My love of reading was fostered at a very early age. One of my very first and fondest memories is of my Dad reading to us at night. As my Dad was a naval officer often away at sea for months at a time, it was extra special when he was home to do this. We would beg for Shadow the Sheepdog, and laugh at the exploits of The Impossible Prefect. We were always disappointed when it was time to sleep.
As a youngster growing up in the 1970’s, these are some of the children’s books I was exposed to when I started reading by myself. There were scores of others from Enid Blyton stories to Nancy Drew, and I loved them all!
Here are 10 favourites that I’ve limited myself to for the purposes of this blog post:
- Bottersnikes and Gumbles by S.A. Wakefield
When I was about seven years old, I remember being allowed to choose a book from a catalogue. This was what I chose and I absolutely adored this fun and original story. These strange imaginary creatures from the Australian Outback that lived on a rubbish dump captivated my imagination – The grumpy Bottersnikes who shrank when they got wet and had to be hung up by their tails to dry. Their counterparts, the giggly Gumbles who were constantly captured by the Bottersnikes to be their servants, and shoved (rather rudely) into jam jars. Such a hoot!
I was thrilled to see that these timeless characters have been resurrected and joined the ranks of the televised. Though I haven’t watched a show myself, (I prefer to have the memories in my head,) here’s a little taste of the modern version from YouTube.
2. The Magic Sea-shell by Margaret J. Baker
This little book is unfortunately out-of-print. It’s a sweet story about three children who discover a magical whelk shell in a boarding house in Brighton.
The shell connects them to a rather grouchy mermaid who is able to grant wishes. Nobody needs wishes more than the Toppling children whose father is missing at sea.
The youngest child, Betsey, leaves her wish until last and this results in a happy ending.
Here is a link to the Amazon page.
3. Worzel Gummidge by Barbara Euphan Todd
This classic tale about Worzel, the magical scarecrow, was first published in 1936! It also made its way to radio and television, and even the stage as a musical! The latest TV adaptation being from 2019.
I still recall being mesmerised when Worzel first entered the children’s home to warm himself by the fire with his tatty clothes, holey umbrella and turnip head!
It was always funny when Worzel would “sulk” and become just a normal scarecrow in his field, leaving the children to sort out his mess.
The scarecrow’s propensity to cause chaos wherever he went added to the many adventures he had with John and Susan.
4. Tasseltip the rabbit books originally created by Dorothy Richards
I had three of the books in the series of six Tasseltip books published by Ladybird. They were sold at the local corner shop, and my Mum bought them for me when we visited.
How I loved the illustrations and the whole natural countryside world created by Sarah Cotton! Tasseltip was also such a kind rabbit, always thinking of others – a role model protagonist. Although Tasseltip was the main character, his friends Robert Rat and Frankie Frog featured strongly in many of the stories and between them would create the mischief needed to drive the stories forward.
Click here to link to this title on Amazon.
5. Paddington Bear books by Michael Bond
Well, who doesn’t love the well meaning but troublesome bear, lover of marmalade (yum, I can relate to this), from deepest, darkest Peru?
Paddington has become an iconic character, a symbol of London, and part of the British culture. It’s no surprise then that the spin-off from Bond’s original book series has been immense. There are two modern movies, TV series, soft toys galore, key rings, you name it all “bearing” Paddington’s image. We also recently visited the Paddington Bear shop at Paddington Station in London, which is the only shop in the world exclusively dedicated to Paddington.
This very polite bear has been a marketer’s dream and I’m sure will continue to appeal to children of all ages for generations to come.
6. The Mr. Men series of books by Roger Hargreaves
What a clever idea to create a host of appealing characters (seems to be never-ending), that showcase the best and worst human traits. The series all started with the endearing Mr. Tickle and, well we know what happened next.
I don’t know why but I always preferred the Mr. Men series to the Little Miss series that came later. Perhaps I’d moved on to more challenging reading material…
I remember choosing Mr. Uppity from a rack of Mr. Men books because I didn’t know what “uppity” meant at the time. Mr Uppity was also a rather curious illustration with his monocle and top hat.
A fantastic book series that has stood the test of time.
7. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
A spectacular story, hopefully also enjoyed by those with arachnophobia. This was one of my classroom reads at Junior School and it had a big impact on me.
The story of a spider saving a young pig from slaughter is perhaps not your usual formula for children’s book success, and ironically would probably be rejected by most publisher’s today.
However, I fell in love with both Wilbur and Charlotte and remember crying copiously when Charlotte died. “You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
This classic masterpiece has also enjoyed more modern success as a movie both in 1973 and 2006, but I still love the book the best.
8. The Wombles by Elizabeth Beresford
Perhaps this is one time where I actually remember the stop-animation TV series better than the book series. I think it’s because of the wonderful music that accompanied it, namely, The Wombles of Wimbledon Common and Remember you’re a Womble!
Regardless, these burrow-dwelling characters were a delightful part of my childhood. Uncle Bulgaria, the newspaper-reading, Tartan-wearing, wise old Womble, Wellington, clever and shy, the ever-hungry Orinoco, the ‘I’ll fix anything’ character, Tobermory… They were all delightful!
The Wombles’ job of recycling rubbish found on Wimbledon Common was also way ahead of its time. We’ve learnt so much about climate change, reuse and recycling in recent years but the Wombles, it seems, were way ahead of the curve.
9. The Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan by Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter books are a no-brainer for me because I love animals. As a child I also loved the charming watercolour illustrations (I still do).
This particular tale is not one of Beatrix’s famous ones. My younger self had no idea what a patty-pan was and I must confess that I’ve never used a patty-pan to this day – maybe one day I’ll acquire one from Le Creuset!
My copy of this story had a pretty little dog carrying a basket of flowers as the dust-jacket. This story is a refreshing alternative to the ubiquitous Peter Rabbit.
10. The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley
This story was already a classic when I was a child. My father ordered a series of the classics for us to read as children, (I think from Readers Digest). My Dad never lost his love of ordering things via mail order.
Other classics in the series were Black Beauty, Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, but The Water-Babies was my favourite.
Tom the chimney sweep’s rebirth as a water-baby in this didactic fable is not very politically correct nowadays. However, elements of the original story are still being adapted into modern interpretations.
So those are my top 10! I’m pleased to say that the joy of children’s books has been extended for me into adulthood with the birth of my child. I now have many modern favourites as well – The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, How to Train Your Dragon, Harry Potter – too many to mention.
Please share your favourite children’s books with me by commenting on this post. I’d love to hear from you.
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