Favorite Book When You Were 8

[talesofabyssjade]

Harry Potter

 

[hotb0d]

The Doraemon series.

 

[RationalLunacy]

The Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

[Speeds]

Matilda by Roald Dahl

 

[kevbo]

The Dead Sea Scrolls.

You read them before they were discovered?

 

[hubbellgardner]

Johnny Tremayne and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

 

[Thad1527]

Just curious. What was your favorite book when you were 8? Mine was Matilda, by Roald Dahl.

I loved this book. I laughed so hard my mom thought I was truly going mad.

I'm sorry the photo isn't clearer. It's Queer, Dear Mrs. Goose by Miriam Clark Potter.

 

[Alistair]

I read The Hardy Boys, and Boxcar Kids religiously back then.

 

[Joshua_me]

Gotta go with Charlotte's Web.

I read it over and over, again...

When I finally saw the original animated movie version of the book, I swear I almost had a religious experience during the song, "Mother Earth and Father Time".

I think I truly began to understand life and it's temporary, fleeting nature for the very first time...

 

[herry1]

The books I was reading would mainly be by Enid Blyton. It took me another 7 years to discover a far superior writer in Edith Nesbit.

I don't remember if I'd discovered the Bobby Brewster books by H. E. Todd at this point.

 

[J-23]

Probably an entry in the Goosebumps series (loved The Haunted Mask and Monster Blood) or one of the Wayside School books.

Oh, and Ramona was my homegirl.

 

[Críostóir]

Gods, that was 42 years ago! I'm supposed to remember?!?!

Actually, I'm pretty sure that by 8 I was reading voraciously (as in, my mother had to come and take the book and flashlight away from me when I was supposed to be sleeping). So I probably read dozens of books in that year, and probably didn't have just one that was my favorite.

 

[Zaphod]

A book on Greek mythology. I can't remember the name.

Charlotte's Web

A Bible story book.

 

[Thad1527]

Oh, and Ramona was my homegirl.

To this day, I don't like anything by Beverly Cleary.

But you're forgiven for your love of R.L. Stine.

 

[J-23]

To this day, I don't like anything by Beverly Cleary.

But you're forgiven for your love of R.L. Stine.

I could relate to Ramona. She pulled some ill-advised stunts, like wearing her pajamas underneath her school clothes; or accidentally cracking a raw egg on top of her head at lunchtime; or overflowing her friend's basement with blue laundry detergent suds. And don't get my started on the time that she ralphed in the middle of her elementary school classroom.

 

[Crystal Winds]

The Bunnicula series by James Howe! Best children's series ever!

 

[Kulindahr]

8 -- that would have been third grade.

The year before I read and got tired of all the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown and that type of books -- tallied up over 120 books in the summer reading club at the library.

Third grade I fell in love with The Swiss Family Robinson, my dad's old World History book -- where I learned things such as that the Chinese attempted to colonize the Pacific Coast of North America, which later books, such as those in my history class in high school, said didn't actually happen, but which archaeologists have learned to have been true after all -- and a series called "We Were There", which told early American history from the point of view of someone being there for the events.

That might have been the year I encountered Robert Heinlein, but I'm not certain.

 

[Joshua_me]

I remember reading an interview with the director of the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", Mel Stuart, about how he continually clashed with the author, Roald Dahl...

Apparently, Mr. Dahl was nothing short of horrified with how his vision was being presented on the screen.

According to the interview, Mr. Stuart tried over and over again to explain to Roald how concepts that existed in his book had to be somewhat modified to appear in film, but Mr. Dahl would hear nothing of it. Ninety minutes of old folks covered up in bed would just not cut it for movie going audiences.

In the end, Mel was left with the impression that Roald was more than just a little nuts.

And, I suppose that's probably true.

But, that's not really an insult. At least in terms of the literary acumen that would allow a mind to come up with such concepts as James and the Giant Peach.

In the end, I think "Wonka" succeeded in it's vision, (although, it was perhaps a little too "trippy", given the era it was filmed in...) and was miles and away better than the cold, soulless Tim Burton / Johnny Depp blasphemy that would arrive decades later.

 

[martin6]

Oh, and Ramona was my homegirl.

Whew, I thought I was the only one who read all the Ramona books!

The Bunnicula series by James Howe! Best children's series ever!

OMG Bunnicula! I even saw a stage production of it in downtown Chicago.

Novel wise I really enjoyed "The Boxcar Children" series. it invoked some great imagery into my head. I could really see the story being told in my head. Also tried reading the dinotopia series, but could never really understand what the hell was going on, because I read it sporadically and never in order, only when I coudl find the books.

I read these a lot, too. I loved all the Roald Dahl books, and for Goosebumps I had up til #54 I think.

 

[justsimon]

In the end, I think "Wonka" succeeded in it's vision, (although, it was perhaps a little too "trippy", given the era it was filmed in...) and was miles and away better than the cold, soulless Tim Burton / Johnny Depp blasphemy that would arrive decades later.

I think I read somewhere that Dahl's wife said he'd have liked the Burton version and gave it her blessing. But I agree... I think something in between trippy and quirky would be most appropriate.