In the beginning...

I suppose the fact that I am writing an entirely book-central blog is a fairly good indication that reading is a fairly important part of my life, but I hadn’t realised quite how monumental it has been until I started thinking about where it all began.

As a good blog often follows a rough chronological order, I thought I would start at the beginning and give you a bit of background as to where my love of reading originated and how it has shaped my life since then.

I can’t recall a time before I was able to read; the way I remember it, I learned to read at the same rate that I learned to speak. One of my earliest memories is reading out pizza toppings to my dad from the menu board at our local takeaway, and my mother tells me that as a toddler I used to collect a pile of books every day to read with her as soon as my baby brother fell asleep.

Growing up, my love of books only grew with me. These are a couple of my absolute favourite children’s authors – writers of books that I read over and over as a kid, and would read again at twenty years old. If you are a child, have a child, or like me, just enjoy reading children’s books occasionally, these are my top recommendations!

Enid Blyton


As a little girl, Enid Blyton was very easily my favourite author – I read every book of hers that I could get my hands on, and I don’t think I ever found one that I didn’t like. First published in the 1920s, a lot of her characters, language and plots are naturally quite old-fashioned, but I never found that to be a problem, maybe because I am quite old-fashioned myself!
 

My top 3:

1. The Faraway Tree Collection – The story of Jo, Bessie and Fanny, three siblings who move to the country and discover a magical tree called the Faraway Tree, which grows a different fruit on every level, is home to all manner of quirky creatures, and has a faraway land at the top, which changes every once in a while. This is one of the most amazing children’s series I have ever read. Packed with unique characters, beautiful settings, hilarious situations, suspense, magic and the most creative stories imaginable, every single chapter is an adventure all on its own.	The Faraway Tree Collection
 The Children of Cherry Tree Farm	2. The Children of Cherry Tree Farm – This is a great favourite of mine about two brothers and two sisters who are sent from the city to live with their aunt and uncle on Cherry Tree Farm, where they meet Tammylan, the wild man, who teaches them all about animals and nature. I read this book and its sequel, The Children of Willow Farm, many, many times during my childhood, each time choosing my favourite character based on which one was closest to my age at the time!
3. The Wishing Chair Collection – One of the reasons I loved this series so much was because I almost believed it could actually happen! The books follow the adventures of Molly and Peter, a brother and sister who come across what they think is just an ordinary antique chair. It isn’t. It can fly, and it gets them into a lot of interesting situations!	The Wishing Chair Collection

Roald Dahl


If I remember correctly, it was my excellent Year One teacher who got me hooked on Roald Dahl when she read George’s Marvellous Medicine and various bits of Revolting Rhymes to my class. Roald Dahl’s writing is brilliant, dotted with puns and rhymes that make his books hilarious.

My top 3:

1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – If you have only encountered this story in movie form, I would highly recommend that you give the book a go! It is filled with far more details than either film adaptation, there is more depth to the characters, there are full pages of rhyming narrative songs sung by Oompa Loompas and you’ll get to enjoy the distinctively excellent artwork of Quentin Blake. What’s not to love?	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Matilda	2. Matilda – This is a book that every child who likes books (or has ever been called a nerd) needs to read! Matilda is the perfect heroine – smart, brave, and really good at pulling off awesome pranks.
3. The Vicar of Nibbleswicke – This is really not a children’s book (seriously, don’t read it to your children!) but I had to put it on the list, as it’s one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, and people often haven’t heard of it. This is the story of a young vicar who moves to a town called Nibbleswicke, and due to his nervousness at presenting sermons in a new town, develops a rare form of dyslexia which causes him to say the most important word of every sentence backwards. Oh my goodness. So funny.	The Vicar of Nibbleswicke

So there you have it! The beginning of my lifelong love of books! In the time that has passed since my childhood, I have worked for two different book chains, for a total of almost 3 years working in bookshops, and I am just now starting to study towards a library qualification, with the aim of becoming a library technician. It’s exciting to think that something that began as a hobby could someday build my career.

Let me know what you think of my suggested children's reading, and feel free to leave some of your favourites in the comments!