I'm one of the lucky ones - I've loved reading since I was a kid. I have so many friends who tell me that they've only fallen in love with reading since they were an adult, or that they left it for awhile and have come back to it. But I've always loved books and stories, partially due to my parents being avid readers, and partially due to the books I was given. In times of struggle, I go back to these books of my childhood, to the familiar and safe, to see what they can teach me now.
My friend Bre over on Instagram (
@brelikestoread) decided to host a readathon based around childhood favorites, and surprise! She asked me to co-host it with her! So while the majority of the festivities are going to be over on booksta, I thought it would be fun to put together a little blog post of some of my favorites from way back when, just to do some reminiscing. But, if you're interested and you're actually seeing this in time, here's the little graphic I put together for the readathon:
(If you have any questions, feel free to message me on Insta or leave it in a comment here!)
And now, let's get into the faves!
1. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
"then he isn't safe?" said lucy.
"safe?" said mr. beaver; "don't you hear what mrs. beaver tells you?
who said anything about safe? 'course he isn't safe.
but he's good. he's the king, I tell you."
I know, I know, no one saw this coming. xD Narnia is my favorite book series of all time, so it's probably no surprise that I've loved it since I was a little kid. I think I was around 10 when I read the books for the first time, and I read them several times after that. But it's really only since I've been an adult that they truly solidified themselves as my favorite books; there's just so much more to see now that I'm old enough to read fairytales again.
2. Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam,
be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
Technically speaking, Little House in the Big Woods was always my favorite. I grew up on the picture books of these before I graduated up to the full novels. We had the cookbook, the songbook, and several other educational materials surrounding one of my grandmother's all-time favorite series, and this is part of the reason I grew up secretly wishing to be a pioneer (a dream that has since died an abrupt death when I realized that nature hates me and my allergies, lol). Are these books perfect? No. But they hold a lot of memories for me, and that's enough.
3. The Giver Quartet - Lois Lowry
"the worst part of holding the memories is not the pain.
it's the loneliness of it.
memories need to be shared."
We fast forward a few years to this one, which I read for the first time in 8th grade. This was the first book assigned to me by a teacher that wasn't my mom that I actually loved. It's heavy and hard to look at, but it's so powerful. The rest of the series just make it better and better, and they all hold a super special place in my heart now. It was also the start of Lois Lowry becoming one of my favorite authors - "Gossamer" and "Number the Stars" were other faves from her.
4. City of Orphans - Avi
so maks reminds himself that he's not a real hotel employee.
that willa's what's real. she's what's important.
he won't budge.
This was the first book to ever make me cry (that I can remember). Avi was one of my favorite authors when I was 12-or-so, with "Seer of Shadows" and the Crispin books also being faves. But "City of Orphans", man. This book was just right. I checked it out of the library over and over again, until it was steady and familiar and comfortable right when I needed it. And I'm happy to report, as of reading it last year, that it still hits just as hard. It's a beautiful story and more people need to read it, tbh.
5. The Books of Beginning Trilogy - John Stephens
"that's the whole point of life.
to love someone. don't you think?"
Of all the book series I loved as a kid, this is the one I'm the most scared to re-read. I knew these books inside and out. I had whole passages memorized. This was truly the first time I felt like a solo fandom and I'm
so nervous that if I read them again they won't be the same, you know? One of these days I'll muster up my courage and do it. But for now, they sit on my shelves, staring at me. Full of family dynamics, magic, and banter - one of the first books I ever pre-ordered was the third book and I remember staying up until midnight just so I could download it. Wow, I loved these a lot.
6. The Boxcar Children - Gertrude Chandler Warner
one warm night four children stood in front of a bakery.
no one knew them. no one knew where they had come from.
What was special to me about this series was how into it my sister got. Neither of my siblings are big readers, but I would read these books aloud to them when we were little, and eventually, my sister started reading them on her own. She'd check out stacks of them from the library and read them all in the week, which was a thrill for me. I loved them a lot too, don't you worry. They were kind of my first foray into the mystery genre, which I still love and keep coming back to.
7. The 39 Clues - Various Authors
five minutes before she died,
grace cahill changed her will.
This series was my obsession in my early middle school years. Anything that was educational while also being entertaining was my jam (my homeschooler is showing, lol), and these were epic. The idea of a world-wide scavenger hunt that relied on research was like a dream for me, and
dang if these books didn't pack in the feels! Amy and Dan's relationship is still one of my favorites, and I happily sorted myself into Janus as a tween. Who needs Hogwarts houses? If you were a fan, what was your Cahill branch back in the day?
8. The Underland Chronicles - Suzanne Collins
"who says I can't handle it? I can handle it!"
said gregor, clearly not handling it.
Will I ever be over my emotions from this series? No, probably not. After City of Orphans, these were the next books to make me cry (meaning, I full-on sobbed my way through Code of Claw and I feel no shame). I don't know how Suzanne Collins can make me cry over vermin, but here we are. I re-read these not too long ago, and I have to say that not only is this my second-most re-read series after Narnia, it's genuinely one of the best I've ever read. The world building, the character development, it's all just utterly perfect and I'm emotional again just thinking about them.
9. The American Girl Books (but mostly Felicity)
"hello, river," felicity thought. "here I am, back again.
what adventures do you have in store for me this summer?"
I grew up on all the American Girls, but Felicity was my favorite. To be honest, I'm not really sure why? Other than that she was based in Colonial Williamsburg, and that's one of my favorite places in the world. But Felicity herself and I couldn't be more different, so idk, lol. My sister and I watched the movies obsessively, Mom used a study plan based on several of the girls for my history course for a few years, and I had several of the dolls (Felicity included, of course). Many of my fondest childhood memories come from this series, and it still holds a special place in my heart for that.
10. Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
"don't feel bad. I'm usually about to die."
I have several reasons for loving this modern classic of a series. The first time I experienced it, I think I was 12 or 13. A few of our church friends had been really loving it at the time, so my parents decided it would be educational if we read them all together. My dad was one of the best narrators I've ever known, so his reading of the books was absolute perfection. I fell in love with Percy's world, with the characters, with the writing style - basically everything about them, I loved. And I still do. Riordan is one of my favorite authors, and this series is a big reason why. It's so well crafted and so entertaining. Side note, if you haven't listened to the musical,
you need to.
So there we are! 10 books (and series) that I was obsessed with as a kiddo. Do we share any favorites? Will you be joining us for the readathon? Let me know all the things in the comments!
~ Abby
**I don't own the pictures in any of the collages - all images found on Pinterest**
