Favorite authors growing up

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I’ve been a bookworm from the first time I ever opened a book. So, who were your favorite writers growing up? Mine were:
C.S. Lewis (still love him to this day)
JRR Tolkien (ditto)
Roald Dahl (writer of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach)
Lloyd Alexander
Madeline L’Engle (Wrinkle in Time ftw!:extrahappy: )
Astrid Lindgren (creator of Pippi Longstocking)
Judy Blume
Laura Ingalls Wilder (we’re related!)
and of course, what childhood would be complete without Hans Christian Andersen and Dr. Seuss?
 
Of course, Laura Ingalls Wilder (you’re related??? Can I have your autograph???)!

When I was REALLY little, I loved Ezra Jack Keats (“Whistle for Willie”, “The Snowy Day”) and Russell Hoban (“Bread and Jam for Frances”, “A Bargain for Frances”–with illustrations by the incomparable Garth Williams, also of the “Little House” books!)

Beverly Cleary! Not so much the Ramona Quimby series, but I loved Henry Huggins and her other books–“Mitch and Amy” (still my all-time favorite!), “Jean and Johnny” (ah, teen angst… CLEAN teen angst!) and “The Mouse and the Motorcycle”.)

E.B. White… not so much “Charlotte’s Web”, but my favorite was “The Trumpet of the Swan”.

And Judy Blume captured “growing up” like no one else!

I did not read Nancy Drew, but I loved “The Three Investigators”!
 
Mine were Roald Dahl (pretty much everything he ever wrote), Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking), Beverly Cleary (Ralph S. Mouse), E.B. White (Charlotte’s Web), and A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh).
 
Judy Blume
Beverly Cleary
whoever wrote Nancy Drew books
Francine Paschal (Sweet Valley High/Twins series)
Ann M. Martin (BabySitters Club)
I know there are more, but these were my top 5
 
I still like these authors, even though I’m growing out, not up!

Laura Ingalls Wilder–OP, you’re related?! I’m not worthy! How are you related?

I also love Elizabeth Enright (The Saturdays, Thimble Summer, Gone Away Lake, etc. I wish, WISH WISH!–her book, The Saturdays, could be made into a kid’s movie. I wish that the producer who did the 2007 Bridge to Terabithia movie could do this book, too. If you’ve never read The Saturdays and the sequels, rush to the library and order them, or go online and buy these books.

I love a series of books about a 14-year-old girl named Donna Parker written by Marcia Martin. I think that my novels for teens reflect a lot of the same style and approach as Ms. Martin used, although my novels are more verbose, unfortunately! (Also, they’re technical because of the figure skating information dispersed throughout the novel–some kids love this, while others get bored with facts). I WISH that someone would republish the Donna Parker books, but NOT modernize them like they did with the Nancy Drew books–yechh.

And I LOVE Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes canon–I read all the stories and novels in middle school, and have continued to enjoy it year after year.

As for children’s books, I love William Steig, especially Sylvester and the Magic Pebble–one of my very favorite stories. And I love Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales–when I was in elementary school, I read every fairy tale book in the school library!

I still prefer children’s and teenaged novels to adult novels, and have an entire wall of books for kids/teens.
 
OP, please tell us how you’re related to Laura Ingalls Wilder! She was my absolute favourite author growing up. 🙂

Bluerose, I loved Beverly Cleary’s teen novels. Jean and Johnny, Fifteen, and The Luckiest Girl were, and still are to my mind, just wonderful. In fact, I recently picked up my old copy of Jean and Johnny and read it again.

Cat, the Donna Martin books were also among my favourites! I still have a few of them from when I was young. And like you, I have an entire section of bookshelves full of teen novels, almost entirely from the late forties to the late sixties. Janet Lambert, Anne Emery, Betty Cavanna, Rosamund du Jardin…they all wrote great high school series.

Does anyone remember the Beany Malone and Katie Rose stories by Lenora Mattingly Weber? Both series were about big Catholic families. The Malone stories began sometime in the late 1940’s, I think, and the Katie Rose stories came along a bit later, ending sometime in the late '60’s. Very heartwarming, positive, wholesome stories, but never preachy.

There’s a small publishing company that has recently started reprinting all these books; I’ve ordered several titles from them to fill in the gaps in my collection. It’s called Image Cascade. (I hope it’s okay to mention them here) They’re dedicated to bringing back good, clean teen novels. I think they’ve even republished the Sue Barton nurse stories.

To actually answer the OP’s question, besides the above authors, I also loved L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables), whoever wrote the Trixie Belden stories, and Louisa May Alcott. I know there were many others, but my mind’s gone blank at the moment (old age creeping up on me. LOL!)
 
The ones I remember reading multiple times:

Andre Norton’s science fiction
The Tom Swift series
The Rick Brandt Adventure series
Roald Dahl’s macabre short stories (compiled in Kiss, Kiss)
Jules Verne novels, especially 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea
Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Treasure Island
 
OP, please tell us how you’re related to Laura Ingalls Wilder! She was my absolute favourite author growing up.
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According to my grandmother on my father’s side, she is a great-aunt. We don’t have the same last names, but that’s not always how it works anyway.
 
The movie of this has just come out - Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
CS Lewis’ Narnia series (didn’t read Tolkien until later in life)
Nancy Drew for sure - I remember wanting to be a redhead like her
David Eddings (fantasy writer - his ‘Belgariad’ and ‘Malloreon’ series)
the ‘Famous Five’ books (Enid Blyton)
Got to say ‘Jane Eyre’ as well
 
Jules Verne (Around the World in 80 Days, The Mysterious Island)
Earl Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason).
Evelyn Nesbit (The Five Children and It, the Phoenix and the Carpet).
The Arabian Nights (in the more 'child friendly format)
Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, Kidnapped).
Anna Sewell (Black Beauty).
Marguerite Henry (Misty of Chincoteague).
Inglis Fletcher.
J.R.R. Tolkien.
Tom Swift (we had a whole huge series at my aunt’s).
Frances Hodgson Burnett (A Little Princess).
Mary Mapes Dodge (Hans Brinker).
The Uncle Remus stories.
The Blue Fairy, Green Fairy books and the Brothers Grimm. . .
Charles Kingsley (The Water Babies)
Lewis Carroll (Alice and Through the Looking Glass)
The Bobbsey Twins.
Helen Wells ( the Cherry Ames series)
Nancy Drew AND the Hardy Boys books.
Mad magazine. (yes, in the 1960s it was quite amusing and much less ‘gross’ than you’d think)
Batman and Superman comics. (Batman rules)
Archie comics.
Sir Walter Scott (Waverly novels, Ivanhoe, The Talisman)
Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
Helen Hunt Jackson (Ramona)
Rachel Field (Calico Bush)
Carol Brink (Caddie Woodlawn)
The Howard Pyle “Robin Hood”.
T.H. White (The Once and Future King)
Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers)
Mark Twain (Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn)
Thomas B. Costain (The Silver Chalice, The Black Rose)
Gwen Bristow (Celia Garth, Jubilee Trail, Calico Palace)
Edith Hamilton (the Greek Way)
Rumer Godden (An Episode of Sparrows)

Short list, LOL, have a bit of a headache and need to go fix a bite to eat. I could probably go on forever.
 
These were my favorite when I was a kid - prior to teen years

Growing up, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Laura Ingalls Wilder!!! Like the others have said - “We’re not worthy!” That’s so cool you’re related. 😃
  • Lucy Maude Montgomery was also another favorite. I read almost all of her books. Loved the Anne series, but really had a love for Emily of New Moon as well. I still have to make a trip to Prince Edward Island on of these days.
  • Francis Hodgson Burnett - “The Secret Garden” and “A Little Princess”. I especially loved “The Secret Garden”.
  • Louisa May Alcott (I wanted to be Jo) haha!
  • Mark Twain - As girly as I was there was the hidden tomboy and explorer in me.
  • Charlotte Bronte - First book I read of hers when I was 11 was, of course, Jane Eyre. As I got older, I read a couple of her other novels and then moved onto the other Bronte sisters - Emily and Anne. Loved them all. I’ve read “Jane Eyre” about 6 times at different points in my life and each time have gotten a different meaning in them. Even did a huge paper on it in college for a British literature course. I was obsessed!!!
 
sckcd said:
Judy Blume
Beverly Cleary
whoever wrote Nancy Drew books
Francine Paschal (Sweet Valley High/Twins series)
Ann M. Martin (BabySitters Club)
I know there are more, but these were my top 5
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sckcd, I can practically copy your list as my own with 1 subtraction (never got into Nancy Drew, I just don’t like mysteries) and 2 additions Laura Ingalls/Little House On The Prairie Books and The Fear Street Series by R.L. Stine.

I feel like from our similar choices we’re probably around the same age. 🙂
 
Ann M. Martin (loved The Babysitter’s Club and The Little Sister series)
J.R.R Tolkien (Dad introduced me to him)
R.L. Stine (nothing wrong with a little creepy-horror…)

Who wrote The Boxcar Children series? I forget his name, but I absolutely enjoyed those books too.
 
Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” of course! I wanted to be like Jo too. I also loved her other books in the series, “Little Men” and “Jo’s Boys”. All wonderful books.
I read J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in junior high and loved it, but “The Hobbit” was my very favorite.
E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web”
“A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline L’Engle
Dr. Seuss books
and practically any other children’s books with beautiful pictures.
 
Laura Ingalls Wilder (still love all the Little House books)
Ann M. Martin (Baby-Sitters Club)
Beverly Cleary (loved the Ramona books and all the others, too)
Encyclopedia Brown!!!
 
Loveday220, my sister & I LOVED Trixie Belden books. I hope I don’t make anyone mad;), but I just thought she was so much cooler than Nancy, although I only read a couple Nancy Drew books. I started getting Trixie books for my oldest when she was 9, & she & my youngest have loved them. They were written by Julie Campbell, but I just looked at volume 10 & it is written by Kathryn Kenny. My youngest has loaned out the volumes in between, so I am not sure what happened there or why the switch. I can vouch for the early ones, though. They have covers with new, modern illustrations, but the writing & internal illustrations have not been changed or modernized. I just loved Trixie & so enjoyed reading the 1st few volumes with my girls. I can vividly remember being at a park on a field trip when I was young & seeing a girl I thought looked just like Trixie. I instantly adored her & almost convinced myself it was her. Of course, when I told her of the resemblance, she had no idea who Trixie was.

LilyM, I also LOVED the Famous Five books! I haven’t found anyone that has read these books. When I was in the 5th grade, 4 of my friends & I got heavily into these books & each pretended we were a different character.

I also loved the Misty books, Beverly Cleary (I remember Ramona & Ribsy the most) & early Judy Blume & Little House books.
 
mmm1 said:
Loveday220, my sister & I LOVED Trixie Belden books. I hope I don’t make anyone mad;), but I just thought she was so much cooler than Nancy, although I only read a couple Nancy Drew books. I started getting Trixie books for my oldest when she was 9, & she & my youngest have loved them. They were written by Julie Campbell, but I just looked at volume 10 & it is written by Kathryn Kenny. My youngest has loaned out the volumes in between, so I am not sure what happened there or why the switch. I can vouch for the early ones, though. They have covers with new, modern illustrations, but the writing & internal illustrations have not been changed or modernized. I just loved Trixie & so enjoyed reading the 1st few volumes with my girls. I can vividly remember being at a park on a field trip when I was young & seeing a girl I thought looked just like Trixie. I instantly adored her & almost convinced myself it was her. Of course, when I told her of the resemblance, she had no idea who Trixie was.

LilyM, I also LOVED the Famous Five books! I haven’t found anyone that has read these books. When I was in the 5th grade, 4 of my friends & I got heavily into these books & each pretended we were a different character.

I also loved the Misty books, Beverly Cleary (I remember Ramona & Ribsy the most) & early Judy Blume & Little House books.
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Hehe, I could relate to George, I was a bit of a tomboy as a kid.

I used to read Trixie Belden too - apparently there were numerous authors (the series went for about 40 years from first to last book) and apart from the first author, they all worked under the pen name of Kathryn Kenny.

One thing I vividly remember was Trixie’s parents deliberately choosing not to have an electric dishwasher - made me grateful that my parents didn’t share their views on the subject!

And yes to whoever mentioned Anne of Green Gables as well - read most of 'em several times over. I even loved the telemovies in the 80s.
 
LilyM said:
Hehe, I could relate to George, I was a bit of a tomboy as a kid.

I used to read Trixie Belden too - apparently there were numerous authors (the series went for about 40 years from first to last book) and apart from the first author, they all worked under the pen name of Kathryn Kenny.

One thing I vividly remember was Trixie’s parents deliberately choosing not to have an electric dishwasher - made me grateful that my parents didn’t share their views on the subject!

And yes to whoever mentioned Anne of Green Gables as well - read most of 'em several times over. I even loved the telemovies in the 80s.
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That is too funny- I was George! I was quite the tomboy until about 7th grade, which is probably 1 reason I thought Trixie was cooler than Nancy. Thanks for the info about the authors. 🙂
 
I love the Anne of Green Gables books, too, but I didn’t list them in this thread because believe it or not, I didn’t discover them until I was in my 40s.
 
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