Sunday, September 23, 2007

QoW: Favorite Childhood Books


Too many to name. When I first learned to read, Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree was my book of choice. I remember in the second grade, I was in an accerlerated reader program and we were taken to the library, told to pick a chapter book. I choose the Boxcar Children. I still read it at least once a year. I quickly caught on to the Ramona series, Beverly Cleary was a favorite of mine. I too enjoyed the Secret Garden and Are you there God, It's Me Margaret, and Where the Wild Things Are. But I would have to say of all my favorite childhood books, The Dollhouse Murders was my favorite. I was in the third grade the first time I read it. Another Betty Ren Wright, Christina's Ghost is also foremost on my list. I still have my original copies of both, with the pages falling out, rubber banded and put up. I recently bought newer copies of both from a second hand bookstore, so that I can read them but keep my originals from falling to complete pieces. I loved the mystery and can remember getting so scared that I would have to set it down the feeling it passed and then scoop it back up and start the process all over. I was often too scared to sleep at night. I still love that scared feeling, it's an adrenaline rush. This book fostered my love everything scary that stretched into the Fear Street series as I got older and the Scary Stories Anthologies. I was reading Pet Cemetary by the time I was in fifth grade and then on to other Stephen King and evenutally Anne Rice's vampires. But it all started with The Dollhouse Murders.

5 comments:

Lotheus said...

I was reading King when I was young as well. My mom was and still is a big fan. Does anyone remember Encyclopedia Brown? Now those were good books...

Christine Johnson Books said...

Loth! I totally used to steal those from my brothers and read them - what great books!

Anonymous said...

Yep, Those were great stories!!

Heidi Ayarbe said...

I loved Encyclopedia Brown, too, but I could never figure them out. Frustrating!!

Lotheus said...

And all he needed was just one question! Man those were awesome.