they find the perfect spot to build a little house on the prairie. Laura and her sister Mary love exploring the rolling hills around their new home, but the family must soon get to work, farming and hunting and gathering food for themselves and for their livestock. Just when the Ingalls family starts to settle into their new home, they find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict. Will they have to move again?
The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura’s real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Alone in a new country, wealthy Sara Crewe tries to settle in and make friends at boarding school. But when she learns that she’ll never see her beloved father gain, her life is turned upside down. Transformed from princess to pauper, she must swap dancing lessons and luxury for hard work and a room in the attic. Will she find that kindness and genorosity are all the riches she truly needs?
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Ten year old Mary Lennox, a spoiled and pompous child from a wealthy family, is suddenly turned on end when her parents die. She is sent to live with her wealthy Uncle in his isolated house in Yorkshire, England. Her spoiled nature and aggression again take form in her new home, but soon a servant informs her of a private, walled-in garden with the entrance’s key missing. The mysterious and cordoned garden intrigues young Mary as much as the mysterious cries that echo the hallways during the night.
Except for Little House, I didn’t read any of these til I was an adult. I wish I had read them much earlier! And I’d add A. A. Milnes Pooh books, too-still haven’t read those.
Oh, yes, that one too!