Who was your fave author when you were a youngin’? Link it up.
Basecamp wrote this on Jun 27 2007
There are62 comments.
Dan Boland
on 27 Jun 07
I can’t remember specific authors, but I loved Corduroy when I was little.
brad
on 27 Jun 07
Pierre Burton wrote a children’s book called ‘The Secret World of Og’. I read it so many times, but I don’t think I ever actually owned it. Thank goodness for local libraries!
Wade
on 27 Jun 07
One of my favorites was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Now it’s one of my daughter’s favorites as well!
Children’s books can offer so much inspiration. I agree, Johnson (growing up with the name Harold) and Keats were favorites. Theses days I’m reading a lot of Oliver Jeffers to my own kids. The Incredible Book Eating Boy is amazing both from a story perspective and the illustration work. The literal bite out of the book makes it even better.
I just grew up on Dr. Seuss, or more specifically: Green Eggs and Ham and Cat in the Hat. What’s cooler than a crazy cat that comes over and trashes the house?
wa
on 27 Jun 07
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Where the Wild Things Are was hands down my favorite.
Chuggin' Choo Choo
on 27 Jun 07
One of my faves was The Little Engine That Could. Never owned it, always read it when visiting my grandmother in York, PA. Thanks for jogging that memory.
Eamon
on 27 Jun 07
Bruno Munari’s Circus in the Mist was my all-time favorite children’s book, hands-down. The first and last parts of the book are done on translucent paper and the circus in the middle of the book is done on bright fluorescents, so every time you turn a page, you feel like you’re getting closer and closer to the big event. It’s really an amazing piece of work.
We also get this magazine called BabyBug sent to us about once a month that he loves. It is really cool, it has new little stories every month that he just gets a kick out of. I highly recommend this one.
There was a series of books about a boy called Henry the Explorer that I liked a lot. He explores and plants little flags with a letter H on them, and his dog is a Scottish terrier named Angus McAngus.
In 5th grade or so, I really dug this book called The Mad Scientists Club, about a gang of boys into science who get into various adventures, including treasure hunts, hot-air balloon races, and house-hauntings. Really great stuff.
As a tot, my absolute favorite was Marianna Mayer’s Me and My Flying Machine. My original copy, short a few well-loved pages, is tucked away in a closet right now.
For self-directed reading, though, nothing beats The Mad Scientists’ Club. I have most of the MSC books on my shelf at home (reissued by the author’s son) and I still reread them occasionally. They’re like geek classics to me.
God, I loved Busy, Busy World when I was growing up. My copy was held together with sticky tape and I looked at it every night beore I went to sleep. Can still remember the image of the over-full plane being held together by the Boa Constructor.
Also loved the Agaton Sax Books (I’ve managed to track most of them down for my son).
As a (relatively) new father, I’m very much looking forward to reading Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day? with my son. I managed to find my original, unabridged version (the current version is inexplicably 20 some-odd pages shorter) and it is now displayed proudly in Ben’s book rack. The Madeline stories were also a big hit in our house growing up.
At the holidays, Silver Spurs was a favorite. Santa’s cat burglar!
My son is almost eight now and has moved beyond Harold but that was one book we especially loved reading to each other. Thanks for giving me a great flashback during the workday!
I second The Snowy Day: our 3 year daughter loves it too. As a kid, I remember thinking that the book was actually real and the world within, well, I lived in it. Imaginations are a wonderful thing that way.
Tim Sherburne
on 27 Jun 07
Yes, more votes for Sendak, Scarry, and Seuss (was that planned?) and Dahl who continue to be top choices for my own kids.
My favourite a little known series of books I read when I was small. The Uncle series by J.P.Martin – chronicles the life and times of Uncle, an elephant who lives in a vast complex of highrise buildings. His enemies are the Badfort gang.
Anyway – I loved these books and still take them out once in a while.
Anonymous Coward
on 27 Jun 07
Along with Richard Scarry and Roald Dahl, my favorite childhood author was Eric Carle. My grandmother was an elementary school librarian and always bought us the coolest books for our birthday.
Bunny’s Nutshell Library, definitely. Four teenie-tiny little books that fit in a nice little box. Maurice Sendak also has a nutshell library, but the bunny books were really special. The Silver Dandelion, The First Robin, Juniper, and Springfellow’s Parade.
Before I could even read, I remember transcribing the books with an old typewriter, letter for letter.
Fortunately, my Mom saved them, and now I can read them to my two boys. It was really fun, picking up those tiny books again after a few decades…
As a child I loved Richard Scarry and I am delighted by 2 year old already loves them! I was also a Thomas the Tank Engine fan as a small boy—kids do love steam trains! My son is obsessed with Thomas and has an encyclopedic knowledge of every engine. I’m looking forward to reading Roald Dahl to him when he is older.
Rachel
on 27 Jun 07
Aw, this post made me so happy. I love children’s books, and I love going to my parents and flipping through my old favorites they kept. They all have distinct textures and smells and markings that bring back so many memories.
But hands down anything by Maurice Sendak – WTWTA, In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, especially the Nutshell Library and then later Really Rosie with the Carole King/Nutshell Library soundtrack. :) love it
So many more beyond that – loved Harold and his crayon. Also Eric Carle books, then ones I don’t know the authors of: Corduroy, Goodnight Moon, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Little House, and one no one else ever seems to have heard of, Drummer Hoff.
I had a couple books that were large collections of small stories. I don’t remember the author, or even the title, but there was one of a dirty dragon who everyone made fun of. In the end the dragon saves the town and gets clean in the process, revealing a beautiful dragon that everyone loved. I can’t decide whether I liked that story so much because of the story itself or because a dragon was involved.
My guess now that I am an adult is that it’s both. _
Paul Tiemann
on 28 Jun 07
As a boy I was mesmerized by both the pictures and the story in “Andrew Henry’s Meadow” which is currently out of print. I still have the tattered copy from my childhood.
Wow, google says it is being made into a movie. I hope the book will be reprinted when the movie comes out.
My kids have all loved Danny and the Dinosaur. My favorite as a kid was “Jack in the Sack” about a boy who pretended to be a space explorer. Long out of print – if I ever see it I will snatch it up.
Chris Hajer
on 28 Jun 07
Any of the mouse books by Kevin Henkes. Chester’s Way, about a mouse set in his ways, until Lilly comes to town; Chrysanthemum about a girl with a special name; Julius, Baby of the World about a new baby brother coming into the family; Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, about a mouse in love with her teacher until he asks her to stop doing something; Wemberly Worried about a nervous little mouse who finds someone just like her; or even A Weekend with Wendell about a mouse who pushes and pushes a little too hard until Sophie has had enough and pushes back.
My kids love the fact that the characters from each of the books appear in the other character’s books. They all know each other, or so it seems.
My favourite which I also give as gifts to friends babies and now my own son loves it (age 2) is The Very Hungry Caterpillar
chazz
on 28 Jun 07
Don’t be afraid to try more advanved books with younger kids. I read my son Rascal by Sterling North when he was 3.5. He loved it, as did I. It is more than the story of a boy and his pet raccoon, or even a memoir of rural Wisconsin life during WWI. Ultimately, it is the story of the author’s transformation from boy to young adult and finally, to first class writer. Fantastic.
chazz
on 28 Jun 07
One more. Maybe my and my kid’s favorite:
Crow and Weasel by Barry Lopez. A very powerful coming-of-age story that is so kid-positive and so grounded in native american wisdom and tradition. With breathtaking illustrations. Wonderful!
My all-time favorite as a little person was Chris Van Allsburg. Particularly The Wreck of the Zephyr. Reading The Polar Express was an institution around Christmastime. Lovely, mysterious stories and illustrations.
chicken licken the sky is falling down was my favourite as a child, the story has changed to chicken little and so has the ending ,good old chicken little lives to fight another day maybe this time he has learnt his lesson not to be idol and sit under trees all day.
It’s fun now seeing my kids enjoying some of the same books and somanyothers. They are such voracious readers and love to discuss good books. What more could a parent want?
As the saying goes around our house, moderation in all things, except good books!
Man, I love kids books… my little ones are just getting to the point of really appreciating books, and I can’t wait to introduce them to some of these. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
This discussion is closed.
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Dan Boland
on 27 Jun 07I can’t remember specific authors, but I loved Corduroy when I was little.
brad
on 27 Jun 07Pierre Burton wrote a children’s book called ‘The Secret World of Og’. I read it so many times, but I don’t think I ever actually owned it. Thank goodness for local libraries!
Wade
on 27 Jun 07One of my favorites was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Now it’s one of my daughter’s favorites as well!
brad (another brad)
on 27 Jun 07How to Do Nothing With Nobody All Alone by Yourself by Robert Paul Smith. His son will be republishing it later this year; it’s a classic and still one of my favorite books today.
Marisa
on 27 Jun 07Ludwig Bemelmans, of Madeline fame!
Harold (without his purple crayon)
on 27 Jun 07Children’s books can offer so much inspiration. I agree, Johnson (growing up with the name Harold) and Keats were favorites. Theses days I’m reading a lot of Oliver Jeffers to my own kids. The Incredible Book Eating Boy is amazing both from a story perspective and the illustration work. The literal bite out of the book makes it even better.
rick
on 27 Jun 07I just grew up on Dr. Seuss, or more specifically: Green Eggs and Ham and Cat in the Hat. What’s cooler than a crazy cat that comes over and trashes the house?
wa
on 27 Jun 07Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
War-N
on 27 Jun 07Wow. Seeing the Richard Scarry stuff just brought back a flood of memories. I always found the worm, with his single shoe, oddly fascinating.
Ben Alpert
on 27 Jun 07Geez! I can’t believe that my favorite children’s book (Harold & the Purple Crayon) is also a 37signals favorite.
AJP
on 27 Jun 07Where the Wild Things Are was hands down my favorite.
Chuggin' Choo Choo
on 27 Jun 07One of my faves was The Little Engine That Could. Never owned it, always read it when visiting my grandmother in York, PA. Thanks for jogging that memory.
Eamon
on 27 Jun 07Bruno Munari’s Circus in the Mist was my all-time favorite children’s book, hands-down. The first and last parts of the book are done on translucent paper and the circus in the middle of the book is done on bright fluorescents, so every time you turn a page, you feel like you’re getting closer and closer to the big event. It’s really an amazing piece of work.
Nick
on 27 Jun 07I Second Where The Wild Things Are. Hands down. Any Dr. Seuss follows right after.
Rachelle
on 27 Jun 07THE GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein! :D
John B
on 27 Jun 07Wow, I remember Busy, Busy World, but I liked Cars & Trucks & Things that Go by the same author. I had to find Goldbug on every page.
Phil
on 27 Jun 07Boy by Roald Dahl. ANYTHING by Roald Dahl.
John B
on 27 Jun 07@Phil: Right on.
On the other hand, you know he wrote stuff for Hitchcock? And, have you read some of his more mature short stories? He had quite the imagination!
Robert Dempsey
on 27 Jun 07Curious George by Margret and H.A. Rey. Monkeys can bring joy to any occasion.
Eric
on 27 Jun 07One of my son’s (he is 2) favorites is Walter the Farting Dog
We also get this magazine called BabyBug sent to us about once a month that he loves. It is really cool, it has new little stories every month that he just gets a kick out of. I highly recommend this one.
Aaron
on 27 Jun 07Bernard of Scotland Yard was my favorite.
Joshua Kaufman
on 27 Jun 07There is no substitute for Lane Smith’s The Happy Hocky Family.
David Ham
on 27 Jun 07There was a series of books about a boy called Henry the Explorer that I liked a lot. He explores and plants little flags with a letter H on them, and his dog is a Scottish terrier named Angus McAngus.
In 5th grade or so, I really dug this book called The Mad Scientists Club, about a gang of boys into science who get into various adventures, including treasure hunts, hot-air balloon races, and house-hauntings. Really great stuff.
Ditto Roald Dahl, especially Danny, Champion of the World.
Jim
on 27 Jun 07As a tot, my absolute favorite was Marianna Mayer’s Me and My Flying Machine. My original copy, short a few well-loved pages, is tucked away in a closet right now. For self-directed reading, though, nothing beats The Mad Scientists’ Club. I have most of the MSC books on my shelf at home (reissued by the author’s son) and I still reread them occasionally. They’re like geek classics to me.
ctagg
on 27 Jun 07God, I loved Busy, Busy World when I was growing up. My copy was held together with sticky tape and I looked at it every night beore I went to sleep. Can still remember the image of the over-full plane being held together by the Boa Constructor.
Also loved the Agaton Sax Books (I’ve managed to track most of them down for my son).
andrew
on 27 Jun 07As a (relatively) new father, I’m very much looking forward to reading Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day? with my son. I managed to find my original, unabridged version (the current version is inexplicably 20 some-odd pages shorter) and it is now displayed proudly in Ben’s book rack. The Madeline stories were also a big hit in our house growing up.
At the holidays, Silver Spurs was a favorite. Santa’s cat burglar!
sam
on 27 Jun 07who needs donuts
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0375825509/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-9174083-8900861#reader-link
Drew
on 27 Jun 07Roald Dahl and Maurice Sendak (especially for In the Night Kitchen).
Sean
on 27 Jun 07Todd Hannert’s Morning Dance (This author is also from the Chicagoland area!)
Ismo Ruotsalainen
on 27 Jun 07It’s just a plant – a children’s story of marijuana
JP
on 27 Jun 07My son is almost eight now and has moved beyond Harold but that was one book we especially loved reading to each other. Thanks for giving me a great flashback during the workday!
Geof Harries
on 27 Jun 07I second The Snowy Day: our 3 year daughter loves it too. As a kid, I remember thinking that the book was actually real and the world within, well, I lived in it. Imaginations are a wonderful thing that way.
Tim Sherburne
on 27 Jun 07Yes, more votes for Sendak, Scarry, and Seuss (was that planned?) and Dahl who continue to be top choices for my own kids.
Also: Hergé’s “Tintin”, just about anything by William Steig.
Lastly (but not least) are Ed Emberley’s books on drawing. To me, he was kind of an Ed Tufte for children.
Whatever you do, read to your kids – it’s about the best gift you can give them!
a.k.
on 27 Jun 07The Ramona books from Beverley Cleary were my favorite, and when I was really young, the Little Golden books series.
Mike King
on 27 Jun 07My favourite a little known series of books I read when I was small. The Uncle series by J.P.Martin – chronicles the life and times of Uncle, an elephant who lives in a vast complex of highrise buildings. His enemies are the Badfort gang. Anyway – I loved these books and still take them out once in a while.
Anonymous Coward
on 27 Jun 07Along with Richard Scarry and Roald Dahl, my favorite childhood author was Eric Carle. My grandmother was an elementary school librarian and always bought us the coolest books for our birthday.
Sam Barnum
on 27 Jun 07Bunny’s Nutshell Library, definitely. Four teenie-tiny little books that fit in a nice little box. Maurice Sendak also has a nutshell library, but the bunny books were really special. The Silver Dandelion, The First Robin, Juniper, and Springfellow’s Parade.
Before I could even read, I remember transcribing the books with an old typewriter, letter for letter.
Fortunately, my Mom saved them, and now I can read them to my two boys. It was really fun, picking up those tiny books again after a few decades…
Erik Mallinson
on 27 Jun 07Richard Scarry is my favorite. I always loved how everything was labeled.
Matt Carey
on 27 Jun 07As a child I loved Richard Scarry and I am delighted by 2 year old already loves them! I was also a Thomas the Tank Engine fan as a small boy—kids do love steam trains! My son is obsessed with Thomas and has an encyclopedic knowledge of every engine. I’m looking forward to reading Roald Dahl to him when he is older.
Rachel
on 27 Jun 07Aw, this post made me so happy. I love children’s books, and I love going to my parents and flipping through my old favorites they kept. They all have distinct textures and smells and markings that bring back so many memories.
But hands down anything by Maurice Sendak – WTWTA, In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, especially the Nutshell Library and then later Really Rosie with the Carole King/Nutshell Library soundtrack. :) love it
So many more beyond that – loved Harold and his crayon. Also Eric Carle books, then ones I don’t know the authors of: Corduroy, Goodnight Moon, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Little House, and one no one else ever seems to have heard of, Drummer Hoff.
Killian
on 28 Jun 07I second, third, and fourth the anything by Roald Dahl votes
Walter Davis
on 28 Jun 07Sector 7, by David Weisner. No words, just pictures, yet the store is amazing and clearly told. The illustrations are gorgeous.
Rabbit
on 28 Jun 07Fox in Socks.
I had a couple books that were large collections of small stories. I don’t remember the author, or even the title, but there was one of a dirty dragon who everyone made fun of. In the end the dragon saves the town and gets clean in the process, revealing a beautiful dragon that everyone loved. I can’t decide whether I liked that story so much because of the story itself or because a dragon was involved.
My guess now that I am an adult is that it’s both. _
Paul Tiemann
on 28 Jun 07As a boy I was mesmerized by both the pictures and the story in “Andrew Henry’s Meadow” which is currently out of print. I still have the tattered copy from my childhood.
Wow, google says it is being made into a movie. I hope the book will be reprinted when the movie comes out.
http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Henrys-Meadow-D-Burn/dp/0698300114
Rob
on 28 Jun 07I was all about Bill Peet Books when I was younger. I think The Wump World is indispensable.
Larry Clarkin
on 28 Jun 07My kids have all loved Danny and the Dinosaur. My favorite as a kid was “Jack in the Sack” about a boy who pretended to be a space explorer. Long out of print – if I ever see it I will snatch it up.
Chris Hajer
on 28 Jun 07Any of the mouse books by Kevin Henkes. Chester’s Way, about a mouse set in his ways, until Lilly comes to town; Chrysanthemum about a girl with a special name; Julius, Baby of the World about a new baby brother coming into the family; Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, about a mouse in love with her teacher until he asks her to stop doing something; Wemberly Worried about a nervous little mouse who finds someone just like her; or even A Weekend with Wendell about a mouse who pushes and pushes a little too hard until Sophie has had enough and pushes back.
My kids love the fact that the characters from each of the books appear in the other character’s books. They all know each other, or so it seems.
Any of the books by John Lithgow illustrated by C.F. Payne, especially Marsupial Sue, The Remarkable Farkle McBride and Micawber.
One last one, Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big by Berke Breathed.
Good stuff, all around and you won’t fall asleep reading them to your kids.
raul
on 28 Jun 07I was really into my mom’s children’s books with illustrations by Garth Williams: The Tall Book of Make Believe and The Whispering Rabbit were favs… my 2 year old son loves Where the Wild things are, The Birthday Party (by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Sendak), and several newish books including Goodnight Gorilla ( after hundreds of readings I still appreciate the subtle humor of the drawings), The Line Up Book, and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt....amongst others
Tor Løvskogen
on 28 Jun 07Where the Wild Things Are, fourth that!
Leon
on 28 Jun 07Enid Blyton, who wrote The Enchanted Forest and a few hundred other books. I remember reading it in Grade 2! (and I am 52 now)
Ed Henderson
on 28 Jun 07My favourite which I also give as gifts to friends babies and now my own son loves it (age 2) is The Very Hungry Caterpillar
chazz
on 28 Jun 07Don’t be afraid to try more advanved books with younger kids. I read my son Rascal by Sterling North when he was 3.5. He loved it, as did I. It is more than the story of a boy and his pet raccoon, or even a memoir of rural Wisconsin life during WWI. Ultimately, it is the story of the author’s transformation from boy to young adult and finally, to first class writer. Fantastic.
chazz
on 28 Jun 07One more. Maybe my and my kid’s favorite: Crow and Weasel by Barry Lopez. A very powerful coming-of-age story that is so kid-positive and so grounded in native american wisdom and tradition. With breathtaking illustrations. Wonderful!
Adam
on 28 Jun 07My all-time favorite as a little person was Chris Van Allsburg. Particularly The Wreck of the Zephyr. Reading The Polar Express was an institution around Christmastime. Lovely, mysterious stories and illustrations.
A big second on Goodnight Moon.
Johnny
on 28 Jun 07chicken licken the sky is falling down was my favourite as a child, the story has changed to chicken little and so has the ending ,good old chicken little lives to fight another day maybe this time he has learnt his lesson not to be idol and sit under trees all day.
Doug
on 28 Jun 07We had a lot of Dr. Seuss around the house, though I recall that my mother didn’t like all the made up words. My favorites were Green Eggs and Ham (There’s a fun story of how it came to be), Fox in Sox, and The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.
When I got a little older, I remember enjoying things like The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.
It’s fun now seeing my kids enjoying some of the same books and so many others. They are such voracious readers and love to discuss good books. What more could a parent want?
As the saying goes around our house, moderation in all things, except good books!
Patrick
on 28 Jun 07My favorite author was Maurice Sendak. Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen were two of my favorites along with Claire Bishop and Kurt Wiese’s Five Chinese Brothers and Janette Lowrey’s The Poky Little Puppy.
Ryan Platte
on 29 Jun 07Ha! My wife just checked Harold and the Purple Crayon out for our son at the library today. I laughed and showed her this post.
MattH
on 29 Jun 07Gotta be Bill Peet. All of them are good. “Wingdingdilly is the most memorable.
Steve R.
on 29 Jun 07Anatole is awesome!
Dream job!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatole_(mouse)
techbee
on 29 Jun 07Caroline, for ever. http://home.pacbell.net/s_j/probst/
Nathaniel Talbott
on 29 Jun 07Wow, good picks with Johnson and Scarry (one of my favorites by the latter being Richard Scarry’s Peasant Pig and the Terrible Dragon (with Lowly Worm the Jolly Jester). However, one of my childhood favorites that I haven’t seen mentioned is Steven Kellogg – I remember being captivated by the art and witty writing in such classics as The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash and tall tales like Paul Bunyan.
Man, I love kids books… my little ones are just getting to the point of really appreciating books, and I can’t wait to introduce them to some of these. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
This discussion is closed.