Has anyone read any children's books as an adult for your own pleasure?

There's the whole Harry Potter thing, and yes I did read them and certainly enjoyed the first 4 or 5, but have you read any others, either on purpose or inadvertently? (My library has a habit of mis-shelving books, so you can pick up a junior fiction book in the adult category)

I sought out and enjoyed the Philip Pullman His Dark Materials trilogy after they scored highly in the UK 100 best books poll a couple of years ago. I found it quite challenging for a childrens book.

I also read a book by Isabel Allende Kingdom of the Golden Dragon.(and I was well through it by the time I started to suspect it was aimed at younger readers) I found it magical and fascinating, and would recommend it to anyone. It is 2nd in a series of 3 City of the Beasts, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon and Forest of the Pygmies. I haven't read the others yet but one day I hope to.

Does anyone else have any books aimed at a younger audience that they would recommend?

Well, I still read my Enid Blyton, Anthony Buckeridge, S. E. Hinton and pony books. Sometimes you need to let your brain unwind! ;-) Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket and the Anastasia books by Lois Lowry are some I have discovered as an adult. Second childhood? Sometimes I think I haven't left my first! ;-)

I think I have said it before here, I love 'The Wind in the Willows', and read it when I am not feeling well. It warms my heart every time.

As a collector of children's books, I'm always on the lookout for the new and unusual. One recent series that may interest young readers (and possibly spark an interest in art and architecture as well) is written by Blue Balliett and partly set in my own Chicago neighborhood. The books so far are "Chasing Vermeer," "The Wright 3," and "The Calder Game." "Chasing Vermeer" has won some awards and has been optioned for a film.

These books, which are intellectually engaging as well as entertaining, are aimed at readers aged 9-12. They are illustrated by Brett Helquist, well-known for his work on the Lemony Snicket "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books.

By the way, I've read all the Harry Potter books and the Pullman books, too.

I, for one, will never *outgrow* "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint - Exupery. Actually (even though we merchandised it as such) I was never sure it was exactly FOR Kids. That they seemed to love it, though, was enough for me to sell as if it were that. But it addresses a large audience, any age (in my opinion). I'm always picking up an old beaten-to-mercilessness copy of Chris Van Allsburg's "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick", too. I expect to outgrow that one when I'm dead (but maybe not even then ). Another grand one to re-visit [especially at Christmas] is an old out-of-print picture book by Kurt Vonnegut (yep, THAT Vonnegut) called "Sun, Moon, Star". Simple, yet lovely and entirely compelling.
It used to be I thought I was always too "old" for what was labelled children's books ... even when I WAS a child. I couldn't have been more wrong. It turns out, if you ask me, the right books grow with the person who reads them. Whether you first read it at 6 or at 60. I still haven't been able to fall into the Harry Potter novels, though . Doesn't prevent me from being thrilled for the gadzillions of readers who have, however .

If you read French , you may enjoy my daughter's books for young children. The messages in them are for all ages I think. They are called " Le Jour de Ma Naissance" and "Le Noel de Balthazar" by Emma Kelly. I am, of course, very proud of them, but they are also a good read.

I'd be very interested to see them, ren; I'd like to acquire more foreign-language books than I have. Can you give me the publisher's name and the publication dates? I could ask a book dealer to locate copies.

I'd be proud, too, if I had a daughter who wrote children's books.

Plenty, but besides the ones I had as a child I have more recently added Michael Rosen's poetry books, my favourite being (he reads many on the radio as well) Don't put mustard in the custard.

Don't do,
Don't do,
Don't do that.
Don't pull faces,
Don't tease the cat.

Don't pick your ears,
Don't be rude at school.
Who do they think I am?

Some kind of fool?

One day
they'll say
Don't put toffee in my coffee
don't pour gravy on the baby
don't put beer in his ear
don't stick your toes up his nose.

Don't put confetti on the spaghetti
and don't squash peas on your knees.

Don't put ants in your pants
don't put mustard in the custard
don't chuck jelly at the telly
and don't throw fruit at the computer
don't throw fruit at the computer.

Don't what?
Don't throw fruit at the computer.
Don't what?
Don't throw fruit at the computer.
Who do they think I am?
Some kind of fool?

Michael Rosen

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I have some of his poetry for adults as well but much prefer these.

I see, ren, that your daughter's books have a co-author -- Marie-Helene Place -- and an illustrator -- Caroline Fontaine-Riquier.

Is that correct?

Correct! I have sent you a pm with details.

I still have most of the books I had as a kid - all the LM Montgomery ones, also the Cherry Ames and Sue Barton nurse series, and many of Elsie J Oxenham's Abbey Girls Series and the Billabong series. Readers outside Australia may not know the Billabong books by Mary Grant Bruce - they are set on a cattle station in Australia in the early 20th century, and I loved them.
All of them get a reread every so often, as well as the Harry Potters and CS Lewis Narnia Chronicles and whatever i happen to be reading to my youngest grandaughter.
My excuse for still collecting kids books is that the grandchildren will need their own copies as they get older ! (Nothing to do with the fact that Nanny needs a fix on a wet Sunday afternoon while curled up in front of the fire)

I enjoy reading the Narnia tales every year or so.
And Heinlein's juveniles, of course. My favorite of those is Tunnel in the Sky.

Was lucky enough to stumble across the below named books at the local used book store.

"Wind in the Willows", by Kenneth Grahame
"Just So Stories", by Rudyard Kipling
"The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood," by Howard Pyle
"Homer Price" & "Centerburg Tales", by Robert McCloskey

The "Animorph" series is supposedly for young adults, although it can be quite intense. It's amazing, and I totally recommend it.

I still read a few novels that I'd first read as a kid. One of my favorite books (period) is The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - I can read it over and over. Also, I got into science fiction as a child after reading Alexander Key's "Escape To Witch Mountain" and "The Forgotten Door."

The most recent movie of The Princess completely changed the story and really ticked me off. Also, Escape to Witch Mount was made into a terrible movie in the 70s. It bore little resemblance to the book, which (for me) was about resourcefulness in a scary, alien world. What kid doesn't feel like this every once in a while. But the movie had cartoon-style villains and flying Winnebago's. I would never have read that great book if I'd seen the movie first. I haven't seen the new version with the guy who used to call himself The Rock, but from the ads it doesn't look like they went back to the book for ideas. (Sigh)

I also enjoy the Harry Potter novels, which I am slowly reading through.

Y

I wonder if any of you loved , as I did,"The Little White Horse" by Elizabeth Gouge? Such a great read, it is so original. I read it again recently and really loved it still.

I've got that one, and Towers in the Mist on my bookshelf.

I'm one of the many thousands of adult readers of Elinor M. Brent-Dyer's Chalet School series, and other "Girls' Own" style stories. Girls Gone By Publishers produces a steady stream of re-prints of such books each year. There are also a number of websites for enthusiasts of Arthur Ransome, Malcolm Saville, Antonia Forest, Elinor M. Brent-Dyer and Enid Blyton, to name a few. I think the number of quizzes in the KidLit section of For Children shows that there are a number of adult fans of children's books here on FunTrivia, too.

I still love the Blyton's I have on my bookshelf, and have been known to curl up with "My Naughty Little Sister" series by Dorothy Edwards even now! I haven't read the "Chalet School" series for many years but have good memories of them. And of course the Potterverse spans both children and adult! I have always loved "Children's Literature" in the quiz section

I can't believe I didn't mention "Uncle" anywhere! Unfortunately, they are out-of-print now and the books are "Collectibles". if anyone wants to scare themselves, go and look at prices for "Uncle and Claudius the Camel"...

I too LOVE "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett, much more than I ever liked "The Secret Garden". I hope I still have that book somewhere, I gave many of my old books to my cousins, who are a 10 and 12 years younger than I, but I don't think I would have given away that one. Probably in a box somewhere.

Cannot believe I have forgotten this until now: Epaminondas! I loved it.

Oooh Yes! I forgot him too!

Quote:

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Now Epaminondas! You mind how you tread in dem tarts!. And Epaminondas did. He trod right in the middle of every one!

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I would like to recommend "The Velvet Room" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. (More a young-adult book than a kid's book.) I read this book as a child, but I've been an "adult" for almost 30 years now, and I still have this book on my shelf and read it every few years. It's about a young girl from an extremely poor family who discovers a secret room in a boarded-up mansion, where she is able to escape her hard reality and live out her fantasies. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone (of any age) who enjoys reading young adult novels.

I also really enjoyed "A Gift of Magic" by Lois Duncan, who wrote other young adult books, but this was by far my favorite. I've looked for it in used bookstores, but haven't yet wanted to re-read in quite bad enough to get it off the internet. I'm sure I'll get to that point eventually.

I also loved "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume, and all of the Henry Huggins and Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. I'm in my 40's now, but still love to read a Ramona book every now and then!