I don’t know about you all, but my love of reading began at an early age. There are some books that really influenced me and made me passionate about reading and writing, shaping who I am as a reader. Over the years I’ve found myself returning to these books time and time again and I wanted to share them with you all. Here are the books that I loved from childhood during elementary school.

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

As a kid my brothers and I had a small library of little golden books, alphabet books, and of course Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, and so on. These books were the ones that taught me how to read. My favorite of the bunch is the ever popular Green Eggs and Ham.

Seuss has an art style that is instantly recognizable, and each book is filled to the brim with terrific, tricky tongue twisters that were just plain fun to read. Now that I have kids of my own, these were the books that I made sure were in my daughter’s library. These books are memorable and will always be a cherished childhood favorite.

Alpha Pets by Ruth Lerner Perle

Besides Dr. Seuss, the other major series of picture books that I was obsessed with as a kid were the Alpha Pets series. I couldn’t tell you anything about what the books were about now after so many years, but I’ll never forget the love that I felt for the art and each of the characters. I think my parents might have had a subscription for these books, and I remember being so excited when we’d get a new one and dreaming about collecting the whole series.

It took me so long to find this book series as an adult, searching for something as broad as “Alphabet Animals” is pretty vague, but I was finally able to find it because I could the name of one of the characters – Gertie the Goat!

Goosebumps by R.L. Stine

My love of reading really began with Goosebumps. While I enjoyed a few picture books, I had zero interest in chapter books. That was in part because I struggled with reading. English was my second language, so I was pretty behind during my first few years of elementary school. That all changed the day I picked up my first Goosebumps book, which was the start of my lifelong obsession with the horror genre. This series was my bridge from picture books to chapter books.

I was instantly hooked and tried to get my hands on every book that I could. I was a rough and tumble type of kid always playing outside and riding my bike, but when I got a new Goosebumps book I’d sit down at the playground to read. I still remember staring in awe at the stacks of Goosebumps sitting on a spinning book rack at the supermarket and wishing I could take the whole lot home. In all I read maybe ten to fifteen of them throughout my childhood and I still remember many of them fondly, my favorite ended up being One Day at Horror Land and the Monsterblood books.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

There really was no book series quite like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I remember seeing the first two books on my best friend’s bookshelf, and cautiously reading a few of the stories. I was both terrified and fascinated by Stephen Gammell’s grotesque artwork, it felt like I was reading a book that I shouldn’t have been reading! I couldn’t get enough. Though I do understand why publishers changed up the art in later editions, much to my dismay.

One story that I think traumatized me was The Red Spot, the one about the girl with a spider bite on her face. The art for that story was branded in my memory as a kid, I had never even considered that bugs crawled on me in my sleep! Later in high school I woke up once with a swollen eye that turned out to have been a bite, and let me tell you that story came rushing back to me. I never read the entire series, but I very much want to eventually collect some of the older editions that still feature Gammell’s art.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Hands down my absolute favorite book from my childhood that I’ve read countless times. It’s one of the few books that I make a point to re-read regularly whenever I am in a sort of reading slump. Each time I’ve read it I’ve gotten something different out of it. My first time reading it I only saw the adventure part of the story as Karana had to fight off wild animals. In my middle grade years, I understood more of the survival aspect of the story as Karana learned how to hunt, manage resources, make weapons, and maintain shelter. As an adult, I was hit with Karana’s emotional struggle and finally understood her feelings of loneliness and isolation. It is a timeless classic that I will always keep close to my heart.

This book was originally gifted to me from a friend as a going away present. I honestly don’t even remember her name, we had only recently met and had hung out a handful of times, but I do remember that she really liked dolphins (I think most girls in the 90s did). I was surprised when she presented me with the book on my last day in the neighborhood before moving away. She had told me it was her favorite book, and I’m forever thankful to her. I still have that little pink paperback novel tucked away somewhere even though the binding has deteriorated after years of readings. I got a nicer illustrated hardcover edition that I keep safely on my shelf. I still treasure the original copy I was gifted as it is one of a handful of books that I carried with me through my entire life.

Honorable Mentions

♥ The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
♥ Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
♥ Little Critter by Mercer Mayer
♥ The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
♥ I Spy Books
♥ Where’s Waldo?