Thinking about the books I read as a kid

[Balog]

Got to chatting with my wife yesterday about the books we read as kids, and which ones we want to pass along to our children to read. Thinking mostly here about chapter books, I got started on them so early I don't really know any of the beginner's stuff well aside from Seuss and Curious George.

The only ones I can't remember the name of (and wish I could) were these collections of short stories about outdoor adventure; hunting with dogs, being confronted by large predators in the wild that sort of thing. All set in the post Wild West pre-massive industrialization and regulation era I seem to recall. They had red covers and really well done pen and ink illustrations.

Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?

[AZRedhawk44]

Where the Red Fern Grows?

Two Against the North?

[Neemi]

Old Yeller?

[Balog]

Aren't those actual novels, not collections of disparate short stories? They weren't tied together in any way but theme, no common characters or story arcs.

[RoadKingLarry]

The folks had a subscrition of some sort to Reader's Digest Condensed books, each book would have several "books" in them, I read bunches of those.

I think I read most of this series.
http://www.tomswift.info/homepage/

Then there was the Martian Chronicals, Asimov's I Robot, Heinlein, I fist found Heinlein in an old dog eared copy of one of the pulp fiction books (Galaxy according to wikipedia), there was a serialized version of I Will Fear No Evil, probably wasn't the best read for a 10 year old.

[lee n. field]

The folks had a subscrition of some sort to Reader's Digest Condensed books, each book would have several "books" in them, I read bunches of those.

I think I read most of this series.
http://www.tomswift.info/homepage/

Then there was the Martian Chronicals, Asimov's I Robot, Heinlein, I fist found Heinlein in an old dog eared copy of one of the pulp fiction books (Galaxy according to wikipedia), there was a serialized version of I Will Fear No Evil, probably wasn't the best read for a 10 year old.

That dates you.  I remember IWFNE serialized in Galaxy.  '72-ish, IRRC.  That was the one novel of his that went to press with no editing.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Every book that survived my childhood is in some plastic bins.
Everytime a thread like this comes up, I pat myself on the back for such forsight.

[æg151337]

Of Mice and Men was one of my favorites back in middle school.

[Brad Johnson]

I used to devour Reader's Digest as a kid.  Now it's seems to have degraded into something more akin to "The Slightly Thicker People Magazine for Serious... People".  I picked up a copy while waiting for a haircut recently only to be sorely disappointed at the markedly liberal bent to the story matter.

Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew.  Loved them.  They even still around?

White Fang
Black Stallion
Tale of Two Cities

Brad

[HankB]

. . . I think I read most of this series.
http://www.tomswift.info/homepage/ . . .

Same here - in fact, I think I have all but the last two books in a bin somewhere.

Before Tom Swift, when I was just learning how to read, my folks got me started on the How and Why Wonder Books. With titles like Guns, Dinosaurs, Rockets and Missiles, they were a LOT more fun to read than what the (exclusively female) teaching staff assigned in school. And since they included things like Primitive Man, Rocks and Minerals, etc., they were more educational than comic books.  http://www.rocketroberts.com/how_and_why/how_and_why.htm

Later on - probably around 3rd grade - I began reading things like the reprints of the 1930's books about Doc Savage. (They eventually made a truly appalling movie about this pulp hero.) Plus all the science-fiction I could get my hands on.

My first real "outdoors" book was one I got from the library, written by Carl Akeley, sometimes called the father of modern taxidermy . . . made me vow that SOMEDAY I'd hunt in Africa. 

[lee n. field]

Same here - in fact, I think I have all but the last two books in a bin somewhere.

Before Tom Swift, when I was just learning how to read, my folks got me started on the How and Why Wonder Books. With titles like Guns, Dinosaurs, Rockets and Missiles, they were a LOT more fun to read than what the (exclusively female) teaching staff assigned in school. And since they included things like Primitive Man, Rocks and Minerals, etc., they were more educational than comic books.  http://www.rocketroberts.com/how_and_why/how_and_why.htm

The Golden Book Encyclopedia -- an encyclopedia aimed at elementary students.   Kind of a pre Britannica Junior set.  (Y'all do remember the red Britannica Junior Encyclopedia, right?)

I also remember a series of "All About" books covering various subjects, aimed at roughly the same age range.  "All About Rockets and Aviation", etc.  Here's one: All ABout Famous Inventors and their Inventions.

And all the kids' space travel books that predated the first probes that showed us what Mars and Venus were really like.  (Yuk.)

[Stand_watie]

Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?

Sounds like Jack London themed short stories.

http://www.jacklondons.net/northstories.html

[Tallpine]

The Golden Book Encyclopedia -- an encyclopedia aimed at elementary students.

You mean World Book 

I still have my set from about 1965 

[BlueStarLizzard]

Same here - in fact, I think I have all but the last two books in a bin somewhere.

Before Tom Swift, when I was just learning how to read, my folks got me started on the How and Why Wonder Books. With titles like Guns, Dinosaurs, Rockets and Missiles, they were a LOT more fun to read than what the (exclusively female) teaching staff assigned in school. And since they included things like Primitive Man, Rocks and Minerals, etc., they were more educational than comic books.  http://www.rocketroberts.com/how_and_why/how_and_why.htm

Later on - probably around 3rd grade - I began reading things like the reprints of the 1930's books about Doc Savage. (They eventually made a truly appalling movie about this pulp hero.) Plus all the science-fiction I could get my hands on.

My first real "outdoors" book was one I got from the library, written by Carl Akeley, sometimes called the father of modern taxidermy . . . made me vow that SOMEDAY I'd hunt in Africa.

The same deal as the How and Why are http://www.google.com/m?q=Eyewitness%20books&client=ms-opera-mobile&channel=new
Hell, I still occasionally pull out the few I have.

And speaking of Doc Savage, I really need to copy the movie Dad and his friends made when they were in their early teens and send out copies to those of you who were also fans. I think you'd get a kick out of it. :)

[Monkeyleg]

I don't think I could possibly remember the books I read. In third grade I won an award for reading the most books over the summer. I read constantly from the time I first learned until late in my college years. I don't know what happened after that, but I lost my interest in books.

[MrsSmith]

Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew.  Loved them.  They even still around?

Brad

This!

[lee n. field]

You mean World Book 

I still have my set from about 1965 

No, I mean the Golden Book Encyclopedia.



http://www.ebay.com/bhp/golden-book-encyclopedia

[lee n. field]

Scholatic press books, ordered at school from a flier.

It was good stuff then.  Probably tedious propaganda now.   

[Boomhauer]

I moved to adult level books pretty quickly (like reading Tom Clancy in elementary school). I pretty much quickly devoured the kid level books that held my interest in a short period of time.

I never really went for the classics but stuff like Gary Paulsen's books, the Boxcar Children, My Side of the Mountain, and anything science, transportation, how stuff works, aviation, etc held my attention. I was and still am fascinated by how everything in the world works.

I hated short books, too. Whats the fun of a book that you can read in a couple of hours? To this day I hate short stories...

[Monkeyleg]

I never really went for the classics ...

I did with certain books. I read "A Tale of Two Cities" four or five times. I don't know why.

[freakazoid]

Goosbumps and Boxcar Children where the big ones for me. Also a few books that are my dads, I think they might of been Tom Swift Jr. books but I'm not positive. Read a lot when I was young.

[RoadKingLarry]

I hated short books, too. Whats the fun of a book that you can read in a couple of hours? To this day I hate short stories...

In 8th grade I read Michener's Centenial over a 3 day weekend(lousy weather). Teacher accused me of lying about it and gave me an F on the book report. She said nobody could read it in 3 days, it didn't help that I told her it was closer to 2. After that I only did book reports on 4th grade level books for her class.

[makattak]

It depends on the age we are talking, but I recall Hardy Boys, Hardy Boys Casefiles, Classics like Robinson Crusoe, White Fang, (at first it was the "comic book" version of those before I was able to step up to the actual novel), but my favorite ones were the "101 Weird Science Facts" and the like. (101 Weird Animals, 101 Amazing Survivals Stories, etc...)

Thinking back, it isn't any surprise my mind is almost a Wikipedia full of useless knowledge.

[RoadKingLarry]

I remember reading quite a few of these also.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Investigators

Sometime during my freshman year of highschool I discovered Louis L'Amour. I've read pretty much everything he wrote.

[JonnyB]

As a grade-school student, I read those types, too.

Some of my favorites were by Jim(?) Kjelgaard. Kids (boys, of course); animals; adventure. Fun to read!

"Chip the Dam Builder" "Hi Jolly" Others I can no longer recall, since it's been nearly 50 years...

And, of course, Jack London - the Commie rat bastard! (but we didn't know it at the time)

jb