Whether you're a total book worm or you avoid reading entirely, reading was a thing for you when you were a kid. Believe it or not, books play a vital role in your childhood. They help encourage imagination, introduce great morals to live by and provide a separate world away from reality. Plus, they create great memories! It's hard to pick a favorite, especially when there are so many great books to chose from. Here is a list of the top 10 books you read from the wee ages of toddler years, up to middle school in the
80's:
1. Matilda by Roald Dahl
How can anyone resist Roald Dahl? His stories are filled with such imagination and memorable illustration. Matilda is one for the books (pun intended). This amazing story involves a girl who can move things with her
mind, can out wit anyone in her class and defeats the evil Miss Trunchbull. Matilda won the Children's Book Award in 1999 and eventually became a feature film and broadway play.
2. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff
We all know these delightfully fun books. "If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll probably want a glass of milk." This fun story goes through the journey of giving a sweet mouse a cookie and finding out the numerous things he wants after said cookie. Plus, who can resist that adorable animal in a pair of overalls? That mouse had
style.
3. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
If you read this story, you were hooked right from the beginning. This is an epic tale of a boy who survives a plane crash, but must survive from the wilderness around him with only a hatchet. After reading this book, you'll immediately want to start your own fire and cover yourself with mud to stay clear from the mosquitos.
4. Can't You Sleep Little Bear? by Martin Waddell
This beloved story was the perfect book to read just before bed and to cure those unsettling fears about the dark. Big Bear shows patience and love to Little Bear. And what cures Little Bear's fear if the lanterns aren't bright enough? The big, yellow moon and stars, of course.
5. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
This children's book won the 1986 Newbery Medal, the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction and the 1986 Golden Kite Award. As you can see, this book was/is a must read. This tale follows a family in the Midwestern U.S. who lost their mother to child labor. The father sends out an ad in the newspaper for a mail-order bride to come help with all the duties of the farm and his two children: Anna and Caleb. When the mail-order bride arrives, it takes a while for Anna to become used to a new "mother." This story perfectly addresses coping with change and conquering fears.
6. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Almost everyone grew up reading the iconic poems of Shel Silverstein. This book was published in 1981 and encouraged children to write poems just like ol' Silverstein himself. His poems were wacky, imaginative and full of creativity. Plus, the illustrations are so fun to connect with the poems.
7. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Yes, there was a Polar Express book before there was a movie. This book brought the love and joy of Christmas year round. Can you imagine waking up in the middle of the night to a train blaring it's whistle? Well, what if this train was sitting right on your street...waiting to pick you up. Where will it take you? I don't know, but there will be hot chocolate, bells and the big man himself: Santa.
8. The BFG by Roald Dahl
Just another Dahl classic, but this one involves a giant. A big, friendly giant, that is. The BFG story takes an adventurous girl and a lovable giant to spread good dreams to all the children of the world and to capture the bad giants, where they are forced to eat snozzcumbers for the rest of their lives. What's a snozzcumber, you ask? Well, you'll just have to read to find out!
9. The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts
This book is somewhat like Matilda, but with a twist. Katie Welker has silver eyes. Not grey, but pure silver. She has never seen anyone with the same color eyes as hers and has never met anyone who shares the same powers. Yes, this book made you wish you could move things with your mind when you were a kid!
10. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
This book shares a great story and introduces feminism in a clever and creative way. Once, there was a princess that was soon to be
wed. However, plans changed when a dragon came a long and stole her fiancé. Yep, a little backwards, huh? The dragon destroys her castle and her entire wardrobe *gasp!*. She must go and save her fiancé in a brown bag. Along the way, she realizes how strong she is, how trying to live up to a "perfect image" is lame and that she pretty much rocks her independent self...and the brown, paper bag.
