*Screeches with nostalgia* I can't remember what the first book I read was, but I remember spending hour after hour in my hometown's library as a kid and devouring all the Goosebumps books they had.
The first books I read for pleasure were probably by Enid Blyton I would think from the Naughty Amelia Jane or Magic Faraway Tree series. I had learned to read using the "Village with three corners" series of books Roger Red-hat and Jennifer Yellow-hat and friends.
Well, I suppose it was probably the Bible or some creed or parable. But, ignoring indoctrination, it was 'Danny, the Champion of the World', and then 'the BFG'. Roald Dahl and Aesop were early reads.
I don't know the first book I read, but the first book I ever enjoyed was the first Percy Jackson book, which I read in third grade.
This is the first book for which I can remember the title. I remember it because I still have the actual same copy I had as a child, not a replacement copy. Suffice to say, YA was a very different creature in the late 70's. (Maybe this book is more MG by today's standards)
I remember that among the first books I read as a child were simply called Read with Me! They featured fraternal twins and a dog named Sam (it was amusing because he shared the babe with a dog my grandparents had) and they grew more complicated as they passed. There were 16 books in all but they were thin. There was one named Pear tree farm. I also had two stories in one volume of the Mice of Brambly Hedge too. I also remember a book that had interactive elements that was about good manners.
I don't remember. There must have been simple books with lots of pictures. Among the first text books were Pippi långstrump, Astrid Lindgren. The first book I read in English was South by Java Head, Alistair MacLean. I was thirteen and it took more than a month to read it.
I really have no idea what any of the first books I read were titled. I do however recall the first two books I read that grabbed my imagination... Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a picture book of, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.
The first book I remember encountering was The Poky Little Puppy in the Golden Book series. but I don't suppose that counts. But the first book that stuck with me was a children's book called Half Magic by one Edward Eager. There were others in the series, but this was the first, and by far the best. And I read all the Doctor Seuss books I could get my hands on.
This is a loaded question lol! First book I ever remember reading (and struggling through!) was a children's book on George Washington when I was in either kindergarten or 2nd grade (the thing is, I dont remember how old I was or the grade, I remember where I was living at the time. My dad was in the military so before we'd move to a different location, we'd move in with my grandparents so my brother and I could finish school before we moved... So I remember living at my grandparents house during the time I was struggling to read). First book (that i remember) reading on my own that was not required reading was A Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. I'm pretty sure I've read plenty books before that, because I remember reading Goosebumps, Bunnicula, and the Dear America series but I dont remember the order. I also remember reading a lot of Sharon Creech's books. I'd go to the library after school to wait for my parents to get off work, and I read a lot there too.
The first books I ever read were some kindergarten reading books featuring characters like Matt the Rat and Mitt the Monkey. They were staple-bound, with yellow paper covers, and had simple black and white illustrations inside along with the basic 1970s instructional reading style: Early books I remember reading were the Chronicles of Narnia, The Gammage Cup, The Phantom Tollbooth, a slew of Choose Your Own Adventure books, and when I was in probably second or third grade, I read every book the elementary school library had on the pirates. When I was six or so, my parents signed the papers to allow me full access to the public library, they just had to double-check the books I wanted to get each week. My dad's a voracious reader, we have sacks and sacks of paperbacks in the garage that he's read but can't bring himself to take to the used bookstore. The mice appreciate them almost as much as I did back in the day....
The first genuine book I ever read, not like Cat in the Hat or something, was WAAAAY the fuck back in the day...but yes I recall it vividly, it was, Warsprite, by Jefferson P. Swycaffer. I bought it at a King Dollar in the now decimated Northland Mall in Southfield, MI in the distant age of 1998. Christ I miss the 90's...
20.000 Leguas de Viaje Submarino (Jules Verne) I loved it. But this was the Spanish one. I remember: French: Les Troi Mousquetaires (Alexandre Dumas) English: The Portrait of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) Portuguese: Harry Potter e a Pedra Filosofal (J.K. Rowling) German: Das boot (Don't remember the author)
The first book I remember reading was Richard Scarry's "bussy bussy world" (I didn't read that well at that age...) I am AMAZED to see that it is still available - I LOVED that book!!
I know I was reading by myself before I got to kindergarten in 1954, but I certainly can't remember 'the first book.' I had a huge collection of Little Golden Books, which I read till many of them fell apart. My first Dr Seuss was Horton Hears a Who, and it was in a compilation book of some kind. I remember the pages were very rough, like newsprint a bit. I loved Horton! I also read all of the Thornton W Burgess books about the animals who lived in the forest ...they all had names. Lightfoot the Deer, etc. I loved fairy tales of all sorts, and had lots of books with fairy tales in them. Basically, as a kid, I read everything I could get my hands on. Nothing much has changed! Just had a bit of a nostalgia-fest on Google. I had all of these editions. Just seeing the pictures brought back how much I loved these books!
