11. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
I spent most of my childhood living either
in a city or a suburban town and so Ransome’s tale of dinghy sailing, camping
and outdoor adventure totally appealed to me.
Funnily enough, although I loved this, I never bothered reading any of
the other books in the series and I can’t, for the life of me, remember why.
12. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
I can’t think of anything more enticing to
a child’s mind than the thought of discovering a completely new world
accessible through the back of a wardrobe.
Add in fauns, a witch, snow, Turkish delight (yum) and Aslan and it’s an
all-time classic. I read a couple more
in the series but then lost interest and this one is clearly a cut above the
others.
13. Watership Down by Richard Adams
Apparently, Watership Down has been described as an allegory of the endless
struggle between freedom and tyranny. I
can’t say that occurred to me as a young boy; I just enjoyed it as a story with
its quests, escapes and heroic battles.
It’s also got a deeply poignant ending which I won’t spoil for anyone who
hasn’t read it. It was made into an
excellent animated film with that Art
Garfunkel song. My father took me to see
it and, dear reader, I might have had a moist eye or two at the end.
14. Paddington Abroad by Michael Bond
I was a big Paddington fan generally but
this story of the Browns’ holiday to France and Paddington’s misadventures on
the continent is the Paddington story that stood out for me, especially the
cover with Paddington’s usual hat replaced by a French beret.
15. The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton
I was much more “Team Famous Five” than “Team
Secret Seven” but I did love the idea of their clubhouse and the secret
password. Basically, however, I loved all
those stories of Blyton’s about groups of kids solving crime and having adventures.
16. Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
Another in Dahl’s amazing catalogue of
children’s books. I was a big fan of
this story of Mr Fox and his struggles to feed his family and the other
underground creatures in the face of constant attack from Messrs Boggis, Bunce
and Bean. The edition I had contained a
brilliant illustration, showing Fox’s underground run from his burrow to the farmers’
storehouses. It’s a shame that the
recent film takes liberties with the story.
Mini-Falaise thoroughly enjoyed this when I read it to her.
17. Diving Adventure by Willard Price
I read all of Price’s wildlife-based
adventure stories but tended to enjoy the diving or sea-set ones best. This
one revolved around a diving expedition
to an underwater city to collect specimens and the whole underwater city really
grabbed my imagination (The whole undersea thing may explain why The Spy Who Loved Me remains one of my favourite
Bond movies). Some of Price’s attitudes
are a bit anachronistic but I am glad to see that some of the books have been
reissued - I bought two of them for my oldest nephews birthday last year.
18. Mrs Pepperpot by Alf Prøysen
I only read some of the Mrs Pepperpot stories
but they were very enjoyable. For those
unaware of her, Mrs Pepperpot is a little, old lady with the unfortunate habit
of sometimes shrinking to the size of a pepper pot, occasioning some inventive
stories of how she escapes from the tricky situations this lands her in.
19. My Friend Mr Leakey by J.B.S. Haldane

20. Stig of the Dump by Clive King
One day Barney, whilst out exploring the
woodland near his house discovers a cave-boy living in a pit amongst the rubbish. Although Barney’s parents don’t believe him when
he tells them about Stig, the two become friends and have lots of adventures
exploring the woods. It’s brilliant and
an absolute classic and I loved it.
I’m now 40 per cent. through my Top 50 list
and it’s turning out to be quite different to that of The Times, although there
are some overlaps. Do come back tomorrow
- or possibly the next day - for another instalment.
2 comments:
I was hoping you'd be a Willard Price fan. I loved all of these books, they were a bit of an antidote to Enid Blyton, and prepared me for all the adults thrillers I devoured as a teen.
Oh yes, I was a HUGE Willard Price fan! I hadn't looked at them that way but they were a kind of bridge from children's adventures into a more adult realm.
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