Peter Rabbit. The alliteration and singsong, lyrical narrative quickly made it the first book I actually read out loud as a mere toddler, and began my love affair for books ever after.

Anything by Judy Bloom. I remember my mom walking me to the library almost every day after picking me up from Kindergarten. I would walk home with armfuls of books (at least it seemed that way when my arms were that tiny) and I would sit in a chair in the kitchen and just devour them. We would walk back the next day and borrow some more.

enid blyton books. her stories inspired me to write my own
and I’ve loved writing and reading because of her wonderful
tales. I’ve even made friends overseas who are fellow fans.

Oh, wow. L. Frank Baum’s The Road to Oz. The descriptions are so lush and evocative, and the illustrations are legendary. Baum and Neill had such a wonderful synergistic talent for created landscapes that were magical without being preposterous. The Oz books were ideal for a lonely kid… they really opened up a world for me to get blissfully lost in. And I adored this one character, Polychrome, because she dressed in rainbows and danced to keep warm.

The book that I always loved was, The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. In the book the Little House is left behind as the family that lived inside his walls grows and moves away. THe city takes over the little house and buildings build-up around it burying it from view. It becomes neglected and sad, and then one day the little boy comes back. He is now a grown man and he moved the little house out of the city to a little hill and his children play in the little house and the little house is happy.
This book made me never want to hurt or neglect, to leave behind of ignore as if the person/thing didn’t matter. It also taught me to never let myself become that little house. To never let things overpower me, or look down upon me. To always stand tall, proud and with a big smile on my face.

The Color Kittens! One of Margaret Wise Brown’s first books. Oh how wonderful, the kittens make all the colors of the world! The illustrations were mesmerizing, the colors so rich you could almost taste salt of the deep green sea, the story so simple. It did not make me stronger, or smarter, or better in any way. It simply left an indelible impression on my first year of reading. I now give it as a gift at any young child’s birthday or Christmas.

The Ramona series by Beverly Clearly. As an 8 year old, I was glad to have someone to relate to :)

“The Secret Hiding Place”…
Written and illustrated by Rainey Bennett…Published by World Publishing…Dated 1961…Stated 1st Edition…Illustrated in pastel watercolor.

Being middle in a dysfunctional family I craved a quiet place all my own. This book deeply spoke to me and I remember it to this day.

In fact I think I’ll always remember the littlest hippo who just wanted a place of his own while still able to stay in contact with his herd/family.

Definitely the Little House books By Laura Ingalls Wilder. I remember playing out the stories in her books every chance I got. I loved her adventurous pioneer lifestyle and would often be cought dreaming of how it would be like to live in those days.

Ramona the Brave. as a little girl i was shocked (and inspired) by a person my age that would speak her mind and jump fearlessly into imaginative adventures.

There weren’t many books in my home since my parents weren’t very well educated. But I looked forward to our church’s Christmas pageant and celebration for the children. I will never forget being given a Little Golden Book called “The Littlest Angel.” It was the story of a little angel who wanted to be big and important, but she learned that so many times little, ordinary people can do great things. . . God uses them in powerful ways. I can still see myself holding that book tightly in my hands and remember reading it over and over. And today, I know that God uses ordinary, every day people . . . just like me.

Amelia Bedilia: Teach Us! This was my favorite book growing up! I have always wanted to be a teacher and this book really inspired me. I used to pretend I was Ms. Bedlia and I had my own classroom, I would think of fun things I would want to do if I was a teacher. I have followed that dream and currently I am in grad for Elementary Education!!!

Oh, I love this question. My favorite book was called The Big Orange Splot by D. Manus Pinkwater. It was a story of a man who lived in a neighborhood where all the houses looked exactly the same…until a bird flew over his house and dropped a can of orange paint on the roof. He creatively dealt with the splot by painting his entire house crazy colors, which the neighborhood hated at first, but one by one, they all redesigned their houses to represent their true selves and in the end all of the houses were unique.

But here is the best part: When my partner and I were creating a book wish list for our unborn daughter last year, we both put on our favorite books. Mine was the above and his was Mr. Pine’s Purple House. I finally read his book when it was given to us as a gift and guess what? It’s basically the same story as Orange Splot.

But here’s the bestest part: we live in a house that we had repainted in bright yellow, blue, and orange shortly after we bought it. Neither of us knew about our favorite childhood books, but we both knew we liked the idea of living in a house that looked like a big tiger lily. When we finally read each other’s books a number of years later it was a bit of an ‘aha’ moment:)

There are two that shaped me in equal parts: The Velveteen Rabbit and Courderoy. To this day I get attached to inanimate objects … and I’m a sucker for the pitiful. Now that I write it down, sounds like these books are the ones that gave me neurosis. Hmmm… interesting. Seriously though, there are many books that shaped me, each in their own way. Some cheered me, some guided me, some simply entertained. And they all have a special place in my heart. And I owe my continued love of children’s books to my 7th grade English teach – Mrs. Browne. She taught us that you should never be too old to read children’s books.

I loved The Witch of Blackbird Pond. It made me dream of love and heros and also not to judge a book by its cover.

The Velveteen Rabbit. I’d always imagined that maybe my toys had feelings (all stuffed animals had to be on the bed, so that none would feel left out), so a book about a child’s love making a toy become real just blew me away. One of my favorite books ever.

I’m not sure how many will be familiar with this, but the first books that had a huge impact, and which I read myself, were The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. I read the last one (Talking to Dragons) first, and then the whole quartet, and have been reading them every couple years since I was eight. I love the humor and fairy-tale references and characters and world the author builds, and it’s these (and a few others) that made me into that kid (and woman) who’s never without a book.

Little house on the prarie series is something I continue to read every couple of years. Not only is it a well written piece of literary works but it is enjoyable, caring and filled with amazing history lessons. It helps to remind me that I too can do things that are important for me and my family and do them by hand!

When I was small, I had a book by Pixie O’Harris, the Fairy Who Wouldn’t Fly, and a small Flower Fairies of the Garden by Cicely Mary Barker. I soon collected many more books by these artists, as well as “borrowing” some of my dad’s childhood books by Margaret Clark. Later on I developed a love for the illustrations of Arthur Rackham. All these artists have a particular style in common, fine pen lines and delicate watercolours with a detailed, naturalistic but also magical touch. I never did find any fairies, but my love of tiny things and gardens persists to this day.

“Harold and the Purple Crayon” allowed be to believe in what is possible. You can great and color your world in some many possible ways. Creativity can take you to new worlds.

The Egypt Game. It was one of my first ‘novels’ and I instantly fell in love with it. And, consequently I fell in love with reading. it was the first book that really captured my imagination and creative side and made me realize reading was somethign I really actually enjoyed doing! I was able to escape with the characters every day.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg made the biggest impression on me as a child. I was so jealous of the characters for actually getting to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After reading this book, when my sister wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese, I instead wanted to go to museums or historic homes. It was such a strong influence that I ended up getting a graduate degree in library science so I could become an archivist and work with historic documents all the time.

As a little tiny girl I had a book called Need a House, Call Ms. Mouse (sadly, out of print for many years!). Each page was a cross-section of a house designed specially for the needs of a different animal client. I remember being thrilled by the ingenuity of the architecture (imaginary, I know), and taking such great pleasure in peeking inside the houses- imagining which one I could call home. I’ve kept the meticulous copies of the illustrations that I did- as a 5-year-old with crayons!

It’s funny how a childhood inspiration carries you through life- now I work for a home builder and write an interior design blog!

What a delightful question!  Even as a kid, I was kind of a book snob, all “well, you really MUST read 101 Dalmations, it is much better than the Disney movie.”  (But also, true, do that.)  But if asked what my favorite book was as a kid, one answer tends to float up time and again: Mr Popper’s Penguins.  I read it over and over as a kid, and just loved the delightful story of the man whose daydreaminess finally came through, and the themes of his love for his animals and the creativity which he used to create a suitable environment for them really appealed to me.  (He turned the icebox into a home for his first penguin!  And then made a way for the penguin to get in and out of it alone!  That’s adorable!)  I was always shocked to learn that this was not part of many of my friends’ reading experiences, but in looking it up on Amazon, I now see that it was written in 1938, so perhaps that is why.  I was fortunate enough to attend a well-curated library where I discovered all kinds of treasures, like the afore-mentioned 101 Dalmations.  And now I am eagerly eyeing the paperback on Amazon and considering adding it to my collection as a Christmas gift to myself.

Probably Alice in Wonderland. Aside from learning never to be tardy, that book had such a fun cast of characters. It really sparked my imagination.