Edited to Add: All entries need to be in by Wednesday night; drawing will be Thursday. I’ve enjoyed all your wonderful book comments so far!
A few posts ago, I wrote about a children’s book I had recently bought that was written and illustrated by a father/son team who live here in Manteo.
Many of you commented about the book so I have decided that you wonderful Smithellaneous readers should have a chance to win it!
All you have to do is this: leave a comment about 1) your favorite book from childhood OR 2) a favorite book you’ve read recently. And if you have an extra moment or two, include your reason(s). We’ll draw a name from all the entries and the winner will receive this delightful book autographed by five people: The author, the illustrator, Steve, Sarah and me.
In Other News . . .
I’m uploading this particular post at a McDonalds that has free wi-fi. Since our router burned up at home, I’ve been taking my laptop into the church to upload posts; however, my Resolution For The Day is to not go near the church building even one time. I have practically lived there for the past three weeks without a day off (preparing for our Easter drama) so I’m giving myself a complete disconnect today. Ahhh.
But just because I’m taking the day off from my Real Job doesn’t mean I don’t have other intriguing things planned for today. Nope. This afternoon I have big plans see a doctor for my Just Turned Fifty Pre-Colonoscopy Appointment. Isn’t that the most exciting thing you’ve ever heard of someone doing on their day off? (Frankly, I think I’d rather go into work.)
However, I will manage to schedule a few thrift store stops in and around the doctor visit so the day won’t be a total loss.
I’ll be posting some pictures and (hopefully) video from our Drama as the week progresses so stay tuned!
And don’t forget to leave your Book Comment!
I totally missed the competition, and wouldnt expect you to ship to the UK anyway, but as a book lover i HAVE to comment on this!
My favourite book(s) were the Famous 5 series by Enid Blyton. i don’t know how popular these were in America, but in the UK they were released in the ’40s, and then rereleased when in the 90s. I have all of them in original cover form, and am actually re-reading them for the thousand or so time at age 25!
I’ve always loved the exploits of 4 children and their dog, Timmy, on Kirrin Island and Smuggler’s Top etc 🙂 As a fan of the UK in all it’s gorgeousness, plus the simplicity and innocence of bygone days, where parents could let their 10/11/12 year olds go on holidays alone, these books will always hold a special place with me!
My favorite kid’s book from childhood was “Preep, the little Pigeon of Trafalgar square.” It was about a pigeon who came out of his egg looking “Preposterous” so they called him “Preep” for short. One day he gets lost from his pigeon family and is picked up by a poor man who has a starving family. He is going to cook him for dinner – but the kids cry and want to keep him as a pet. Eventually they train him to do tricks and the man makes money bringing him out to the crowds to have his photo taken. And now Preep doesn’t feel Preposterous anymore! 🙂
“Preep? What an odd name!” neighboring pigeons would say to Mamma Pigeon. “Why did you call your youngest that?” “Well, just look at him? answered Mamma Pigeon. “Isn’t he an odd color? And see, his legs are much shorter than they ought to be. And what a ridiculous beak he has. And has anyone ever, ever seen wings like that? When my husband first saw him come out of the egg, he was so astonished he shouted, ‘Preposterous!’ And who could blame him? So we decided to call him Preep which was a short way of saying Preposterous. Although we love him very much,” Mamma Pigeon would continue, “you must admit he is not much like us. I think Preep suits him very well.” http://www.vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.com/2010/02/preep-little-pigeon-of-trafalgar-square.html
A few of my (many!) favorites are The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Johnny Tremain, and all of the Nancy Drew books.
My favorite book of early childhood was “The Little Engine That Could.” My favorite book in later childhood was “Little Women,” which I must have read 100 times.
A few years ago I bought “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I think I’ve read it 100 times already, and I highly, highly recommend it to others.
My favorite books were the Anne of Green Gables series. I really only found my love for books in Grade 5 after the school system found my learning disability and helped me work around it. From then on…. you always found me my nose in a book. I am currently re-reading the Belgarad by David Eddings, I read the 3 books in the Hunger Games over the weekend that the 1st movie was released. During Junior High I was into Westerns, Louis L’amour. Early Childhood, I remember the Noddy Books. I like books that allow me to escape reality. White Fang was another book I re-read continously.
The book that I enjoyed reading as a child wa The Boxcar Children. It was the first of the series. The latest book that I have read was Heaven is for Real.
My favorite book from childhood was actually a series of books. I loved the Little House on the Prairie series. I recently re-read them again, as an adult, and still loved them!
I read a lot of cozy mystery book and especially love them if they have a cat as one of the characters.
I would love to win this book…my sister has a three legged cat, named Pirate! He was born with a peg leg, just like Captain Stumpy in the picture. We had it removed up to the hip, so he could get around better…but what a hoot it would be to read this book to him 🙂
As a child I mostly remember Dr Seuss books. My favorite was “Sam and the Firefly. ” With my kids I loved reading , “Goodnight Moon”, “The Hungry Caterpillar”,& “the Runaway Bunny”.
Where to start? I have a BA in Elementary Education & Psychology as well as Masters’ in Reading and Early Childhood so I don’t know that I could ever pick a favorite. Robert Munsch’s Book; Love You Forever makes my top 100+ favorite children’s books. I introduced it to my Nana a few years before she died and she would read it to me every day for years (early 20’s). When she was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with cancer (given two weeks without treatment which she declined) I brought the book to the hospital with me and read it to her every night (she lost lucidity within 48 hours of admission) and NEVER regained consciousness but still read it anyway. Another favorite, Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom Deluise, which I shared with my students every year through 5th grade during the first week of school. Charlie wanted to play with all the other animals and they wouldn’t let him because they thought he was ugly! As Charlie changed into a beautiful butterfly over the winter all the other animals wanted to play with him now that he was “pretty” and “cool!” Charlie used this opportunity to teach the other animals about the true meaning of friendship. The Brand New Kid by Katie Couric another favorite of mine also teaches a valuable lesson in the form of a picture book. This story is about differences and tolerance @ the level of children and young adults. Amazing! And one more or else I will never stop! Mr. Peabody’s Apples by Madonna (yes, that Madonna); which I think might be a retelling of a story from the late 1940’s! The story talks about how rumors and gossip can cause irreversible damage and teaches students (and adults) how one must select words and actions carefully since once they are spoken, they can’t be taken back!
I loved The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I had an elementary school teacher who would read to us for a few minutes a day after recess. I’ll bet all those sweaty little bodies gave off quite an “aroma!” I’m thankful for those memories.
My favorite childhood book is The Littlest Angel. I have it in 3 different versions/editions. It is a wonderful story that I have read over and over and especially to my children.
My favorite book from childhood is Little Women – I read and reread it. Also loved Nancy Drew and the Cherry Ames series, oh, and The Bobsey Twins. I also remember fondly The Books of Knowledge. First read To Kill a Mockingbird in eighth grade.
My favorite childhood book was, “Wynken, Blyken, and Nod”. My dad used to “sing” the story to us at night. My kids both loved the book, too, and now we read it to our two-year old grandson. He has a copy here and at his house and he loves it as much as we all did. 🙂
Gayle in Al
My favorite book from childhood was called The Biggest Sandwich Ever. I asked my mother to read it to me so many times that even now (25 years later), she still has it memorized. I tried to buy a copy of it last year but it’s out of print… so disappointing!!
I think it is available at Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com
Jan – you are right – I just looked it up at Amazon and it’s 3.99 and 1 cent shipping
I loved the “B is for Betsy” series. Also, the “Honey Bunch and Norman” series. Oh and “This Room is Mine” and “A Little Ballerina” !
And my most favorite? A Little Princess. I still have that book, 40 years later.
Obviously, my theme seemed to be little girls 🙂
My favorite books were the Nancy Drew series. I checked them all out at the school library and then later my sister got a set for Christmas. It is so thrilling to see them in stores again. I enjoyed the mystery involved in the books and finding the answers at the end.
My favorite book as a kid “The Giant Jam Sandwich”
My favorite childhood book is the Velveteen Rabbit AKA How Toys Become Real…I read that book until it’s ears fell off,
“‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.’…’ Real can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”
as a child my favorite books were a set called Uncle Arthur’s bed time stories. One of my favorite stories was about a little girl that wanted to live in the tree tops ‘wif da birdies’ to this day I do that I live in a third story of an apartment building where I can see the birds in the trees
As others have said, I loved Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew but my favorite book was “Are you thre God, It’s me Margaret” by Judy Blume. I remember reading it when I was 12, just like Margaret and felt like the story could have been mine. I read it so many times it fell apart but I did buy a new copy for my 12 year old. She did not love it like I did. I guess it did not speak to her the way it spoke to me.
I read constantly and can still remember the smell of library books from our elementary school. My favorites were the Nancy Drew books. When my girls were little, my mom gave them a copy of the book her fourth grade teacher read aloud from – The Adventures of Uncle Wiggly! They still talk about those stories even though Meagan now reads aloud to her own fourth grade class. Books are timeless. Rest, friend. You deserve it!
My favorite “childhood” book is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Although, I didn’t actual read the book until I went to college (we won’t mention how long ago that was), I have read it many times since and love reading it to my daughter. Such a beautiful story.
Love, Love, LOVE Shell Silverstein………. I still recite the poem “Sick” to my daughter when she is having a slow morning…..
“I cannot go to school today, said little Peggy Ann McKay…”
My favorite book is a book that I have read to my kids so many times that I can read it in my sleep! Now I have also had the pleasure to read it to my beautiful granddaughter!! The book is called The Giant Jam Sandwich and it is the CUTEST book ever!! I hope you are having a wonderful day!!
My favorite book from childhood was “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. I got a worn old copy from the book exchange downtown while I was there with my dad, who was buying and trading old paperbacks. Sometimes he let me pick a book or two out while I was there. I read that book over and over again. I wished that I was along with Huck for all his adventures, even developed sort of a crush on him from reading about him! When I finished the book for the first time, I felt a little like I’d just lost a friend. I read and re-read it countless times, and years later when I was in high school and we were assigned that book to read and do reports on, I didn’t even have to read the book to do the assignment. I knew it all by heart!
I can tell by the comments that most of your readers are far younger than I! Their favorite books are many of the ones we read to our kids, who fortunately have passed their love of reading onto our grandchildren. The Carnegie library in the small Iowa town I lived in growing up was my favorite place to be. Johnny Gruelle of Raggedy Ann and Andy fame, also wrote wonderful stories about fairies with absolutely gorgeous illustrations. Another favorite which had been my mother’s book as a child was called “Eddie Elephant”. Books will never be replaced by a Nook or Kindle in my world!
On another note, glad you are able to some time to yourself, even if it is for that annoying but very necessary colonoscopy. Looking forward to seeing more about the Easter drama.
I loved all the Trixie Belden books, read then over and over and over when I was a young girl. I used to take flashlight to bed and read under the covers until I got caught (o0ps). However, I think my favorite book was one that I read to my daughter when she was a little girl. We must have read Good Night Moon at least ten times a day. When her daughter was born, I gifted her with a copy for her daughter and gave her the one that she and I had read over and over. A precious memory for a precious little girl (who is now a precious big girl)
Honestly, my early reading memories are the Trixie Belden books. One of my daughter’s favorite books as a child was Moses the Kitten by James Herriot. Just this week I dig it out of the storage box of children’s books and read it to her daughter. Also just finished reading The Giver with my 10 year old grandson. So much perspective in that book.
I love THE MITTEN! I read it every winter to my first graders. They LOVE the animals and the pure pleasure of the storyline and pictures. So cute! TIMELESS!
One of my favorite books to read to my grandchildren is “How Much Does God Love Me?” They all love it because of the verse and also because there are a lot of secret flaps to flip up on each page.
My favorite childhood book was Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. I checked it out so much from the library that the librarian would tell me upon arrival if it was checked out or not! I loved that book, the words, and the illustrations were so soothing to me. I loved finding the mouse on each page. And seeing how things changed. It was one of the first books I bought for my children. I need to go dig it up after writing about it! I love children’s literature. It was my favorite class in college, it was an early childhood course I took. I have a collection of children’s books I will not part with!
I love The Velveteen Rabbit, but not during my childhood.
I think the favorite book(s) when I was a child was Ramona and Beasus (sp?) by Beverely Clearly. These two sisters, particularly the youngest one, got in so much trouble! My sister and I loved reading them and went thru the series at the library. I think we read them several times because they were a fun read!!
I too am a HUGE Beverly Cleary fan, and “Ramona the Great” is my all time favorite children’s book. It’s been loads of fun to share the Ramona books with my daughter. Another favorite kids’s author is Judy Bloom…….. I was tickled to watch/listen to my daughter as she read the “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” series. Of all the characters she’s “met” while reading, none made her laugh out loud as much as the infamous Fudge.
I loved all the Uncle Wiggly books when I was a child. Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy and all the characters were wonderful. Now, I love to read to my grandson But No Elephants or I am a Bunny that I read to my girls when they were small – the inside cover has little notes we wrote to our girls when we gave them the books – so nice to have it come full circle.
I am a bunny-my name is Nicholas and I live in a hollow tree? Is that the same one Mary? I read that one to our son over and over – it was his favourite and he had every word memorized! And we read But No Elephants a lot too – it was fun to see both titles in your post 🙂
My most favorite book from childhood was “The Tawny Scrawny Lion”… my dad would have to read it to me every night, and sometimes he would try to change the words, and I would tell him what he had said wrong.
They still sell that Book at Barnes and Noble, and I still have my copy that I read to my girls… Love that story!!!
🙂
My sweet granny from Nashville gave me a book called “A Child’s Garden of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson. My granny passed away many years ago, but somehow I think she realizes that book started my fascination with poetry and prose. I love both, and I’ll always remember the verses in that book with love.
Three books come to mind… however, I can’t honestly say why I liked them so much when I was little.
The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown (which fortunately has been reprinted, so that I can read it to the Preschoolers.) I was probably as naive as the bunny, and had no idea what was going to hatch out of that egg. Nowdays, I love the illustrations.
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf Maybe I identified with Ferdinand being different. or maybe I liked to smell flowers, too. Who knows? Or the picture of his sitting on the bee. I sure know that I DON’T like bull fights.
Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky I had this story on a record, and apparently I LOVED the Little Toot song, and I played the record soooooooo many times, that my brothers finally took the record and broke it.
When I read my own books, my favorites were the Nancy Drew mysteries and Charlotte’s Web.
I’ve ALWAYS loved pigs!!!!!!!!!
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How is Snowy? I have his picture in my hymnal, and he just happened to be on the page of our final Easter hymn, and he was saying something about singing…. a pretty clever doggy!!!
My favorite childhood book is call (I think) My Toys. It starts…’All the toys that I like best, I keep inside my blue toy chest.’ And I don’t remember if it was before or after this book, but my Dad made my sister and I a big blue toy box to keep all of our toys. I’m not sure where it is now (I hope it’s somewhere in a box!) but the last time I saw it, it was being held together by duct tape.
As for today? That’s a tough one! I love authour Karen Kingsbury, so I’d have to say it was her ‘Redemption’ series of 5 books. She is a Christian COntempory author and I LOVE her stories!
Can’t wait to see pictures and/or viseoa of the Easter Drama!!
Blessings,
Krista
Favorite books from childhood..Oh I’ll be here all day! My absolute favorite is The Velveteen Rabbit. (It’s just such a beautiful story). I remember really loving the Serendipity book series too (Leo the Lop, Morgan and Me, etc. They were always about different animals/creatures). I also loved Amelia Bedelia books, Ramona Quimby books, Sweet Valley Twins, etc, etc.
I think my favorite from my childhood was Christie. I am currently reading Karen Kingsbury’s final book of the Bailey Flanigan series, Loving. I love KK. I love reading 🙂
My favorite book is one I’m certain no one else has read…it is Andrew Henry’s Meadow. It was all about a boy who was an inventor, but always seemed to be in trouble for it, so he ran away. He was a misfit who attracted other misfits…they bonded and formed their own little meadow community, until their families found them and brought them back home, welcoming their differences with open arms.
I just bought that book last year. I found the title on a book list and thought it would be great for my kindergarteners. It will be one I read every year. They loved it.
My favorite books from childhood were probably the Trixie Belden mystery books. I had all of them. I also liked the old Nancy Drew mysteries. To this day, I still love a good mystery book, just finished Mary Higgins Clark’s latest one and started her daughter’s (Carol Higgins Clark) latest one.
I have just spent the weekend reading Bloom ~ Finding Joy in the unexpected by Kelle Hampton. It came out on April 5th and I am hating that I only have about 5 pages to finish. It is her story about the birth & journey of her precious Nella who has Downs. This book will make you laugh and cry and make you realize how to choose joy in the tough times. It just flows and Kelle is a photographer (like you Becky) so it is chocked full of photos. My other favorite author is Diane Chamberlain who lives in Raleigh, NC and I’m eagerly awaiting her next book to come out in June.
Have a great day ~ Becky in Wendell, NC
Loved reading Bloom. Kelle’s blog is a must read for me, too.
I agree – her blog is a Must read!
My favorite book was Penny and Pete’s Surprise! They got a new baby in the house. I was always going to name my kids Penny and Pete! But, alas, I have a Jim and a Valery!
The one book I distinctly remember from my childhhood is The Velveten Rabbit. Not sure why I liked it so much (ummmm….probably because it’s been so long ago..????) *Ahem* Anyway, as an adult, I really enjoyed reading The Thorn Birds. For me, it was one of those can’t-put-it-down books. Great story!
My favorite book from childhood is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day. Not sure why it was my favorite but it is. I wish I still had the old version with the brown hard cover. I did get my daughter the newer version in paperback, but it doesn’t have the same feel to it.
Love this book-read it countless times when I was teaching.