a page from my childhood

back in april, i took this trip down memory lane. <--link! click it!

well, it turns out, my mom didn't just save everything i'd ever written as a kid but also everything i'd ever read. she tells me there are boxes and boxes of books getting dusty somewhere in the attic, and it got me thinking (with mom's help) about the books i read growing up.


Pat the Bunny

i didn't remember this one until my mom mentioned it, and in fact, when i first posted this, i described the book wrong (which mom pointed out, of course). but now i clearly remember the fuzzy pages and the peek-a-boo mirror. apparently, it was my favorite.

Berenstain Bears

i needed a nudge from mom to remember this too, but oh yeah, i was totally into these bears. i think i had every book.



East of the Sun & West of the Moon






this is my all-time favorite childhood book. it always creeped me out a little, especially near the end, but the artwork was so beautiful, and the writing so memorable. in fact, i think i still have parts of that book memorized to this day. i hope hope hope this is one of the books in mom's dusty boxes.

Charlotte's Web

this was my first "big girl" book, and i remember thinking it wasn't much harder to read than all the thin books. mom claims i read it in a single day, and she didn't believe me, so she sat me down to quiz me on the story to prove it.


i don't remember that, but i do remember reading this book over and over again, to make it last longer.

Sweet Valley Twins
what can i say? i was ten. i was a girl. i was an only child who dreamed of having a sibling - especially a twin!
also, i was more of a jessica than an elizabeth... at least, i wanted to be. ;)




Fear Street books



i picked these up as a pre-teen. pure escapism.
all i remember is that the main characters were always 17 years old.
always.



Watership Down

and this was my graduation from kids books to adult books. it was at least a decade before i knocked that literary chip off my shoulder and went back to reading young adult stories. it was another decade after that that i started writing them.

and i have all the books on this list to thank.


so please share!! what books tell the story of your childhood??