Top Ten Childhood Favorites // Lots Of Weird Rambly Nostalgia Ft. Imaginary Lizards, Colorful Mice, and Fruit Cake

Hey loves! Top Ten Tuesday is a book blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! This week’s prompt is Childhood Favorites. More rambling here! This post is making me so nostalgic and what’s so crazy is that I’m turning 18 this month!!! About to be an adult!!!!! So this is truly the end of my childhood so what a perfect time to look back.

Of course, I wouldn’t exactly call high school my childhood, although that just ended last month too soooooo! For this list, I’m going all over my childhood, but mostly the books I first read and adored in elementary school. I’ve always been a reader, so there are books from all stages of my life I love love love.

1. Harry Potter

Of course Harry Potter is a childhood favorite. I loved the books back then when I read them in elementary school for the first time, and I still love them now. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving The Boy Who Lived.

2. Ella Enchanted (+ Other Gail Carson Levine Books)

This one is a true childhood favorite. It’s the childhood favorite. Hands down my favorite “kid” book. I’ve read this book probably more than any other book ever, period. My copy of the book is falling apart. It can stand open to any page, the cover is peeling off, the spine is broken. It’s so loved, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

3. The Rainbow Magic Fairy Books

This is more of a series, a never ending series, a phenomenon, than a book, but nevertheless it deserves a place here. If anything, this series turned me into a reader. I remember going to the library and getting tons of these books at a time. I remember my box set of the Weather Fairies, dressing my bear as Amy the Amethyst Fairy, rereading Holly The Christmas Fairy every Christmas for like five years, proudly wearing my fairy necklace…

4. Junie B Jones

I LOVE THIS GIRL! Seriously, I loved these books so much, and also Junie B First Grader. Her name is The B stands for Beatrice, but she doesn’t like that so she just goes by B. Also remember that time she sat on the fruitcake. And she tried to be a flower girl. Also the time she didn’t want cake just a bowl of whipped cream lmao what a mood.

5. Ramona Quimby

MY GIRL RAMONA! And her sister Beezus. Also the girl with the curly hair she loved to pull on and go booooiiiing. Also remember when she had an imaginary pet lizard omg I loved that guy.

6. Half Magic 

There’s a whole series of books like this, I believe. I remember reading and loving then in fourth grade with my best friend Rachel (who moved away after that year… I wonder what happened to her). That book, about some ordinary kids discovering magic in their everyday lives, was so amazing!

7. The Chronicles of Narnia

They’re classics for good reason. I remember loving The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe when we read it in class in third grade, and then devouring all the rest of them myself. The world is just so amazing and magic, and it’s so easy to be swept away by the enthralling story.

8. Year of the Rat (And Pig)

You wanna talk about diversity in literature? This was the first book I recall ever reading (in English at least lol a got a couple Chinese picture books) with a Taiwanese, or any Asian at all, protagonist. Reading about the eating Chinese food, Chinese New Year, having a zodiac animal (I’m a snake btw), lucky color red, all that stuff that my family does but I never found in another book…wow.

9. The BFG (+ Other Roald Dahl Books) 

I love Witches, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but most of all I LOVE the BFG! It was the first of his books my entire family read, and I remember amiably chatting with my brother about how cool and friendly and fun and magical the Big Friendly Giant is!

10. Geronimo Stilton

So… this is one of everyone’s childhood favorites right? I remember everybody loved these books! They’re so fun and colorful, from the fun fonts jumping out on the page, to Geronimo Stilton’s narrative voice, to the bright illustrations, to the fun and crazy interactions between family and friends…

Let’s Chat

This was such a trip down memory lane omg. I’m so nostalgic now. Let me know if you have any of the same books on your lists in the comments below! Some of these are classics I expect to see, but others I’m wondering if they have to do with my age, and the years I grew up. Anyways, I’d love to chat in the comments below!