Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Wish I'd Read as a Kid

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.


This is my first Top Ten Tuesday to participate it in and I love the topic! I worked as a circulation clerk at my local library for several years and I saw a lot of books that I wish I had read when I was younger come through. I've managed to read some of them as an adult, but there are still a few that I haven't read yet.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I've tried to pick up these books in the last few years, but I just can't get into them. I've watched the movies and I've read some of C.S. Lewis's other works, but Narnia doesn't hold me. I think if I had read them as a child I would have really enjoyed them.

2. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls. I never read the books or watched the TV series. I kind of feel like I missed out on a piece of Americana.

3. Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene. I was more of a Baby-Sitter's Club girl who dangled in Sweet Valley occasionally then a teenage sleuth. I recently watched the movie starring Emma Roberts and I thought it was a cute movie. My grandmother talks about reading these books as a young girl. I might look into picking up a Nancy Drew book or two soon.

4. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. This looks like such a cute book and it's been in the back of my mind to read it for a while. I think they even have a movie now?

5. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. I'm not even sure how I missed this one, as I loved the animated video and the series. This is such a fun story and perfect for little girls (I'm thinking now that if might become birthday presents for some of my cousins). I also always wanted a pair of those crazy tights she wore. :)

6. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Truthfully, I did try reading this series after I finished The Hobbit. But in the time when a new Harry Potter was actually an option, Tolkien's use of language and his fantasy land just didn't appeal to me. I think I made it through the first chapter before I quite reading it. I wish I had been able to finish it, though. It's such a classic.

7. Chocolate War by Robert Corimer. I remember seeing this on the shelf at the small public library I would go to with my grandmother during the summers I stayed with her. But I never picked it up because I didn't want to read about this topic. Given the choice to read about the magic of Ella Enchanted or the heavier topic found in Chocolate War,  I went with the magic. I think that the Chocolate War would be a good addition to my 2011 reading list.

8. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss. This is the only book that my husband claims to have read as a child---and I don't have a clue what it is about. So much for a book talk with him.

9.  Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.

10. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Both 9 and 10 are such classics. I really wish I had read a more diverse group of books as a child, including Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. I almost feel if I were to pick them up now I wouldn't grasp them well--I would have a "this-is-how-it-happens" reel going through my head (Thank you Disney).

12 comments:

  1. Alice in Wonderland and Nancy Drew made my list to!
    Would have loved to read Peter Pan when I was younger...
    Come say hi anytime
    http://fantasmagoriese.blogspot.com/

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  2. Pippi, Nancy Drew, The Phantom Tollbooth and the Narnia books made my list as well.

    I did read some of the others as a child, and can inform you that The Swiss Family Robinson is about a family who are emigrating, I think to Australia, when their ship founders on an island in the middle of nowhere. There are pirates and other adventures involved.

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  3. Peter Pan made my list, but I considered many of your other choice! I really enjoyed the Chronicales of Narnia and Chocolate War.

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  4. The Chronicles of Narnia and Alice's Adventures in Wondreland made my list as well. I think I'm still going to read the ladder as an adult though.

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  5. The Swiss Family Robinson is one of my most favourite books ever! I was given it for Christmas when I was about 7 or 8 and I think I must've re-read it hundreds of times! I still love it now - I have it on my Kindle, lol. But I think I love it so much now because it had such a big impact on me as a child.

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  6. I loved the Phantom Tollbooth when I was little. There is an animated movie that is adorable. I wish it was on onDemand. Love this list!

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  7. I loved the Pippi Longstocking movie. I didn't even realize it was a book for a long time. That one's on my list too! :)

    Tevya @ Reading Lark

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  8. I read the Phantom Tollboth in school right about the time i started hardcore reading again. I loved it. I've been wanting to read it again!

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  9. Lord of the Rings is still on my to read list.

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  10. +JMJ+

    The Phantom Tollbooth made my list, too, because I wish so much that I had been shaped by it at a more formative age. I truly believe I'd be a wittier, wiser, even kinder person today, had I had it earlier, during my reread-everything-ten-million-times phase. =P

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  11. My goodness! I recognize a lot on your list, either as an- I wish I had read that too, or a WHAT?! You've never read Pippi Longstocking?! I wanted to be Pippi! You have some great books on this list, and I do recommend you picking up some of them!

    I read and loved the Little House books. I want to reread them, but I'm afraid they won't be as great as I remember them being...

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  12. Y'know, I have seen the Chronicles of Narnia on a lot of people's lists. I wish I had read the series when I was younger, too. I did read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I loved it, so I don't know why I didn't continue with it.

    I read the series a year or two ago, and even though I got a lot more out of it as an adult, I couldn't help but wish that I had read these books as a kid--I would have loved the romping adventures!

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