Saturday 10 September 2011

Childhood friends...



Pure indulgence -

I' ve been recently reminded of one of my favourite childhood books, which led me to think about other books that influenced my younger years..



So here they are in no particular order, but all made a lasting impression, and no doubt fostered my love of reading...



The Family from One End Street by Eve Garnett (1937)



Written in 1937 - it won the Carnegie medal for the best children's book - features the Ruggles family who are poor, and very ordinary, and yet are filled with zest for life...and had amazing adventures.





The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig (1968)



The Rudomin family is arrested by the Russians and exiled to Siberia. This tells the story of survival against all odds.





Smith by Leon Garfield (1968)



Smith is a pickpocket ragamuffin cruising the streets of London, who gets tangled up in a murder investigation when he becomes the chief suspect.





The Owl Service by Alan Garner(1967)




The Owl Service is a stack of grimy old plates stuck in the attic. Uncovering the mystery of The Owl Service, Alison, Roger and Gwyn get caught up in long buried secrets.
Quite a spooky little story.






Moonfleet by J Meade Falkner(1898)





A boy's own tale of smuggling, contraband and illicit danger set in 1757 - it was the inspiration for many games of "smuggling" when I was a child and on holiday amongst the cliffs and caves of North Wales.





What's really reassuring is that all these books are still very readable today.....and have stood the test of time.

2 comments:

  1. I still have my original copy of The Family From One End Street - I loved this book. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Treez - what a keepsake to pass on to your children. I still have my 1967 copy of The Owl Service -it has the original cover - featured above x

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment - Jaffareadstoo appreciates your interest.