I went through period of finding Narnia allegories too much to take, but am currently fascinated by the books again - particularly Lewis's imagination when he is just doing straight adventure, like the Voyage of the Dawn Treader or the Silver Chair - also how much better drawn his weak or flawed characters are than the good ones (e.g. Edmund in the first book and Eustace in the Dawn Treader) - realised recently that while of course as a child reading the books one imagines oneself as heroic Peter or Lucy, in fact I might have been far more like Eustace in those situations - decided my task for the year was to embrace my inner Eustace!
Haven't been able to read LOTR since being a teenager - just don't have the patience - but recently reread The Hobbit and think it's much under-rated - very good adventure tale.

I loved The Hobbit. I read that when I was ten, and raced for the Lord of the Rings trilogy after, and could never get into it. So I remain a Hobbit fan and have still not read LOTR.

Rupert Bear, I think was what I can remember reading, and still would if I could get them because apart from some other things they were about the fantastical.
The first story, (an essay thing for school), I remember writing, was a horror story set on a moor, my teacher looked at me in a different way after that so I didn't do that type of thing again.
Becca.

Agghhh--the Lord of the Rings! I spent one long summer working on a book about those books, and drove myself up the wall with it. I can't read any of them now, all I remember is sitting in a stuffy room trawling through Tolkien books with a Pritt Stick in my hand (!).

Mostly I read the Enid Blyton titles, of course; the Narnia ones; and lots of pony stories, several of which were written by a woman called something Pullein-Thompson, I think.

My favourite books, though, were Three Little Funny Ones, which was the first book I ever read on my own; and Little Grey Men, by BB, which is the first time I ever read something which kept me turning the pages. I loved that book! I bought it recently and read it again, and now my son is reading it. I like that.

I did read Alan Garner but don't remember being particularly entranced; but having read Brisingamen and the Owl Service again very recently, I can't understand why--they are really very good.

Jane,
'Little Grey Men,'.. interesting title for a child's book. Were they mice? Or extraterrestrials? Would Rupert have stumbled across them accidently when he was out with his piggy or badger friend?
Becca.

Becca, the little grey men were not distant relatives of John Major: they were gnomes, who lived on a riverbank. One of them had a false leg, and they all had long white beards. They talked a lot to the animals, and spent a lot of time fishing and keeping their house (under an oak tree) nice and tidy. They built a coracle, and had a long and odd adventure upstream, and all lived happily ever after, I am pleased to report. When I re-read it recently it seemed very dated, and a bit days-of-the-raj-like in tone, but I still liked it enourmously. Don't know what Thomas will think of it--he's 9, terribly cool, and far more used to Horrid Henry--but he has it in his reading pile and is very kind to his Mother, so he is bound to say something nice!

Does he read R. Bear?
Becca.

No-one's mentioned The Phantom Tollbooth!! There must be some more fan's out there; it's one of the funniest, most imaginative kids' books ever.


Mike

<Added>

Eek! How did that apostrophe get in there. Blush!



;) Mike

I LOVED The Phantom Tollbooth. I was so excited when I bought it for my daughter - she was very little - I'd read it to her every night and she'd push my chin to wake me up every few minutes - trials of single parenting and working full-time. I also re-read Chronicles of Narnia in the same fashion, with my daughter jogging me from sleep every few minutes.

Is anyone here familiar with Natalie Babbitt, an American author? (Tuck Everlasting, Kneeknock Rise, Search for Delicious - among others.) I loved her stories, too. Re-read them the same way with same daughter jogging same chin.

Ani

How could I have forgotten to mention The Phantom Tollbooth? Yes, completely brilliant. If I go and stand in front of shelves where my children's books are, there will be many more I've left out - Eleanor Farjeon anyone? Or John Masefield's The Box of Delights?

VM - the Masefield books are wonderful. Though not strictly a children's book, have you ever read Jimbo by Algernon Blackwood, an astonishing novel about a young boy 'at death's door' having a fairly protracted out of body experience?


Mike

No I haven't but will look out for it.

What about the Gospels? The Crucifixion was my way favourite story when I was about 4 (I could read a bit, but I suppose I heard most of it in church). I thought it was something that happened every year in 'real time' - Jesus got nailed up without fail. I remember being disappointed when I found out this wasn't the case, it was a commemoration like Christmas. The magic drained out of religion for me at that point. But I still read the Gospels from time to time.

Joe

Joe, when I was about nine, my favourite story, which I'd picked up at Sunday school, was about Jezebel being thrown out of the window and being eaten by dogs until only the palms of her hands remained. It certainly got my imagination fired up, just as similar teaching apparently worked for the Bronte Sisters.

Adele.

Adele - thanks for the Jezebel information. I love the detail about 'only the palms of the hands remaining' - why palms, I wonder, it's not an obvious body part (not even a part really)- maybe it's to do with leaving her fate visible (but being eaten by dogs is pretty visible I would think, it's the sort of thing I'd notice in my street, even encourage with regard to certain neighbours). Do the palms of the hands show not just your fate, but how you got there? Must get my Good Book out later and explore (and it is Sunday).

And the Brontes - their pappy was a vicar, wasn't he, so what with him and living on top of a graveyard (did they?) they had a good start in accumulating that ol' 'childhood capital'. A funny thing about me and 'Wuthering Heights' . Every time I read it, I stop about fifty pages from the end, then leave it for ages and have to start again from the beginning. I first began reading it in 1976 and haven't finished it yet ... one day.
Joe