One of the joys of having children, or nieces and nephews, friends with kids, neighbors with kids, or just knowing young kids, is that you get to introduce them to the stories you loved when you were young. I may or may not have used my kids as an excuse to go back and read all of my favorites, over and again. There were numerous trips to the library, and I have bookshelves full of stories I can pick up whenever I want a quick read to take me back to my childhood.

These stories are timeless; at least to me. I wish I could remember the first book I ever read that put me on the path of loving books. It does not matter now, but I would love to read it again.

The first series I recall reading was “The Boxcar Children“. Gertrude Chandler Warner wrote the first 19 stories in this series, but there are now over 130 titles! I am positive I have not read any of them written beyond Mrs. Warner’s stories, and am unsure at this point if I would want to go back and read further into the series when she did not write them. The series has its own website, and you can visit it here: http://www.boxcarchildren.com/content.cfm/boxcar-children-books

“Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators” by Robert Arthur is another series that I have read over-and-over again. I have not had the time to do it lately, but I would often go to the library and check out as many of these books as they would let me, and spend my weekend reading them for the umpteenth time!

There is a website dedicated to collectors and fans of these books, with a lot of other great information, including forums. If you enjoyed these books as well, be sure to visit the site here: http://www.threeinvestigatorsbooks.com/

If you loved The Three Investigators stories, you must have read “Encyclopedia Brown” as well. Donald J. Sobol had every young reader wanting to be the neighborhood detective. A fun series to read, for those of us who could just not figure out the solution, you could always find it in the back of the book. I know I had several “A-ha” moments reading these stories.

I have to admit that I never read the Narnia series of books by C.S. Lewis until I was an adult. I have no idea how that ever happened, but it is truly one of my favorite sets of books to read. I was fortunate enough to get to read Harry Potter right along with my girls, and J.K. Rowling is probably as responsible as I am for the fact that I have 4 daughters who truly love reading.

What books did you read as a child, and do you ever go back and read them now?