Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.
This Week’s Theme:
Top Ten Books I’d Love To
Revisit From My Childhood
Initial Thoughts:
This topic is a tough one because I didn’t read all too much as a kid in elementary school (kindergarten-8) aside from library/computer class. So I gotta take a pickaxe to my brain to dig up some of these nostalgic gems; of which I’ll divide into picture books and book-report reads.
All images link to their respective Goodreads.
Picture Books
The Giving Tree
This book was read to me by the librarian and I guess I just took the meaning for granted. Now when I think of it, there’s so much more nuance in the theme toward a darker meaning. I guess that just comes with experience haha.
I Spy – Jean Marzollo
This was a hot commodity during library period. There were only a few copies with so many of us. Sometimes we worked together to find the associated riddle and other times it was every kid to themselves.
Each Peach Pear Plum – Janet Ahlberg, Allen Ahlberg
Nursery rhymes!
Each Peach Pear Plum, I spy Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb in the Cupboard, I spy Mother Hubbard
Mother Hubbard in the cellar, I spy Cinderella
The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
More like…the very hangry caterpillar, am I right? Seriously though, this little shit is the core blame for any food coma inducing antics in my life. Or all of our lives even.
Clifford the Big Red Dog – Norman Bridwell
Lol this thing. I guess it filled the void of not having any pets join the family in my household until later in life. When I left for University, the family dog stayed with my brother and I do wish to find another pup to join the family (I’m leaning towards a Corgi this time around…). But yes, I am a dog kinda guy (sorry to you swarm of cat lovers out there).
Books Read For Book Reports
But let’s be honest, books were burdensome as a kid and so I seldom did read them from beginning to end. I know for a fact that I skipped chapters and filled in the details myself on at least one of these books. It’s okay though because I still got that stellar report card. That’s all that matters, right?
The Black Cauldron – Lloyd Alexander
This was more than just a book report for me; I remember having to adapt this book into a half-hour play. And let’s just say that the script was too long for our group to present in a limited time-frame. Funny thing is I think we selected this book without having read the first one in the series (well…now I know it’s a series. Fail.)
Code Red at the Supermall – Eric Wilson
This book just reinforced why I want to visit the West Edmonton Mall. Seriously, why can’t there be malls here in Toronto with a waterpark and rollercoasters and basically everything?
Goosebumps – R.L. Stine
I only read a few of these and then the television shows became more accessible to me. Not gonna lie: pretty creepy stuff to watch as a kid. Like that one where the dad was a plant? That certainly didn’t promote eating your leafy greens as a kid.
The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton
I remember having the most feels with this read; a class study book culminated with watching the movie. Now that I think about it, perhaps this was the first book that I discovered the lovely thing called feels.
The BFG – Roald Dahl
Let’s just say that when I first read this book, I didn’t think of it as The Big “Friendly” Giant...my interpretation was cruder. Doesn’t even take a genius to ponder what I imagined the F to stand for LOL…ten points if you can imagine it! And if I remember correctly, I think I read more of Dahl’s works than any of Seuss’ books. So props to him.
Afterthoughts:
Other notable reads as a kid was probably them Chicken Soup for the Soul short story compilations, Animorphs, and The Boxcar Children. But in the end, I guess the question I need to ask is: would I revisit any of these? Probably not. Maybe if I happen to stumble over the picture books at the library I’ll have a gander into it again but I hardly ever visit libraries to begin with unless there’s a scheduled book sale…
Are there any books you read in elementary school that you enjoyed writing a book report for (if that’s even possible?)
Cheers,
Joey
thoughts and afterthoughts. 
R L Stine was my favorite as a kid, although I never read the Goosebump books, it was always Fear Street. I have him to thank for my love of suspense novels today. I had never read The Giving Tree until recently when I checked it out of the library for my daughter. I can see why it’s popular, she really liked it.
I remember having to do a book report on The Outsiders. I hated forced reading in school, and that made me dislike that book.
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If/when you read The Giving Tree with your daughter, did you take a cynical perspective in looking at the story being about an abusive relationship? Just wondering.
Yeah, 75% of the books I was forced to read for schooling purposes I ended up disliking but The Outsiders was a gem in the rough! But glad to hear someone else had to study that in school (and in the States to boot).
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Goosebumps and Roald Dahl books were my favourite! ❤
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They’re definitely both trump experiences as a child; in book or tv/film form!
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The Outsiders made my list too. I went through a stage where I loved books that made me cry (the feels, indeed) and I read and re-read The Outsiders SO much!
My TTT:
https://abibliophilesstyle.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/ttt-childhood-favorites-to-re-read/
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Sometimes the best books are those that give you the most feels (actually, part of me really does believe this!). I might be due for a re-read of The Outsiders as it’s been a looooong time since I’ve experienced it.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar, forgot about that one. Goosebumps and Roald Dahl, hell yeah! Great list dude, love the blog. New follower. Peace.
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Haha, this week was definitely a treasure trove of uncovering what I enjoyed way way back! (Although it kind of makes me feel rather ancient now.)
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Is is bad that I got hungry every time I read The very hungry caterpillar? Also, I think I am THE ONLY PERSON who didn’t read The Giving Tree as a child!
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I didn’t read The Giving Tree either!
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You should both have a gander at The Giving Tree! I’d love to hear your thoughts on it having read the book as an adult-ish and not in eyes of a child (WHERE THERE IS NO EVIL!?!)
But seriously though, someone ought to write The Very Hangry Caterpillar who terrorizes other bugs because it ain’t got no food available. I mean, what kinda person gives free salami out like that? Or pie. Or Cake. C’mon dude…
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I loved reading The BFG, what an awesome book!!
Here’s a link to my TTT post for this week: http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2015/03/top-10-books-from-my-childhood-or-teen.html
Happy reading!!
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It certainly is! Thanks for dropping by!
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OMG – how could I have forgotten Roald Dahl! Thanks for the reminder and great list.
Lynn 😀
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I definitely couldn’t forget the man who gave life to my childhood nightmares. Damn that Roald Dahl fella!
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Ah, Goosebumps, how you provided me with a way to scare my little brother. I will be forever grateful. R.L. Stine was everywhere though. You weren’t cool unless you read/watched his work.
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Ahhh between Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark–solid childhood right there (and thankfully helped increase my tolerance for horror-ish content).
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Agreed. I loved both shows and don’t mind horror stories these days.
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I almost put the BFG on my list too! When I was younger, I thought it was Big Fat Giant, but I get where you were going with that title! Great list. 🙂
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Haha I think I have the Doom/Quake video game to blame for my skewing of the name since there’s a gun called the BFG! And I’m sure you could very well figure out what it stands for…
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I’ve never read an R.L. Stein book! Goosebumps freaked me out as a child haha. I did love Clifford and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, though.
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I think a lot of childhood horrors zipped by my head that I might not have even noticed the potential scare factor in them! I would totally re-watch episodes of Goosebumps now if I could live through the 90s video quality…ergghhhh.
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Oh my goodness, I absolutely LOVED the BFG when I was younger!! I’ve never heard anyone else mention it in the book blogging world, but I’m glad I’m not the only one who remembers it! You have some great throwbacks on hear- I Spy, Clifford, The Very Hungry Caterpillar… oh, the nostalgia!
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I’m surprised so many lists had The BFG this week! More-so than Matilda and Chocolate Factory (among others).
I think I’d definitely be able to amuse myself with I Spy books even now–some of them were tricky!
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Eat your veggies, Joey.
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The only vegetable I’ll be hesitant to eat is okra. Anything else, I’ll devour!
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I’m not going to lie, I had to google that.
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The more you know *rainbow star*.
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I love The BFG! It seems to be one of the lesser known Dahl books, but I think it’s awesome. I love that you included The Very Hungry Caterpillar. My kids and I never got tired of that one. Great list!
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It’s odd to think that The BFG was a lesser known Dahl work when I’ve seen so many lists this week waving BFG as a nostalgic throwback! I should have listed James and the Giant Peach instead haha.
I’m missing some of the morals of TVH Caterpillar… I mean, I’ve gone full on foodie mode but I’m still no butterfly!
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The Giving Tree makes me angry. That poor tree! I do love Dahl’s sense of humor, though.
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Now were your thoughts on The Giving Tree something of recent or when you were a child?
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I think a combination of both. All I really recall is not liking it as a child. I’m not positive the reasons are the same as why I dislike it now, but they were likely similar.
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Ah, that’s fair.
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I honestly don’t remember ever having to do those in Ukraine but I would have likely loved it.
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Even though I enjoy writing reviews now, I think younger-me would still dislike writing them haha. Oh the times have changed since I found to enjoy complaining about random things in novels haha.
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I saw the Goosebumps books on so many lists yesterday! I definitely want to reread them now that I’m older. I feel like that would be a lot of fun. Also, totally agree about The Giving Tree. I reread it when I started working at my library, and holy crap, that’s some horrible stuff.
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Part of me thinks if I read Goosebumps now, I’d be able to fully enjoy the horror that may or may not have went over my head as a child. Or I should just have a taste at re-watching episodes of Goosebumps (which I actually skimmed prior to writing this list haha).
And yeah, The Giving Tree in the eyes of life experience…yikes!
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THE OUTSIDERS! Oh man, I loved this book hard. I really need to revisit it!
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Haha yes! So many memories attached to The Outsiders; especially if you grew up studying the book. Then, it was more than just a quick read through!
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I loved I Spy! Honestly I still love it to this very day!
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Me too! I’m sure today-me would still find some of them pretty difficult (but a good time-killer for sure).
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Great choices! I remember being obsessed with Each Peach Pear Plum as a kid. The art style in that one is really unique and detailed. And I loved the BFG! Ronald Dahl has such a strange sense of humor, but his stories are memorable and wonderful. (I’m also a big fan of Matilda.)
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