Last week I had a couple of those random twitter experiences that get your mind working. First Susan at Reading Upside Down outed me as the intrepid children’s book sleuth when Rebecca Newman (@_boobook_ ) was hunting for a book she had read as a child. (You can read about how we did here at her blog. ) I do possess mad googling skillz, and was one of those kids who read every book in the library, so this was a labour of love. Susan knew about my fondness for such pursuits when I helped her sister rediscover the Green Knowe series. Like Rebecca, she could only recall certain aspects of the book – a boy called Tolly, ghosts of children and an old mansion. Her description rang a bell, and we were both excited to find the books and reread them.
Then I had a lovely chat with several folks about the Australian childrens’ books Bottersnikes and Gumbles. It was fun to see how many of us Australians (of a certain age) recalled such details about a series that never reached the dizzying heights of renown as Snugglepot & Cuddlepie or Blinky Bill. They obviously made an impact on us in our young reading years.
So here are a few more books from my childhood that I recall with incredible fondness, yet aren’t often listed in the classics that we ensure we set aside for our own children.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit – Judith Kerr
I think I read this as my brother was reading it in his class a year ahead. The story of a young Jewish girl (the author herself) who fled Nazi Germany with her family, it was my first real introduction to the Holocaust and the history of World War 2. Before then Hitler was just a name of a bad guy that sometimes got thrown my way at school because my family came from Germany. Since that first reading at around ten years of age, I have sought out many books on the subject, both fiction and non-fiction. My own daughter has just finished Morris Gleitzman’s beautiful Once and Then, which like When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is told from the perspective of a child.
The Cay – Theodore TaylorI remember the feel and the cover of this book (not the one pictured) quite strongly for some reason. The edition I read seemed quite new – although at the time (around 1982) it was already over twelve years since it’s publication. It’s possible that it just wasn’t one of those books that kids are drawn to, but it has stayed with me, although I haven’t read it since. I remember the cat and the eventual friendship between Phillip and Timothy, and how they looked after eachother when stranded on the Cay.
Island of the Blue Dolphins – Scott O’Dell
I must have been going through a “stranded on an island” phase, because I’m sure I read this around the same time as I read The Cay. Actually, now that I think about it, we may have been doing a theme of that kind in our library lessons that year, and I was always the good girl who read every book! Animals always featured strongly in the books that I loved, and I remember crying as I read about Rontu the dog (wolf?) in this story.
The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
Now here’s a great story, that people just look at me strangely when I tell them about it. I have no idea why it isn’t better known because it is so much fun to read. My brother and I had a copy, which I first read at a very young age, when I was probably too young to understand all the clever puns and wordplays. I read it recently with my ten-year-old son, and he delighted in the story of Milo, who travels through the Phantom Tollbooth to the magical lands of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason.
A Little Bush Maid – Mary Grant Bruce
If one side of my heritage led me to reading holocaust and world war two fiction, the other side has given me a deep and abiding love for stories set in the Australian bush. Although idyllised and very much a product of their time with regards to the representation of aboriginal and chinese Australians (and I understand they have since been edited to change this), the Billabong series of books were captivating stories for a young city girl who thought living on horseback and camping out under the stars was a wonderful life indeed. It was also fun to read classic books with a female protagonist that were still ‘ripping yarns’ and full of adventure.
Do any of these books ring a bell with you? What other less-commonly-known children’s books do you recall from your own childhood? Or do you have a book mystery you’d like me to try and solve?
Bravo, Book Sleuth! I loved The Cay, and The Phantom Tollbooth. I had to read The Phantom Tollbooth just after Bridge to Terabithia for school and they are forever linked in my memory.
It’s funny, but Bridge to Terabithia was not even on my radar until about 10 years ago, when I heard people referring to it as significant in their reading history. Amazing that I could read so much as a kid, and have such a gap!
I loved The Cay and the Little Bush Maid.
A book I Loved as a child was Mandy, by Julie Andrews (the actress). It was the first book i remember reading and loving so much that I thought “I wish I wrote that”. So, I sat down with an old exercise book and wrote my own version of the same story called Tereasa. I still have the one I wrote, and a while back bought a copy of Mandy on ebay. But I haven’t been able to bring myself to reread it in case it is not as wonderful as I remember.
Mandy sounds so familiar now I look it up. Must have read it myself!
I know what you mean about being scared to reread old faves. I have been disappointed by some, and wish I had left them be as they were in my mind.
So you can say Julie Andrews influenced you to write!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Meredith Flynn, Rebecca Newman. Rebecca Newman said: RT @thinkthinkers: New blog: Childhood book memories – some lesser known titles. Plus do you need a book sleuth? http://tinyurl.com/2bqf2y9 [...]
Funny – I was thinking of doing a blog post about just the same thing, the books I loved as a kid that no one else seems to remember.
But I know and have read all of yours!
I also love hunting down what I call ‘book ghosts’ for myself and other people, vaguely remembered plots and characters. Such fun! My post about book ghosts is here if you feel like a read
http://annaryanpunch.blogspot.com/2008/07/finding-ghosts.html
Nice to find your blog (via boobook on Twitter)
“Book ghosts” – love it! Which makes my book sleuthing all the more Scooby Doo-like. Rockin’ on in the Mystery Machine! Ahem.
What I love about finding old books online, is the extra facts that you never knew. Like three of the above were based on true stories, or that When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was written by (and about) the same Judith Kerr who wrote the Mog books that I also adored as a wee one.
And PS. The Green Knowe series are my favourite books ever – I went to the house the books are set in in 2004, a dream come true!
I haven’t read any of them. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in a house with no books. *sigh* I salute your superior net sleuthing skills. I searched for traces of Bec’s mermaid book and found none. Well done. I know where to come for tips now…
I loved The Cay….I remember reading it in Grade 5. I can also remember the first book I read about The Holocaust in primary school. It was called I am David. Has anyone else read it?
I read IAD when I was 12 and it had a profound effect on me. I loved it but at the same time I was horrified for him. The last line of the book gave me shivers. And the image/idea of taking the soap, and the bread. Thanks for jigging that memory, I’m going see if I can find a copy at my library!
There’s a short story that I’ve been trying to find for a while, to no avail. The only trace of it I can find on the internet is a blog entry…by me. So not helpful.
It was about a perfect little girl who never misbehaved and never lost her temper. This level of perfection caught the attention of and annoyed the devil, who became determined to make her lose her temper. He made everything go wrong for her. I especially remember he made her doll fall in the mud and (?) get stepped on by horses. But nothing worked. Eventually the devil hit upon a long-term plan, which worked a treat and made the little-girl-now-woman absolutely furious:
He gave her a perfect husband, a perfect house…and a “fair-to-middling” child.
Love it.
Does this ring any bells with anyone?
Not recalling it. When did you read it first? Was it a kids’ story or in a compendium of short stories. That could be tricky to find.
The whole idea sounds very German to me – they like their dark tales. Check out the Struwwelpeter stories.
It was a kids story in a compilation I think – I wonder if it might have been in one of the coloured Fairy Books. Hmm.