Top Ten Books I Wish I’d Read as a Kid

January 25, 2011 Top Ten Tuesday 6


Top Ten Books I Wish I’d Read as a Kid
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by

I read a lot as a kid but I have to admit… my reading material wasn’t incredibly varied. The Babysitter’s Club was pretty high on my list! When I was in college I decided I wanted to read all the Newbery winners. I think I made it through ten of them! This list is populated with Newbery winners I wish I would have read as a child. I think I would have enjoyed them more then.

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle I still plan to read this one. I feel a little embarrassed every time I admit that I haven’t read it! 
2. King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry This is one of the ten I read when I went on my Newbery kick. I liked it but think I would have liked it more as a teen. 
3. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg I LOVED Silent to the Bone and some of Konigsburg’s more recent reads. I think I would have enjoyed this as a younger reader.
4. The High King by Lloyd Alexander How did I miss this series as a kid? It is SO right up my ally!!!
5. The Grey King by Susan Cooper Again, sixth grade me would have devoured this!
6. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred Taylor My seventh grade students read this in language class. I wish I would have read it when I was their age to have that experience to relate to.
7. Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt My students love this one. 
8. Number the Stars by Lois Lowery This just seems like a book I should have read.
9. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli I love his other books. I still plan to read this one soon!
10. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George A girl in my fifth grade class LOVED this book and I never read it because she was mean. Oh, the logic of a ten-year-old!

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6 Responses to “Top Ten Books I Wish I’d Read as a Kid”

  1. Erin

    I haven’t read the first 6 on your list either, but the last 4 are all wonderful! Especially “Number the Stars” and “Maniac Magee.” Go read those two! SOON!!!

    Reply

  3. runnernda

    First off, I love your blog.

    Julie of the Wolves was one of my favorite books when I was younger. I think there are two sequels to it as well! Also, I’ve never read A Wrinkle in Time. Even when I was younger, I couldn’t get through it! Also, if you want to read the Grey King, I recommend the whole The Dark is Rising sequence (the Grey King is number four of five).

    A few of my favorite books when I was younger were Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell, The Cat Ate My Jumpsuit by Paula Danziger, and the Song of the Lioness, the Immortals and the Protector of the Small quartets by Tamora Pierce. I don’t know how often you recommend books for your students, but I recommend these books to you and your students 🙂

    Reply

  4. YA Bibliophile

    Thanks runnernda! I LOVE Tamora Pierce. I recommend her books to my students all the time 🙂 Book talking with my middle schoolers is one of my favorite things to do!

    Reply

  6. Enbrethiliel

    +JMJ+

    Great list! I can totally relate about The High King and The Grey King. The *geniuses* stocking the only bookstores in town when I was younger ordered only juvenile series and Newbery awardees, which meant that I could get only Books 2 and 5 of Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain and Books 2 and 4 of Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising sequence. And my own logic wouldn’t let me go through a series–especially not something so fantastic–unless I could start from the beginning first.

    The complete sets didn’t become available until I was out of high school. =( But I know I would have eaten them up as a girl.

    PS–Too funny about Julie of the Wolves! LOL!

    Reply

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