The telegraph.co.uk have produced a list of 100 must read books for children, of which I have read about 15. Thought it was a good excuse to reminisce on some of the books I grew up with, which suprisingly don’t make it on the list:
The Babysitters Club
Classic teen girl reading, as I followed the adventures of Dawn, Kristy, Mary Anne and co. Each book came from a different character’s point of view, with dilemma’s including Mary Anne and Logan’s relationship, Claudia’s gran dying and Stacey’s diabetes. It’s funny that to me these girls all seemed so grown up, and yet in the book are 11-13 years old.
Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret
An intriguing book about a girl with Jewish and Catholic parents and struggling to find God inbetween these two faith communities. The book includes Margaret’s prayers to God and now, as a Christian, I smile looking back and realising what a big influence it had on me.
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson
Book 1: Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging.
I have never laughed out loud so hard when reading a book. I would have to take breaks in between chapters to allow myself to breathe properly. Georgia is such a brilliantly hilarious character with outlooks on life that are wonderfully original and frustrating. The follow ups: Dancing In My Nuddy Pants, It’s Ok I’m Wearing Really Big Knickers, Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas and many more. I recommend the Wikipedia site which provides ‘Georgia Slang’ and ‘Snog Scale’. Brilliant.
NEWS! A movie shall be coming out in July! Amazing.
Enid Blyton’s Adventure Series
These were the books of my childhood. The Island of Adventure actually fell apart from me reading it so many times. The adventures of Phillip, Lucy-Anne, Dinah and Jack convinced me that every child ate canned tongue and drank ginger beer. Kiki the parrot would provide witty remarks, and Bill the policeman always came to the rescue at just the right moment.
Pride and Prejudice
I read this for my Year 9 English essay and fell in love with every single page. I have read it once a year since then, and I love both the BBC adaptation and the recent movie. This was the beginning of my Jane Austen appreciation and unrealistic romantic views. As I once read, there are too many Wickham’s in this world and not enough Darcy’s.
