Reading has always been my favourite pastime. And I especially love children’s books!
My sister and I still have all of the books from our childhood. I’m so looking forward to reading them to Antigone soon. I also take great pleasure these days in buying books for my other little friends.
My most favourite books from childhood are:
Busy, busy world
Leigh and I both have a penchant for adventure and good food. I’m convinced it’s because of this book!
In Busy, busy world, there’s a variety of characters who travel all over the world, going to cafes in France, riding rickshaws in Hong Kong, visiting carnivals in Rio and then farming in Poland.
This book is now out of print and retails online from about $80 to $800!
Babar
I love this story of a sweet French elephant who lost his mother and afterwards moved to the city. When he returned to his home in the country, he had grown up, gotten married, and was considered to be a king.
I loved the TV show too.
Mulga Bill’s Bicycle
Because it was Mulga Bill from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze…
I think Mulga Bill is the reason I love penny farthings so much! Love, as in to look at, not to ride myself (just to be clear!)
How birds get their colours
I loved all sorts of Dreamtime story books when I was little. There were so many in our local library – but this one was my favourite!
In this story, all of the birds are just one colour – black. When a little dove hurts his foot, his friend the Galah has an idea. She rushes forward and bites the dove’s swollen foot. Then a myriad of colours flow out of the Dove’s foot and festoons all the other birds around.
Beautiful.
The Lighthouse Keeper’s lunch
This book is all about the troubles of a Lighthouse Keeper getting his hot lunch each day. I mean, it’s a important problem, right?
The Lighthouse Keeper had such a good wife. Each day, she would prepare something for him and then send it over on a clothes wire across the water. I wanted to marry a lighthouse keeper and send him a daily lunch :)
Grunt
This is the tale of a monster who turns into a snivelling mess every time his Mum tries to get him to eat vegetables. It’s a funny book but sadly, also out of print now.
Amelia Bedelia
This one’s about a housekeeper who takes her instructions literally. Even at a young age, I loved anything related to cleaning!
The Giving Tree
There really are so many layers of loveliness in this book. It’s a beautiful parable about the love between a boy and a tree. It’s of course all about giving and I think children can really learn from it.
The very hungry caterpillar
We all know and love this story, am I right? It’s of course about a caterpillar who eats his way through a variety of delicious looking food before transforming into a beautiful butterfly.
And quite aside from those books above, I also loved all the Noddy stories, Paddington Bear and Peter Rabbit too.
How about you? Any old favs?
The random musings of Neen 