Which children's books got you into reading?

[TurquoiseSunset]

... Or was it a specific person or event in your childhood that really inspired you to read?

My mother always took me to the library with her and read me bedtime stories, etc., but I was hooked when a teacher read George's Marvellous Medicine (by Roald Dahl) to us in class. I just loved it!! I couldn't wait to get to the library after that!

[joao_oliveira]

roald dahl, hans christian andersen, lewis carrol, michael ende, brothers grimm...

[Eryk]

Socks by Beverly Cleary

The Wild Orphan by Robert Froman

[Frankie Anne]

My fourth grade teacher read our class "Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I can still picture her standing there and reading it to us. It was the first set of books I asked my mother to buy for me.

[amanda_isabel]

George's Marvelous Medicine was among them, along with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Suitcase Kid (Jacqueline Wilson) was good too. Series are good, like Sweet Valley and The BabySitters Club.

[mystery_spell]

Harry Potter really got me into reading. There were some more books when I was younger that made me really enjoy reading, but it was HP that solidified how much I truly love reading and encouraged me to read so much more.

[Uberzensch]

My grandparents made me feel it was cool to read.

They got me Oliver Twist and The Wizard of Oz.

Don't forget Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH!

[Wilde woman]

The Sword in the Stone

[qimissung]

I still remember my second grade teacher reading us "The Boxcar Children;" in fourth grade our teacher read us "The Secret Garden;" in fifth grade it was "The Good Master." I also remember reading "Tom's Midnight Garden."

[Buh4Bee]

My mother is a teacher and always made sure I had a book to read. I guess I pretty much read anything she gave me and still will read anything that is put in front of me. Luckily, I can read anything and understand it! There are several books from childhood that I love including Charlotte's Web and a variety of other books about animals (Water Ship Down). I was an emotional child and found comfort in the fantasy of a book.

[mona amon]

Fairy tales and Enid Blyton.

[JBI]

I read a lot of Monica Hughes as a kid (almost her whole opus). Generally, not the best author, but she fits nicely with that great movement in 90s kid-young adult fiction aimed at girls with a moderate empowering agenda, which still to this day dominates much of my thought. In truth, in terms of youth culture, I think the 90s girl culture saw quite a boom in comparison with the boy culture at that period. It's a shame though, that now everyone is reading Twilight, which seems to come and undercut the whole spirit of 90s young-female literature, and replace it with a regressive agenda-backed, ultimately patriarchy-enforcing pseudo-morality tale. I guess the whole spirit of late 80s, and 90s Kid lit has gone and, like most other popular literature, been decidedly claimed by corporate bullies. In truth, I think Harry Potter's success merely brought on a wave of commercial children-young-adult literature, aimed at commercial tie ins, action figures, movies, over didacticism or something with at least a sensible moral agenda behind it, let alone something that is good. Judy Bloom, for instance, would not be able to write for the current market had she been just starting out, and receive any recognition. I doubt Le Guin either, though perhaps she would make a small breakthrough, given that she simply is the Best there is.

[TurquoiseSunset]

I completely agree with you JBI!! It's a bit sad really that things are this way. However, if I ever have children I can try and do it differently. Unfortunately the media plays such a big role in children's lives and peer pressure (having to buy Twilight duvet covers, Harry Potter lunch boxes, etc.) doesn't help, "If my friends at school have/do/read it, I want to as well" ... Btw, how many teenagers today will have read a book by Le Guin? Not many I should think.

[Apocrypha75]

Probably 'The Hobbit'. There were books before, but J.R.R Tolkien really lit the fuse that led to my reading proper; not just because I had to for school. :)

[ThousandthIsle]

I always loved reading (my parents instilled that love by reading to me constantly as a baby/toddler/young child until I could do it myself) -- but Matilda was the one that pushed me into deeper waters. I was inspired to follow suit and check out a copy of Moby Dick from the library, and read it on my lap with my feet dangling well above the ground (like in the illustration). Never finished Moby Dick, but I credit Dahl for turning my interest towards "the classics" and challenging myself a bit more.

[Helga]

when I was just 4 my dad read to me books like Robin hood, the last mohikan, and some Icelandic literature so he got me interested in reading, he read a lot for me until he died,but when I started reading myself it was Enid blyton from like 8-12 after that I got into a bit more serious books...

[Scheherazade]

Pollyanna

Heidi

Railway Children

The last two were the very first books given to me personally.

Later on I was addicted to Enid Blyton's books for a while.

[amalia1985]

Heidi, Beauty And The Beast, and a fascinating Scottish tale called The Magic Banner if I remember correctly.