[Sue Irwin Posts: 70 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Just wondering... 
Who was your first favorite author?  Did you have a favorite series? If so, did you collect these books? And, do you still have them now?
 

[Vonna Posts: 2,579 Status: Offline Keeping to the sunny side of the street WWW]

My first favorite author was Beverly Cleary, introduced to me by my first grade teacher Mrs. Clark. 
I never owned any of those books though. In elementary school my favorite series was Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books. I still have a few of those.

[andracill Posts: 6,570 Status: Offline Worlds within...screaming to get out! WWW]

I own most of my favorites (maybe all of them?). Those include series from authors like Norma Johnston, Madeliene L'Engle, Susan Cooper -- along with collections like Trixie Belden and many of Phyllis Whitney's mysteries (for kids). I also have my stand-alone favorites like Linnets & Valerians, By the Highway Home, and Us, Maltbys.

(But as a confession: I own more than 500 books; my kids each have over 100; and we as a family have another couple hundred...so we might not be a normal family.)

Oh, and my first favorite author (that I recall -- around the age of 7) was Frances Lattimore.

[JulieM Posts: 814 Status: Offline WWW]

Enid Blyton - my older sister has kept those.
Susan Cooper - mine, all mine!

[Vijaya Posts: 8,399 Status: Offline LISTEN. Let all mortal flesh keep silence ... WWW]

Julie, mine too. Enid Blyton! Sadly, with all the moves, I couldn't keep the books but over the years, I've been able to buy a few.
Brer Rabbit books were my first introduction, later her mysteries and school stories. Such a wonderful writer!
Vijaya

[Helen Posts: 250 Status: Offline WWW]

My favorite book was Harriet the Spy. I started journaling because of Harriet, and to this day I still enjoy an occasional tomato/mayo sandwich. My favorite book series: The Borrowers. I wanted to be a Borrower and live under the floorboards with Arriety. All my books came from the library. What a glorious place!

[HDWestlund Posts: 1,299 Status: Offline writer and bookseller]

Susan Cooper was a favorite, but I had to buy her books later, as I'd gotten them (over and over) from the library.
LM Montgomery--I still own most of her collection; THE BLUE CASTLE was my absolute favorite.
And my most re-read book ever? THE WESTING GAME by Ellen Raskin. I'm probably going to have to buy my daughter another copy because mine's falling apart.

[Ree Posts: 344 Status: Offline No Boxes WWW]

Not sure I had a first favorite author, but the first book I remember that made me want to read forever was   E. B. White's CHARLOTTE'S WEB. I can still picture my bed and the nightgown I had on as read it and cried and cried and cried.

Ree

[olmue Posts: 4,190 Status: Offline WWW]

All the kid mystery series--Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, Trixie Belden (but not Hardy Boys for some reason--they were too dry? And no girls!) I remember the wait-Santa-isn't-REAL?! letdown of learning that "Carolyn Keene" was not, in fact, a real person, but that the books were only packaged. I've had a healthy suspicion of packaged books ever since. (Although yes, I do realize how important those seemingly churned-out series are in the process of reading for kids! My kids all went through levels of those, too.)

The first publisher I was ever aware of was Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, because of their cool logo on A Wrinkle in Time. Which I read over and over and over again. (They also gave me my first ever personal rejection, so they continue to hold a fond corner in my heart.)

Another book I looooooooved in elementary school was Jane Langton's The Diamond in the Window. A New England transcendendalist fantasy treasure hunt. Also, anything by Roald Dahl (I just read three of them to my 6YO, who loved them). And Narnia, which no one told me about, but which I discovered in a Scholastic book order. Also The Lion's Paw by Robb White, a very old book my mom read to numerous school classes, and then to us kids, too, about some runaways in Florida during WWII. The book is actually quite well written and my own kids liked it, too. And The Ghosts, by Antonia Barber, which I read so many times in class that my 5th grade teacher finally just gave me the book.

Er, I'll stop now...

[Melissa K Posts: 716 Status: Offline]

My first favorite was Beverly Cleary. She was definitely the first author whose name I searched for on the shelves after I learned about alphabetization. Judy Blume was second. Those two were my go-to authors for a couple of years, but later on, in late elementary school, my favorite was Cynthia Voigt.

My parents were big library users, not big book buyers, so I didn't collect many children's books to keep when I was a kid.

[Helen Posts: 250 Status: Offline WWW]

Reading these 'favorites' posts makes me want to grab a mug of tea and snug up with an old book friend. Maybe eat an apple and pretend I'm Jo from Little Women, too. Good times!   

[Mrs. Jones Posts: 1,839 Status: Offline]

I loved a lot of books as a young girl, but when I read MANDY and THE LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES, I started to think of authors as people, not just names on the book cover. Julie Andrews Edwards was the writer who did that for me.

Just remembering how I felt at the time, reading her books, makes me .

[Barbara Etlin Posts: 2,354 Status: Offline WWW]

I read and collected all the Nancy Drew books. They had a place of honour on my bookshelf. Same thing for all the Anne books by L.M. Montgomery.

Didn't keep them, though, through a series of moves. And they were replaced by other books. Moved into a house with my husband in 1992, where we installed a wall of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. When we moved from our house to a condo four years ago, I had to purge so many loved books. It was very traumatic.

[andracill Posts: 6,570 Status: Offline Worlds within...screaming to get out! WWW]

I've tried to keep my book collection from growing too large, Barb, but I will admit that my childhood favs get to stay, no matter what

I also loved Anne and Harriet -- and The Westing Game was one of those books I re-read every year (my daughter just read it for class, and she also enjoyed it -- though I don't think she loved it as much as I did). I especially loved historical fiction, so Elizabeth Friermood and Alberta Constant were beloved authors for me. Most of their books are oop, sadly.

[G.R. Posts: 637 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

My first favorite was Beverly Cleary. She was definitely the first author whose name I searched for on the shelves after I learned about alphabetization. Judy Blume was second. Those two were my go-to authors for a couple of years, but later on, in late elementary school, my favorite was Cynthia Voigt.

My parents were big library users, not big book buyers, so I didn't collect many children's books to keep when I was a kid.

I was really big on Cleary, especially the Ramona books.

My all-time favorite individual book, though, was probably Blume's Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing -- funny, funny stuff.

[Sue Irwin Posts: 70 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Reading these 'favorites' posts makes me want to grab a mug of tea and snug up with an old book friend. Maybe eat an apple and pretend I'm Jo from Little Women, too. Good times!   

These are great responses!  I've never read some of the books listed here. I'm going to make a point of searching them out and reading them!

Dr. Seuss was my first favorite author. I loved the way he played with language, and made reading fun. When I discovered Dr. Seuss, I realized for the first time that real people were behind the books that my parents and teachers read to me. 

My first chapter books were the "Betsy" books. But I haven't seen those in years...

I read and collected all the Nancy Drew books. They had a place of honour on my bookshelf. Same thing for all the Anne books by L.M. Montgomery.

I kinda stumbled onto the Nancy Drew series, but after reading one, I was hooked! Like Barbara, I also loved the Anne books. And C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia became a favorite series, too.

[Sue Irwin Posts: 70 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Oh, and I do still have my Anne books and the Narnia books, too. The rest are long gone... 

But just talking about them now brings back happy memories! 

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

Roald Dahl, without hesitation.
They were all disposed by my parents when I reached adolescence. I resorted to purchasing most of Dahl's books about a decade ago and regularly listen to the audios on my mp3 whilst walking into the city to do my grocery shopping. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is over three hours long so it usually lasts the entire trip...until I land in my coffee shop and produce the paper & pen for my writing session.

[Vijaya Posts: 8,399 Status: Offline LISTEN. Let all mortal flesh keep silence ... WWW]

So many favorites here, but they all came later, the American authors in my adulthood!
Robin, it was painful moving away from WA and giving away more than half our home library. And we still have to give away books every summer because we buy too many books. The kindle is helping some.
Vijaya

[1846 Posts: 412 Status: Offline]

My first favorite (and only favorite) is E. B. White.  My parents finally bought me my own copy of Charlotte's Web when I was a senior in high school.

[Sue Irwin Posts: 70 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Thanks for sharing, 1846! I still love Charlotte's Web, too!

I asked my husband the same questions. He said that his first favorite author was the author of The Hardy Boys. He remembered going into the bookstore, after he had saved up enough money to buy his own book, and standing in front of the rows of blue books, trying to decide which one to buy next. It was always a tough decision! But so exciting. :dogwalk

[Sue G. Posts: 127 Status: Offline WWW]

My favorite books growing up were the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart-Lovelace. I read those books over and over and loved to imagine I was part of Betsy's world!  I do not have my copies from when I was a child, but I have found some older copies online with the original cover art. I recently read them all again - what a joy! These books mean so much to me and hold a special place in my heart.  I also discovered there is a Betsy-Tacy society - which I just had to join!  I learned the childhood homes of Maud Hart-Lovelace and her best friend are now literary landmarks in Mankato, MN and open to visits!  One day, I just have to go!  It will be like stepping into the pages of these treasured books!  The society also helped bring the books back into print and I am happy to support keeping these wonderful books around for new generations to enjoy.

I also loved trying to solve all of Encyclopedia Brown's mysteries and enjoyed Nancy Drew and Little House on the Prairie.

Love reading about all your favorites! Books have a very special way of bringing us back to our childhood!   

Happy reading and reminiscing!
Sue

[Mercedes Ortiz Posts: 175 Status: Offline Abracadabra! WWW]

My first favorite author is Johanna Spyri. I still love Heidi -she's one of my favorite characters! 

[RebeccaGAguilar Posts: 44 Status: Offline WWW]

I remember the Folklore of the World series by Edward W. Dolch and Marguerite P. Dolch. My all-time favorite from the series was Stories of the Arabian Nights.

I also loved Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series, which included Newbery Medal winner The High King.