Top Ten Tuesday: Childhood Favorites

As always, this feature is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! 

Even as a child, I already loved books dearly. (That has a lot to do with my parents, who read to me as often as possible!) For today's posts, I picked the titles I remember reading as a child - and hope that you recognize some of your own favorites in it!

1. Any book by Dr. Seuss - As a child, it was tradition for either my mom or my dad to read to me and my sister before we went to sleep. Some of the earliest memories I have are of tottering towards my parents with a humongous selection of my favorite books from Dr. Seuss. I had a particular affinity for The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.

2. Any of The Berenstain Bears books by Stan, Jan & Mike Berenstain - This was definitely another big childhood favorite! My sister and I used to argue about which one we wanted to read. My favorite (oddly enough) was about a visit to the dentist.

3. Any of The Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole - When I got a little older, I loved The Magic School Bus.  I mean, hello, most awesome field trips EVER! I liked all the crazy adventures they got in to and the fun things I learned because of it. For this series, the one I remember best is the one about composting.

4. Any book by Shel Silverstein - I was only just getting into my groove as a reader when I had my parents buy me my first Shel Silverstein book, Where the Sidewalk Ends. I loved reading those poems and perusing the amusing illustrations for hours.

5. The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner - A series about four siblings who decide to make a home for themselves in an abandoned boxcar? Of course I loved this series. It appealed to my sense of adventure and my family-oriented nature back then.

6. The Saddle Club series - It still saddens me that I never got the opportunity to have formal riding lessons.  But I did get to live vicariously through the characters in this series, and I enjoyed their adventures and all the horse-related activities they did.

7. Sweet Valley Kids/Sweet Valley Twins series by Francine Pascal - I was a huge fan of the Sweet Valley series, and still am.  The world and the characters were very real to me at a young age; I fancied myself to be a lot like Elizabeth and my younger sister to be Jessica.

8. Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder - The strongest memory I have of this particular series is getting threatened about having it taken away from me because I couldn't stop reading while I was eating.  It was just so interesting to me and even now that I'm older, I still go back to it every now and then.

9. The Magic Attic Club series by Sheri Cooper Sinykin - This series is FANTASTIC. I'm not kidding. It was such a great way to fuel my imagination.  Imagine having access to an attic that will allow you to be transported into a different situation in time? Awesome.

10. American Girl series - I was obsessed with the American Girls when I was younger. In fact, I have two of them - Samantha and Josefina (and my sister has Molly).  I loved their stories and thought it was endlessly fascinating to read about all these different girls from different times and cultures.

11. The Babysitters Club series by Ann M. Martin - I loved reading about all the adventures that these girls got up to, especially because it was about a set of best friends.

12. Any book by Roald Dahl - Yes, this definitely defined my childhood. I absolutely adored all of Dahl's stories; they were filmed with whimsy, imaginative scenarios and lovable characters.

13. Fairytales - I love fairy tales. I love all these fantastical magical stories. And I collected fairy tale compilations, most of which I still have. They definitely fueled my active imagination.

I know, I know, I sort of cheated by including 13 instead of 10.  But it's hard to not be enthusiastic about the books I loved when I was a child, most of which had stories or characters that continue to stay with me up until today. 

Tell me, dear blogging friends, what were your favorite childhood books?

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