I came across this post by Dr Tanya of Salted Caramel and as I loved reading as a child I had to join in. I’m not sure if I can name just five favourite books but let’s see how we go.

Not in any special order:

• “Little Women”, and of course the companion books “Good Wives”, “Little Men” and “Jo’s Boys”.
• “Wind in the Willows”. I still have the tatty paperback copy that I was too young to read myself when it was given to me.
• “The Vine Clad Hill” by Mabel Esther Allan. I mentioned this book in a recent post. I loved it because it was a travel story. Another by the same author that I loved was “Black Forest Summer”.
• “Windmill Hill” by Wyn Brocklebank was a similar type of book about a teenage girl living in Yorkshire
• “Practically Twins” by Viola Rowe, another teen story I read many times.

I still own or have replaced copies of all of the above and a few of the others listed. I’d buy more children’s books that I loved if I had anywhere to put them.

I read a lot of school girl and teen adventure stories. Honourable mentions to “The Chalet School” series by Elinor M Brent Dyer, the “Donna Parker” series by Marcia Martin and also classics such as “Eight Cousins” by Louisa May Alcott, “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, “Heidi” by Joanna Spyri, “Party Frock” by Noel Streatfield, “Pastures of the Blue Crane” by H.F Brimsmead and the “Katy” books by Susan Coolidge,

I could go on. I read a lot of children’s books between the ages of eight and fourteen when mum started to let me read her books which were mostly romances. I was a regular visitor to the local library as well as our school library and read a lot of other types of books. I remember going through a phase of reading myths and legends of Scotland and Ireland which were surprisingly gory for the children’s library. I wonder if the librarians knew.