The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!
Do you remember the books that you read when you were a child? For many people, these are the books that have stuck with them their whole lives—or books which still raise a smile now when you see the artwork or spot the books in a shop. They can be very specific to your country, or books which cross borders… so we thought it would be nice to prompt everyone to talk about those childhood books.
I’ve always been a big fan of reading, from the days when my parents would have to read me to sleep, to reading The Hobbit by torchlight so my parents wouldn’t catch me reading at night, to my endless quest through all kinds of books now. One of the very first books I remember is one no one else seems to remember: There’s A Hippopotamus On Our Roof Eating Cake by Hazel Edwards! I always loved hippos, and this book is part of why. The hippo eats cake when he likes and nobody tells him what to do—hmm, I wonder what appealed to me as a child!
As I learned to read myself, I loved reading the classic childhood choices like Enid Blyton, Edith Nesbit and Roald Dahl, and though I was very quick to move onto my mum’s bookshelves (where I found Isaac Asimov and David Eddings and started a lifelong love of fantasy and sci-fi), I also remember being keen on grabbing the next Animorphs book each time one came out!
How about you? Do you have any strong memories of the books you read as a child? Maybe you can even get postcards with the characters on, if you were a fan of characters like Nijntje (Miffy), Winnie-the-Pooh and the Moomins… This month, why don’t you share about about those childhood favourites with the people you write to on Postcrossing? We’d love to hear about them in comments, as well, especially the ones unique to your country!
66 comments so far
I used to love reading Enid Blyton when I was a kid - especially the Malory Towers series. Fond memories.
Great prompt! My all time favourite is The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, a story about 4 Polish children travelling through wartime Europe. Very moving. I've so taught it in school many times and my students always loved it. One even named her child Bronia after a character in the story!
In my early childhood, my favorite books included Ferda Mravenec (Ferdinand the Ant) by Ondřej Sekora, Kocour Mikeš (Tomcat Mikesh) by Josef Lada and O statečném Cibulkovi (The story about brave Cipolino) by Gianni Rodari.
At the turn of childhood and teenage it was Gabra and Málinka by Amálie Kutinová - an autobiographical 6-part novel, describing the writer's childhood and adolescence in the Moravian countryside at the beginning of the 20th century.
I can't forget Karl May's novels, amplified by the film adaptation - I loved Vinnetou (Pierre Brice)!
I loved reading Nikolai Nosov, Vladislav Krapivin and Victor Dragunskii when I was a kid - especially serie of stories about Deniska Korabljov. And off course Arkadii Gaidar!
I enjoyed reading Enid Blyton books and still have my copies of "The Folk of the Faraway Tree", "The Wishing Chair" and "Children of Cherry Tree Lane." I also enjoyed all the Little House on the Prairie series and have copies of those, too. Amazingly, I didn't read Anne of Green Gables til I was an adult. This was an oversight considering I'm Canadian, redheaded woman with a temper and imaginative nature like Anne. Glad I finally did read it and I love the movie from the 1980s with Megan Followes. I also have my Bobbsey Twin books and my Beatrix Potter books. Children's books really shape who we are as adults. I just love them and love to write my own stories.
А мне запомнились стихи Самуила Маршака. Они словно сказки...странные. ........... Жил человек рассеянный
На улице Бассейной.
Сел он утром на кровать,
Стал рубашку надевать,
В рукава просунул руки —
Оказалось, это брюки. .........И далее столько там нелепостей.. А мне было смешно.................Вместо шапки на ходу
Он надел сковороду.................................Вместо валенок перчатки
Натянул себе на пятки.================================================================================And I remember the poems of Samuel Marshak. They're like fairy tales...strange................... There was a man who was absent-minded
On Basseynaya Street.
He sat down on the bed in the morning,
I began to put on my shirt,
He put his hands in his sleeves —
It turned out to be trousers. .........And then there are so many absurdities.. It was funny to me.................Instead of a cap on the go
He put the frying pan on.................................Instead of boots, gloves
I pulled it on my heels.
Happens there are a few German stamps featuring children's books these days ... :)
The children books that i still remember till now mostly written by Enid Blyton like The famous five and The secret Seven series. This title are translated into Malay language like The famous five known as Lima sekawan and The secret Seven known as Tujuh penyiasat. I get it either borrow iy from the school or mobile library or bought it when book seller come to my school. on that day it not easy to get books at my hometown.
My favourite books as a child were "Pippi Langstrumpf" (Pippi Longstocking) by Astrid Lindgren, "Heidi" by Johanna Spyri and the books of Erich Kästner, and later there were also the books of Enyd Blyton (Hanni und Nanni; 5 Freunde). Reading is still something I love very much!
Another fan of Enid Blyton "The famous five" here! ✋ It's amazing the way her books seem to have marked quite a few of us all around the world.
Goosebumps
When I was in elementary grades, I used to love reading children's shortened version of renowned world literature novels like David Copperfield, Homer's Odyssey, A Tale of Two Cities, The Count of Monte Cristo, Gulliver's Travels, etc.
My favorite books were Grimm's Fairy Tales and Anderson's Fairy Tales. They were the only books I owned at the time. But my all time favorite I read as an adult librarian is Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. A story of how a girl and a boy became friends and their fantasy place called Terabithia.
One of my favorite early childhood’s books was The Little Witch (in Lithuanian: Raganiukė) by Otfried Preußler 🧙♀️ 🧹 Would happily read it again to remember ☺️
I loved the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, and the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary as a kid! This is a wonderful prompt, thanks!
So many interesting books being recommended! I'm adding many to my wishlist. I don't have kids myself but I have elementary age nephews on my husband's side of the family and I feel like it's my duty to introduce them to books since their parents aren't much into reading. Yes, I am that one aunt that loves bringing books as gifts whenever I visit :P
When I was a child, I loved "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein and "The Enormous Crocodile" by Roald Dahl. I also loved "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" series by Douglas Adams, as well as Anne Rice novels, such as "The Vampire Lestat". I also loved this campy book series called "Dark Forces Teen Horror", which included "The Game" and "Twilight" book series, which titles such as "The Initiation", "Blood Red Roses" and "Deadly Sleep". To this day, I still love a good ghost story!
The famous five = 'De fem' in Swedish and 'Viisikko' in Finnish were my favorites as well as Astrid Lindgren's books
My favorite books:
Martha Matilda O’Toole by Jim Copp
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
Andrew Henry’s Meadow by Doris Burn
Little House on the Prairie series remains such wonderful books. I read and both of my daughters did. I still have my copies.
The Secret Seven series and The Famous Five series were my favourite read back then. Being a huge fan of Enid Blyton,I still have a couple of books which when browsed brings back sweet memories of my childhood days and my grandfather who used to buy them for me.Thanks for the lovely prompt.
1 Wizard of the OZ
2 Tom Sawyer
When I was a 5th grade student, our teacher read us The Little House on the Prarie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved them all. I also loved all the classic Grimms Fairy Tales
As a 6th grade teacher we read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain in class. My students loved reading the character parts out loud. (I have read it 23 times now!). They also loved all the Greek Myths.
My own children loved the Dr. Seuss books ( like "Mr. Brown Can Moo" , "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Cat in the Hat") and they liked The Travels of Babar by Jean De Brunhoff and Uncle Wigley series.
When I was in lower grade in elementary school, I liked "Little Old Mrs Pepperpot" by Arthur Proysen. It's amazing a lady on a spoon, isn't it? I also liked "Heidi" by Johanna SPyri.
I've always enjoyed Eloise by Kay Thompson. Living at the Plaza Hotel seemed like a pretty cool life for a little kid!
Oh yes....da is a book I loved very much. It was already a very old book at that time. The name is "Schlirilei" by Rudolf Rinkefeil. It is the story of a little snail. The book had beautiful colorful pictures.
It would be wonderful to hold it in my hands again and read it.
So if anyone owns this book...let me know.
As a child I read a lot and I still do, even children books 😊 My favorite book was Ivanhoe by Walter Scott, but I loved Enid Blyton, Caroline Quine and La Comtesse de Ségur. And fairy tales, legends...
Still looking to find the books of my childhood on flea markets, with emotional results 😂
I have always loved "Jim Knopf und Lukas, der Lokomotivführer" by Michael Ende, "Kater Mikesch" by Josef Lada, all the books of Enid Blyton and Otfried Preußler. And, of course, Astrid Lindgren!
Today I read them to my grandsons and they love them, too ;-)
Another favourite were the "Jennings" books by Anthony Buckeridge. I loved them, unfortunately I haven't got them anymore :-(
During my childhood we read the works of Petre Ispirescu.
Petre Ispirescu ( January 1830 – 21 November 1887) was a Romanian editor, folklorist, printer, and publicist. He is best known for his work as a gatherer of Romanian folk tales, recounting them with a remarkable talent. Petre Ispirescu was born in Bucharest, the son of Gheorghe Ispirescu, a barber, and Elena Ispirescu, a remarkable story teller. He grew up listening to countless folk tales told by his parents and his father's customers and apprentices. His parents wanted him to be a priest and he was entrusted to study with a monk at the Metropolitan Church, after which he studied with a priest at the Domnița Bălașa Church.
He dropped out in 1844 at age fourteen and became an apprentice at the printing house headed by Zaharia Carcalechi, hoping to further his education by reading the books printed there. Working 14 hours a day, he became a qualified printer in 1848. In 1854, he was hired at the Copainie typography. Ispirescu began to publish Romanian folk stories in 1862, at the incentive of Nicolae Filimon. His first collection of six folk tales appeared in Țăranul Român and later as a booklet. Subsequently, these tales were added to his renowned collection, Romanian Fairy Tales, today a bibliographic rarity. He resumed his publishing work in 1872 with the collection Romanian Folk Tales. Riddles and Proverbs with a preface by Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, followed by Folk Anecdotes and Folk Tales in 1874, and The Life and Feats of Mihai Viteazu in 1876. He was praised for the deep and invaluable knowledge of the Romanian folk works. In 1879 he published Tales of the Wise Old Man - a retelling in an accessible language for children of universal myths and fragments of Greek mythology - with a preface by Alexandru Odobescu.
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petre_Ispirescu
His major work, Romanian Fairy Tales, was published in 1882 with a preface by Vasile Alecsandri.
His works:
Youth without old age and life without death
Aleodor Emperor
Ileana Simziana
The enchanted turtle
String pearls
The mighty chick and the golden apples
The warrior with the book in his hand born
The fairy of the fairies
The fairy of the mountains
Greuceanu
The twelve palaces
Tugulea, uncle and aunt's son
The good old man's daughter
The three golden pomegranates
Salt in dishes
Many of them we studied at school and we know them even today, telling them to our children and grandchildren. From each story you can learn a lesson.
I recommend Petre Ispirescu's writings to everyone. If you find them translated into the language of your country, you will not be sorry that you bought them.
What is more beautiful in this world than childhood and the stories told by parents or read by us…..
An interesting subject that brings back so many memories of long summer afternoons under a tree reading in the countryside or sitting in front of the fire in winter, always with a book in my hands. Christmas and Birthday presents were always books and that has stayed with me forever. With "Jack and Jill" I learnt to read and still have those books.
My earliest memories were of Enid Blyton,The Famous Five and Secret Seven but also I adored the "Ant and Bee" series written by Angela Banner and their wonderful illustrations, here's an excerpt " One beautiful morning, something stirring happened on the petals of a new spring flower!"
Arthur Ransome's " Swallows and Amazons" and the subsequent novels left me with a sense of adventure and yearning for more as I searched out the children's classics, The Coral Island, Treasure Island, Gullivers Travels and explore the world through those pages. I loved to read, I loved books, and they shaped my later life.
My all-time favourite Childrens book was " A Childs Garden of Verse" by Robert Louis Stevenson, I still have the book and have bought it many times as a present for other peoples children. I remember the words to many of the Poems and Verses in that book. They hooked me then and they hook me now. Somehow life was much simpler, less complicated and to be enjoyed, I was happy. Not nostalgia, just dreaming with the pages of a book, and that's a great thing to do!
Swedish "Petson and Findus" series. ♥
In 5th grade our teacher read us Norton Jester's "The Phantom Tollbooth," and I have loved that book ever since. Mr. Jester just recently died but I was lucky to meet him once at a museum and have his autograph. I was an avid reader as a child but I remember thinking how clever the writing was in "Tollbooth," all the word play but also a fun story and a great message about not being bored with life.
I love this topic, especially since I also review children and young adult books on the side. I have so many favourites but one that holds a special place for me is The Secret World of Og by Pierre Burton. I believe they made this into a mini series on CBC but I have never seen it.
Oh do i have to choose? Ok, i'll try -
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells.
I re-read them all every couple years. I read them to my kids and am not reading them to my grandkids. It's my gift to them all. The joy of reading.
Even though I have lived in the United States since I was 7, I almost exclusively read British or other European children’s books: Paddington Bear, Curious George, Enid Blyton - Malory Towers series, Watership Down by Richard Adams and The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas were my favorites. I still remember having to wait until we visited the UK to get new installments of the Malory Towers books.
У меня растет дочка и я вместе с ней заново вспоминаю любимых героев детства: Дядю Федора, кота Матроскина и собаку Шарика из Простоквашина (Э.Успенский), компанию друзей из Приключений Незнайки Н.Носова, Малыша и Карлсона А.Линдгрен. Домовенок Кузя (Т.Александрова) это вообще мой кумир детства из мультиков.
My daughter is growing up and I remember my favorite childhood heroes together with her: Uncle Fyodor, the cat Matroskin and the dog Sharik from Prostokvashin (E. Uspensky), a group of friends from the Adventures of Dunno N. Nosov, the Kid and Carlson A. Lindgren. Domovenok Kuzya (A. Alexandrova) this is generally my childhood idol from cartoons
I read and reread Black Beauty and Misty of Chincoteague over and over - big horse lover here!
I really devoured books as a kid and teenager and still love books. Dr. Suess, many of the books mentioned above, American classics (Huckleberry Finn, etc). We read to our kids every evening and read to our grandkids when we see them. They also love books and getting a book as a present is very special to them.
I remember loving books about dogs and horses when I was a kid, books like Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune, The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley, and My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara. I guess I'm showing my age — I just noticed Lad: A Dog was published in 1919! I also liked Anderson's Fairy Tales. I have a small collection of vintage children's books, including an edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with the John Tenniel illustrations. Great memories!
I love Pippi Longstocking books and her TV series. I love also a Dutch books; De dolle tweeling ( the crazy twins). I was always dreaming to have a sister but I have only a brother. Winnie The Pooh became a favorite too and I still read sometimes children-books like Harry Potter.
I'm still a child inside....hihi!
The Grimm's Tales book from my mum (I still have it) - De dolle tweeling - Le Club des 5 from Enyd Blyton. When I was about 14 I really loved to read Agatha Christie and then I was to scared to go to sleep !
Books I remember reading as a kid were the Apple paperback book - one in particular "The Girl with the Silver Eyes" and the Golden Books - one in particular "The Pokey Little Puppy". I also enjoyed the Nancy Drew original books, Sweet Valley High and the books by Judy Bloom. I also loved the Barbapapa books. I could go on and on......
James Joyce, Ulysses (I was a very precocious child).
Totally mesmerised by Enid Blyton’s “ The Folk of the Faraway Tree”! Have lost count of how many times I read it ... wanted to be in it❣️
My favorite children's book is "Guri and Gura". I want to eat the castella cake they made in the book. It looks very delicious!!
Any Dr. Seuss book but especially Horton Hears a Who. 💖
Great writing prompt once again! I was (and still am) a bookworm so I used to read a wide variety of books. However, my favorite genre was children's detective stories. Enid Blyton has already been mentioned and I definitely was familiar with The Famous Five. My favorite series was sort of a Finnish equivalent to it, called "Kultainen Salama" (The Golden Lightning). It featured a group of three boys, two girls and a Golden Retriever. My favorite character was the youngest member of the group, an initially shy girl named Terhi who displayed the most absolute bravery when needed. For example, she volunteered to be taken as hostage during a bank robbery so that an elderly man she was friends with would be saved. My second favorite was a boy called Visa, an outspoken nature person to boot and secretly - or not-so-secretly, depending on the situation ;) - in love with Terhi. The series was quite progressive for its time, handling themes such as poverty, exploitation of nature, alcohol abuse and the position of Roma people in Finland. Definitely an enlightening read!
Enid Blyton books were my favourites, I read loads of them. The first one I read was the Book of Brownies and I was immediately hooked! The Five Find-Outers (and dog) was probably my favourite series.
Hallo! Children's books are a wonderful idea for the blog. My favourite was Jules Verne, "Around the World in Eighty Days". The video cassette of the animation film adapted from the book was a birthday gift from my aunt which was also great as the book. I now write children's stories and presentation of several children's books in several newspapers and children's magazines. Children's books are a journey to my inner child like interaction with animals! 😀
My absolutely favourite book series in my preteens throughout my teen years which I still enjoy today was Tales of Redwall by Brian Jacques. In my mind, he even surpasses his other British children's literature collegues J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis (whose works I enjoyed as well). Jacques' rich imagination and adventure filled stories about the kind Redwallers absolutely captured my heart. I had rough time during my teen years and these stories provided a well-needed escape from my hard everyday. I have always liked animal stories which may explain I like Tales of Redwall so much. After reading the first ten books which were translated into my language, I started reading the series in English which also developed my English skills. I am kinda still mad for the Finnish publisher who quit publishing the series in the middle because the first untranslated book (Marlfox) in the series is my abso-bally-lute favourite, wot! 😅 I am not ashamed to read the series in the adult age and filled my book shelf with the Redwall books I consider best. Any current or former Redwallers here in Postcrossing? 🐀
My favourite books were Enid Blyton´s the famous five and the adventure series. I read them all several times.
As a kid of former GDR I was happy when I got "Kalle Blomkvist" books (Astrid Lindgren) from my Bavarian penpal. I loved those books! Later, when I wrote to penpals in the USA or UK, I found out that his name was former translated to Bill Bergson. That sounded stupid to me.
One of my very favorite books was The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Before I read it on my own, the book was read out loud to me by my beloved great aunt. I can still remember sitting at her knee and being completely captivated by the story.
I wish I could say I loved "Ulysses" in my childhood or at least "Beyond Good and Evil", but my most favorite book was "The Hobbit", it literally changed my life later though.
I, too, fell in love with The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett--discovering that walled garden --restoring it all while sharing and creating a real friendship spoke to my heart. I also loved Madeline and Babar and I was told by my father that my favorite bedtime story was The Little Engine that Could-- some part of me must have known life was going to be a challenging journey but in the end you get to the good places of joy and purpose! "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can."
Another big Enid Blyton fan here! As a kid, I read all her books and still have the Malory Towers (with Darrell called 'Pitty' in Dutch), a few copies of the St. Clare books (called 'The crazy twins' in Dutch :-) ) and the Adventure serie. From the library I often borrowed the Famous Five books. Absolutely amazing, especially when I read in an interview that Blyton wasn't really looking after her own children.
When I was 10-12 years old, I really admired the idea of going to a boarding school, but unfortunately we don't have boarding schools in the Netherlands :-)
I'm also a fan of the Anne of Green Gables series. I read them when I was 10, 11 years old but am still reading them over and over as I absolutely love the writing style of Montgomery.
Further we have some nice Dutch authors, like Tonke Dragt, Thea Beckman, Jan Terlouw and Evert Hartman; they all wrote really good children books.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all these comments!! I went through all of them and added many books to my “Future Family BOOKS” wishlist on Amazon. :)
I have to echo the user talking about The Phantom Tollbooth. Probably my favorite book ever. So clever, such a great lesson, and so many word puns! I also enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie books and Anne of Green Gables. So many to choose from, though! I love reading as a kid. Unfortunately, I have not kept up the habit, but I have quite a selection of children’s books on my shelves awaiting children of my own!
Oh, and another favorite series was the Elsie Dinsmore books! I never did read the Enid Blyton books, but I watched a couple of the movies when I lived abroad, and they made me want to read the books!
My favourite books in my childhood were those of Astrid Lindgren, Enid Blyton and Erich Kästner. I think these authors are classics even now.
I have memories of favorite picture books - Make Way for Ducklings (Robert McCloskey), The Little House (Virginia Burton) as well as a series of "Betsy Books" (Carolyn Haywood) since my name was Betsy. Then I enjoyed the Nancy Drew mysteries.
These days, having a son with Autism and learning challenges keeps me choosing many picture books for him that are both basic, yet "age appropriate" and interesting without being too "childish". If we find stories that fit our needs, I like to contact the authors and encourage them to consider people like my son as they continue to write.
What amazes me are the number of adults that, for some reason, don't know how to read -- Children's Books are not just for children, any more.
My favourite books in my childhood were by Astrid Lindgren, especially Michel from Lönneberga. The Flying Classroom, Pünktchen und Anton, Das doppelte Lottchen by Erich Kästner. As an adult, I enjoyed reading Cornelia Funke's children's books; I borrowed them from my children :-) and of course all the Harry Potter books.
The first book I learned to read as a child was the tall shaped book "I am a Bunny". Well, before I could actually read it, I memorized it, and pretended to read. Some later favorites were various Dr. Seuss books, Dr. Dolittle, and, from about 10 years old, "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" and "The Cricket in Times Square".
It's wonderful that so many authors have since written so many beautiful children's books, too many to list.
Now there's a new one, just published last week, called "Tickle Me, Grandma!", by St. Louis author Delphine Pierce.
I am a retired children's librarian, so this is a very interesting discussion for me! I had not heard of Enid Blyton before now! I did some reading about her and it seems there was some controversy about her books being sexist, racist, and/or xenophobic. Unfortunately, none of her books is available at our library so I can't read them! The favorite books I remember were a series called "The Happy Hollisters" about a group of children who were on their own a lot and solved different mysteries in each story. I was in a book club and got one a month. The other book I remember most is "Ten Apples Up on Top" by Dr. Seuss; it was the first book I could read on my own. And my favorite story as a children's librarian is "Let's Play in the Forest" by Claudia Rueda.
Believe you or not , but my first book when I was about 12 y.o. was Charles Dickens David Coperfield. Why? Because my family was very poor ,they can't buy books, but my father found this book (1958 edition, translated in Lithuanain) in the park on a table. I read this book maybe 10 times . And I still love Charles Dickens and all about these times,
P.S.Excuse me for my poor English...
Heidi
Bob set Twins
What Katy Did books
Fifty Famous Fairytales
Little house on the prairie series
..........going to town with my Mom when she went to buy groceries, she let me go to the library and it was enchanting! Libraries still enchant me!
Bobbsey Twins
What memories this topic has invoked. As a child I loved 'Snugglepot & Cuddlepie' with the lovely gumnut babies and the scary banksia men and 'The Magic Pudding'. Imagine a pudding that keeps regenerating with a different flavour every slice. My daughter loved the Mr Men & Little Miss books.
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