Author of Middle Grade novels about friendship, family, and figuring out where you fit in.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Why Did You Love That Book?

I've been thinking a lot about the books that children choose to read. I work with kids, and it's always interesting to see which books they take out of the library, buy at the book fair, or borrow from their teacher.

Everyone has different tastes. I've seen kids reading fantasy, adventure stories, contemporary stories, graphic novels, joke books, and various other non-fiction books. (The girls seem to prefer how-to books on crafts, while the boys seem to gravitate toward non-fiction about things like sharks and spiders, from what I've noticed.)

No single book is going to attract everyone, and no reader is going to love every book.

With that in mind, I've thought about which books really grabbed me as a kid. I can't narrow it down to just one book, but there were three series that I absolutely loved:

1) The Babysitter's Club

2) Sweet Valley Twins

3) Abby Jones, Junior Detective Mysteries

I enjoyed the first two because they were familiar. They were longer series that featured the same characters over and over, so I felt like I knew the babysitters and the Wakefield twins in real life.

But the third series was short, only three books. I read them over and over. I really connected with the main character, Abby, and I basically wanted to be her. (I went through a very short phase where I considered being a detective when I grew up, all because of those books.)

I'd love to hear what your favorite books were as a kid, and why you loved them so much. Did the characters feel like old friends? Was the setting or situation something you would have liked to experience yourself?

6 comments:

Tiana Smith said...

Nancy Drew! I read those countless times. I always liked to try to figure it out myself. And I loved the characters.

Laura S. said...

I loved The Babysitters Club, too! That was a fun series. Mallory was my favorite because she was a writer. Claudia was my second favorite.

I read the Anne of Green Gables series over and over. I still re-read them every few years. I love those books! When I was a kid, I felt so connected to Anne, like we would've been friends if she was a real person. Now I want to be her when I grow up!

The Little House series was another big favorite. Loved the Ramona books, too. She was so spunky.

I have so many childhood favorites, all of which I still make time to re-read every few years!

Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm a little older so those weren't around for me. I loved so many books!! My all time fave would be Anne of Green Gables (whole series). Other series I loved were Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Little Women... The characters were what always drew me in :)

Romance Reader said...

My absolute favorite was Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. Then there was The Three Investigators.

Theresa Milstein said...

I like this question and it was interesting to hear your answers.

As a kid, I didn't own many books, but I borrowed books from the library all the time. When I didn't have something new to read, I returned to my same beloved books.

Hello Aurora by Anna Catharina Vestley

The Monster at the End of this Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover

Sweet Valley High series

Charlotte's Web

Stuart Little

The Lorax

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