Old Books ... New Lives

With a reading child in the house it was time to pull out some of my favorite childhood books. These were my ultimate favorites from childhood, including the Little House on the Prairie series (can't wait to start reading these aloud) and several Snoppy cartoon books I had long forgotten about (and all read by by 7 year-old between Saturday and Sunday.)

Some books remained in the box as they are hanging by a binding thread. A number of books pulled out were ones I collected when I lived in England and am now excited to share them with my children. After rummaging through the boxes there were neatly displayed in the living room for the kids to find the next day.

I forgot I had these Blue Peter annual books, 5 or 6 total in my collection. Blue Peter is a television show for kids, much like ....? Well, I can't think of any U.S. comparisons. (Just another example of the poor programming, we in the States, are subjected too.) It is a live action show that does a bit of everything, informational and entertainment, for kids. And apparently still popular as they are still on TV after 50+ years. Wow, I wish they scheduled this on BBC America.

OK, so other gems I found was a set of Paddington Bear books. Actually, our kids have already been introduced to Paddington Bear, though they didn't really appreciate the books the first time around(probably a little young and with Dad reading allowed a little boring) until they saw a Paddington video. At that time my oldest got back into the books.

Another group of books were written by Enid Blyton. I have some from The Famous Five, Mystery books and my favorite the Malory Towers and St. Clare's series. The former were pulled out, better suited for a co-ed audience. The later are two series about girl's boarding schools. A topic a 7 year-old boy may not find interesting. However, I'm looking forward to digging into those books again. I loved my original set to pieces and recently acquired a new set of each series, thanks to a business associate of my Dad's. Now, when my daughter becomes a reader she to can enjoy these series, if I don't read these new books to pieces.

I could continue this list for several more paragraphs, however I want to hear from you. What books did you enjoy as a child and are looking forward to (or have already) introducing to your children. Leave a comment. Our household is always looking for new books to add to our reading list.

Our Favorite Books

Life is plugging along here in the Valley. School is in full swing, Wednesday night church activities began tonight, and so the craziness continues. I have lots of blogging topics running through my head, but I've been too busy trying to cross some items off my To Do List (see the right side bar.)

So, here is a list of our family's favorite children's books. These are favorites I will keep for always. Our children will be having children of their own and out will come these books, most likely having seen better days. Most of these books are for the preschooler/toddler set, only because we just ventured into the arena of chapter books and they have yet to stand the test of time (the interest of three children, plus their parents.)
So, without further ado:

1. Anything Sandra Boynton (Her books leave everyone in stitches)
2. If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, and others in the series (Thank you Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond)
3. Sheep in a Shop, and others in the series, by Nancy E. Shaw
4. Olivia (you have to love a pig with moxie)
5. Mr. Men and Little Miss Series (Talk about the test of time, I grew up on this series.)
6. Anything Eric Carle (Love the art work)
7. Daisy Hill Farm Series (Published by Grandreams)

This list is far from complete. We LOVE books in our house. Our book shelves are filled to the book ends with, you guessed it, books. Franklin, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train, Angelina, Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, Berenstain Bears, Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter, Charlie and Lola, .... And that doesn't count the ones stuffed into the kid's nightstands or under their beds.

What are your family's favorite books, and will you provide a little storage space for them? Share by leaving a comment.