For today’s Top 10 I joined up with other blogs and decided to participate in The Broke and the Bookish‘s Top Ten. This week, my top 10:
Top 10 books from my childhood (and teen years) I would love to revisit.
1. Fear Street by R.L. Stine. If you know me at all, you know I don’t ready scary books or watch horror movies. However, this was not the case years ago. I loved reading this stuff, and it all started with the Fear Street series by R.L. Stine. I would come home from the library with stacks of them, and easily read one a day. When I started writing, I studied his pacing and how he ended chapters. I know there are more in the series than I’ve read, but what I have read, I loved.
2. Dollanganger Series by V.C. Andrews. These are the Flowers in the Attic books. I tore these up, as I think many my age did. I can’t say what made the series so appealing to me. I know my mom read them, and that may have had a lot to do with it. I always raided my mom’s books. I had the paperback and thought they were such huge books.
My fav of the series.
3. Casteel Series by V.C. Andrews. This is the series that begins with the book Heaven. After finishing the Dollanganger series, I dove right into this one. I know I read a few of the other series by Andrews, but this and the other were the two I remember most.
4. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Ah, the faded yellow books with red font. The covers of these classic books have been redone numerous times, but these are the ones I remember and bring such great memories. I curled up on the couch often reading these.
5. The Tale of Peter Rabbit and other little tales by Beatrix Potter. I adored these books. I loved Peter Rabbit and all the other animals. This probably is what turned me onto Sylvanian Families. I may have been the only person who collected those! Whenever I see a Beatrix Potter book, it brings me back to being a little girl.
6. Choose Your Own Adventure Books. These books were clever, and a lot of fun. For offering so many ways to finish a book, they were quite short, too. I remember reading these when I was home sick.
7. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. This is one of the first series I probably read. Adventurous and intriguing, these orphans kept me reading. Recommended for all kids!
8. The Fudge Books by Judy Blume. You know these. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Superfudge, Fudge-a-Mania, and Double Fudge. These were fun and great books for kids just getting into chapter books. I loved all of Judy Blume’s books.
9. Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal. I devoured these. I loved the “Special” books, too. They always were a tad longer and took place somewhere special. Is it weird I can still smell the pages of these books? I think the SVH books were the first to actually put me into the story and make me care about the characters. I would love to read these again, but I couldn’t do it on Kindle. I would need the original paperbacks! I read the Sweet Valley Twins, too! (Also, these classic covers are the best. I hate the new ones!)
10. The BabySitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin. Another classic. I discovered these at the library and brought them home weekly, working my way through the series. They didn’t take long to read, and I fell for Logan (like Todd in SVH!). The Club always found themselves in quite the shenanigans they needed a special plan to get out of. I actually have Kristy’s Great Idea on my Kindle, but, again, I think I need the paperbacks and original covers to read these again!
I may be missing some … it’s hard to say. I loved all these books, though, and they helped form my love of reading and, ultimately, writing. What were your favorite series while growing up?