That makes sense to me because familiarity in langauge and visuals can be a great motivator for reading. I don't like Dickens and even less his style because of the misery he manages to bring out in every character and situations. I particularly do not like the way he portrays children.
Harry potter and Lord of the rings were probably my favourite childhood reads. I've been a fantasy fan from the beginning
There are a lot of books that I remember fondly from when I was a kid (of course, at 27, I'm still pretty much a kid in grown-up clothes...). Alice in Wonderland (and Through the Looking Glass), the Wizard of Oz series, a series that I can't remember but had awesome illustrations and featured time travel and a stereoscope, The Shining scared the crap out of me at 12 (I had a hard time going into the bathroom without looking behind the shower curtain for months)... but I think the book that really affected me the most was "Where the Red Fern Grows". I've probably only read it twice, but both times I wept like a baby at the ending, even when I was prepared for it. I'm not sure that there's any book that's affected me that much, before or since. If you've never read it, I highly recommend that you check it out.
I don't remember reading any kids' books until I discovered science fiction. My older sister taught me to read, and almost immediately I found my Dad's copy of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and promptly devoured it. My young mind was officially blown. I started reading Verne, Wells, Clarke, Asimov, and Heinlein obsessively, and among those books were the juvenile novels of Clarke (Islands in the Sky, Dolphin Island) and Heinlein (Rocket Ship Galileo, Red Planet, Have Space Suit Will Travel, etc.). But I didn't draw much distinction between the novels that were for kids and those that were for adults. I found my Dad's Aldous Huxley novels, and they led to everything else in his bookshelves. I was a readin' fool as a preteen.
You bring up a good point for me... when I rescued my dad's Ray Bradbury books from a garage sale, I fell in love... His short stories definitely planted seeds for a lot of my current opinions and viewpoints. ETA: see: my username and avatar.
wow TheIllsutratedMan I am not aware of the book and I shall look it up. what did you upset/weep so much?
LOl...chico I shall look it up and come back with a guess to why you got upset. Then you may confirm or not is a fair deal hehe.. Oh by the way who is the painting by in your avatar?
From a quick google search, I find that the artist is unknown. It's the cover of one of the editions of Ray Bradbury's short story collection The Illustrated Man. Also a wonderful read, if you get the chance to check it out.
Hey thanks for that. I did look up the book and yes it is alarming for a child. It said it is recommended to be read to for 4grade pupils. What is the equivalent of 4grade in the UK?
A teacher read that book to us in elementary school. At the end I think the whole class was in tears (including the teacher).
You and me both! My mother loved (still loves) books for younger children, the kind with large pages and illustrations, so I read a lot of these growing up. Dr. Suess, of course; and one called "The Little House", about urban sprawl; "Make Way for Duckings", a classic for Boston kids, as was "Mr. Brown Goes to Boston"; I loved the Christmas story, "Mr. Willoughby's Christmas Tree"; the "Madeline" stories; "Curious George" and "Lyle the Alligator"; and so many more. Then it was the E.B. White classics: Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan. Any heart-breaking animal story. The Yearling absolutely destroyed me! I also loved Twain and "A Wrinkle In Time" by Madeleine L'Engle. My parents had a lot of Ogden Nash verse books around the house and I loved them, too.
The Chronicles of Narnia, BFG, Where the Red Fern Grows (That was sooo sad), Charlotte's Web (I cried at the end of that one), Nancy Drew, Anne Of Green Gables ( I read and reread the whole series), Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit , Harry Potter, White Fang, Call of the Wild, Around the World in Eighty Days, and many others. We had a large array of books in my house and we made almost weekly stops at the bookstore when I was little. We also got a lot of books from my grandmother who used to teach high school literature.
