World Book Day is upon us again, which means I’ve teamed up with a group of UKYA Book Bloggers to celebrate our love of reading in the best way we know how – by blogging about it. So here’s a look back at some of the books that shaped my childhood from being a tiny bean to an 18-year-old teen.
If you’re following along with this little blog campaign, before me in the bloggers participating was Kate from Reading Through Infinity.
I’ve always been a reader, my mum would read to me as a child and then when I could take over myself, which was right in the middle of reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, then I started to read each night on my own. Reading is a right of passage, it’s an open doorway to adventure, it allows you to say hey, I like this and I’m going to read about it!
Bunchy, Joyce Lankester Brisley
Bunchy is a little girl who lives with her grandma in a cottage in the country and often needs to find the means to entertain herself. I love this book, it is filled with different chapters of Bunchy’s adventures from making paper dolls to setting up a shop in her Grandma’s garden. The creativity and quaintness of this book is what makes it truly brilliant, I will never forget Bunchy.
The Magic Faraway Tree Series, Enid Blyton
I don’t think I can ever write a blog post about childhood favourites without mentioning Enid Blyton’s books. She has written so many magical adventures, but this series about children who discover magical lands at the top of a tree is just the best. I adored this as a kid and honestly still now it captivates me. It feels like pure magic and exactly what you want from a children’s book. From a young age, this series helped me form a love for reading.
Malory Towers Series, Enid Blyton
The Malory Towers series was about a naughty girl going to boarding school and it was such a coming of age book series, following her all throughout her school years. I felt a real connection to the main character and really wanted her to succeed. At the point I was reading these, the whole series was out so there wasn’t a painful wait for the next one like Harry Potter, meaning I could zoom right through Darrell’s school years.
Triskellion Series, Will Peterson
This trilogy was the perfect mix of action and adventure along with solving clues alongside the twins who are the main characters in these books. From what I remember of these books, they were jam-packed with excitement, danger and were filled with clever nods to archaeology and history. I associate this book with a time in my childhood where I would read non-stop, especially throughout the summer holidays and was always in a bookshop!
Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling
Of course, Harry Potter contributed to my formative years of reading, with the first book coming out in 1997. I didn’t start to read these books for a few more years when my mum and I would sit together each night and dive into another tale of Harry’s time at Hogwarts. I’m very glad I was able to grow up with these books (and the films), I can still remember the excitement of a new one coming out and hearing how fast people had read it.
Before I Die, Jenny Downham
I will always remember being utterly obsessed with this book for so many reasons. It talked about things I’d never read about before, cancer, sex, divorce, death. It fascinated me in some bizarre way that I still can’t really place. I think I was around 12/13 when I read it and I remember reading the sex part again and again because I’d never really read anything like it before, for that reason, this book will always stick with me as a memorable read from my childhood.
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
I distinctly remember hearing how much everyone loved this series when I was in Sixth Form. It took my school by storm so I thought I’d see what all the fuss was about. Queue me becoming completely obsessed and finishing the series in a week or so, not before being spoiled for the ending of the last book though. This was the first proper YA I read where I clicked that this genre was not a niche and there were more books like this I could enjoy.
I’m going to need to stop writing now before I end up to just turning this into a letter to my childhood self. I love reading now, so, so much, but there was something about reading as a child that feels like a special thing I won’t ever get back. As a kid anything can happen, you don’t have as much fear or logic, the realms of possibility can be more easily bent. I’m so glad I’ve been able to enjoy books my whole life and I’m glad to be involved in the celebrations today for World Book Day.
For the next blog post from fellow UKYA Bloggers, head over to Ben’s blog, Books With Ben.
ive literally never heard of the triskillon series or bunchy!! glad to hear about them now tho 😀
A few I’ve never heard of here. I always feel like I missed out on something by never reading Enid Blyton! Great picture too!
You were so cute Beth!!! 😉 I loved that reading as a child allowed me to envision and imagine the settings of the places I was reading about, what characters looked like, and all the rest. I’ve found that as time has gone on, and even when I read newer books, I have some solid, imagination foundations that carry through all that I read!