Prompted by the eventual arrival of builders and new upstairs windows , the clear up continues . Youngest daughter appeared for the weekend and joined in .
She felt that , now she's 28 , there was no real harm in getting rid of a few childhood books . Not her favourites , of which there are many , or her older sisters' books which had been passed on , but certainly the loads of teenage pulp fiction stacked knee high in corners .
An astonishing 50 Nancy Drews
and dozens and dozens of Sweet Valley High which look now highly undesirable reading at any age ! Fortunately "Two Boy Weekend ", "Jealous Lies "and "Spring Fever "don't seem to have done any lasting damage !
The BabySitter Club and lots of Judy Blume were hoofed out . Laura Ingalls Wilders were stacked to be given to the only local child likely to read them in English .
An eclectic but fairly girlie variety survived the cull . Noel Streatfield , The Chalet School books , Philippa Pearce , Paula Danziger , my mother's favourite Angela Brazil , Rumer Godden , Heidi , Dick King-Smith , Quentin Blake's Mr Magnolia .......
But she left , perusing The Persephone Catalogue . Those shelves aren't destined to stay empty for long , I feel .
Which were your favourite childhood books ? Mine were The Borrowers , An Episode Of Sparrows and something that may have been called Mossy Green Theatre ........ but there were so many !
10 comments:
What a great collection of imaginative titles. Although I suspect such gems as 'Double Love', 'Promises' and 'Two Boy Weekend' had a slightly different intent than current interpretations... Love the designs as well.
W
Oh, it's so hard to get rid of books! As a voracious reader (even cereal packets would do at a pinch!)I have too many childhood favourites to name one, but The Borrowers were wonderful, as were The Moomins; perfect vehicles for a child's imagination.
Thank you for your comment too. I think you were absolutely right.
Oh Enid Blyton or me, hands down. Can't go past the Wishing Chair or The Magic Faraway Tree.
You do realise that now there's been a clear out, there will be some obtuse but urgent requirement to get your hands on fifty of Nancy Drew's finest?
Yes , I'm being reckless !
My faves were definately the Narnia series and then there was Tin Tin and the Secret Seven ... Judy Blume got a work out in my Teens - and if the planets aligned and the book gods shined on me - I was allowed to borrow my Sister's Trixie Beldons!
My guilty secret is that I still have my Nancy Drew books ... and SVH! They are safely tucked away while Enid Blyton sits proudly on the bookcase.
I was thinking of having a mass book purge only yesterday.. how serendipitous!
I couldn't possibly narrow my favourite book to just one.. there were so many ..
I adored the Famous Five series, Anne of Green Gables, The Treasure Seekers.. so very many to choose from.
Michele x
Enid Blyton, Noel Streatfield, E Nesbit, I could go on and on! I'd forgotten Sweet Valley High and the Babysitter Club. My daughter is 29, I think she read every one, (much to my despair at the time) but it hasn't done her any noticeable damage! I hate getting rid of books, but it's the only excuse to buy more!
Oh The Chalet School! I'd forgotten how much I loved that, along with Little House on the Prairie, Swallows and Amazons, Anne of Green Gables and the Billabong series (probably unknown outside Australia).... I'm actually looking forward to reading these all the second time around.
For me it would be Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers series, Heidi, Black Beauty, and the Katy books.....Might as well ask me to cut off my arm as get rid of those!
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