When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

I read this book in the summer, I certianly left home too many years ago.

The Chrysalids
1984
Twelth Night

THE GRUFFALO IS MY ALL TIME FAVOURUTE AND ALSO THE GRUFFALOS CHILD, MY LITTLE BOY WHO IS 4 IS ONE OF THESE THAT LIKES THE SAME BOOK OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND I NEVER SEEM TO GET TIRED OF READING THIS ONE!!
I FIND ANY BOOK THAT HAS A GOOD RHYME TO IT IS ALWAYS ENJOYABLE!!

children's - Any of the Mr Gum books - hilarious.

or slightly older - Exodus -Julie Bertagna & Zenith (the sequel)

and it has to be To Kill a Mockingbird (everytime)

All the Marlow books - Antonia Forest

what a fantastic thread!

winnie the witch is sheer brillance.
the charlie and lola books are a big hit with my preschoolers.
the very hungry caterpillar pop up is gorgeous.

i liked the lottie project by jacqueline wilson.
the worst witch.
hp- obviously!
his dark materials.

teenage girls i think judy blume, jane eyre.

older teenagers- the kite runner, 1984.

cant think off the top of my head but adult reads- the island and the time travelers wife- just fantastic i love this book so incredibly much. also rule of four is very well written.
yes i did do an english degree, love reading!

Message deleted

boy in the striped pyjamas

My 4 year old son loves slinky malinki, winnie the witch, very hungry caterpillar and the gruffalo, oh and five minutes peace, which was great for getting him to understand that sometimes I need some peace and quiet.

Bookmarking this thread for future refernce

Oh wow, Wierdstone of Brisingamen - I'd forgotten all about that. fantastic book.

I was going to add for younger children
Peter Pan
Winnie the Pooh and
Wind in the Willows
to the list if they haven't already been mentioned.

For teenage girls, Jane Eyre and Little Women both really affected me when I was growing up.

From my childhood:
I have, I can't believe this, just re-read the whole Dark is Rising series and they are brilliant! I was curious about why I liked them so much, I think they are just great adventure stories. (possibly 11yo)

Weirdstone of Brisingamen, same kind of deal.

The Phantom Tollbooth - funny

More recently: Skellig, v moving.

dd

Elidor & Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. Brilliant. Completely captured me as a child.

I can't believe that my favourite childhood book hasn't been mentioned. The Borrowers by Mary Norton. I think I'm going to read it now.

for pre-schoolers:

Slinky Malinky (great for reading out loud)

for primary/early high school:

Brendan Chase by BB
My Wildernesse Wildcats by Mike Tomkies
(set me off for a lifetime charging through woods and hills)

for older emotionally secure teenagers and adults:

Maus (graphic comic book about experiences during and after the holocaust) (not sure if I was emo sec when I read it - went thru piles of tissues)

I am David, can't remember who wrote it but I remember the story so well.Seems to have been the forerunner to The boy in the striped pj's.

Also Private peaceful and Lord of the flies,
(my kids will be so depressed).

These date me a bit - for pre-teens:

Alan Garner, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (about 11).

Leon Garfield, Smith. About the same age, maybe 9-11?

Stig of the Dump (still in print, got it for DD1,aged 7, but she's still a bit too young)

DD1 really wants to read stories about girls, not boys, and they're harder to find in the UK, but I remember loving the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series when I was 10-11.

The Silver Sword.

Charlotte's Web - kids
Pride and Prejudice - adults

I like George and the Dragon by Chris Wormell for little ones.

And I like The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, which was recently made into a film - I still have my old paperback of it! And The Silver Sword, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.

Crime and Punishment is a great book

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

For Adults
Little Women
Of Mice and Men

For Children
Charlottes Web
Danny the Champion of the world.

the better to stalk you, squiggle

(actually no it's just after 9pm, even I'm allowed to stay up later than that! )

Are you up in the middle of the night again PhD ?

I loved Catcher in the Rye when I was a teenager - and The Outsiders.

has everyone else already said "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

Oooh I remember The Family from One End Street - and also My Naughty Little Sister. Off to Amazon again (Tilly are you sure you're not being paid by them to start these sorts of threads ?)

As I recall, all books were shared between me and my DB until I got to the 'ballet shoes' stage and he got into Terry Pratchet (and we have never seen eye to eye about anything much since then)

Little-ish ones:
Gentle Giant - Michael Morpurgo

Teens:
Forever - Judy Blume
Adrian Mole (1st 2) - Sue Townsend
Diary of a Teenage Health Freak

OOh Older

Holes Louis sachar?
The Northern Lights

Tom's Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce
The ordinary Princess MM Kaye

Preschoolers

Eric Carle - The Hungry Caterpillar, The Mixed up Chameleon, Brown Bear, etc

Judith Kerr - The Tiger who came to Tea.

5+
Michael Foreman - One World.
Boobela and the worm

7+
Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aitkin

Kingcup Cottage by racey helps

but that is for young children

do NOT get me started as that is my forté

MillyMollyMandy HMMMMMM

My recollection of these is that although i loved them they had a very dull narrative style......

A good children's book is neither for boys nor girls.

Really, no book deserves to be nominated if it is only going to be enjoyed by one or the other!

My favourites as a child were:-

Milly Molly Mandy
What Katy Did
Ballet Shoes
Railway Children
1001 Dalmations
The family from one end street

As mostly a group of mothers we are going to be very girly in our choices. How would you make sure that there are enough books for biys represented?

oops are mine too young?

for childhood in teens i loved Virginia Andrews books, and agree watership down,

for adults
The Haunting Shirley jackson
Catcher in the Rye. I read it over and over

The Gruffalo
very hungry caterpillar
the owl and the pussy cat

Watership Down - Richard Adams

100 hahahahahaha!!!!

3 would be a minor fecking miracle...

Am drowning in nostalgia - The Box of Delights was magic. And Are You There God its Me Margaret a source of total intrigue aged 8. Why be desperate to get your period? Blubber was another one I read a zillion times.

Another all-time classic (kids and adult) - I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. We're chatting about it tomorrow night in Bookclub - everyone welcome to join in...

Good idea to nominate books to miss out. Don't see the point of Spot the Dog at all.

Stig of the Dump
I loved a book called something like 'Jennifer, Hecate, [somebody] and me'.

I'd like my child to read The No Cry Sleep Solution

The Snowman and Fungus the Bogeyman, both by Raymond Briggs

All the Diana Wynne Jones

All the Chronicles of Narnia

Harry Potter

Anything by Terry Pratchett - so much common sense and kindness-based ethics. Plus funny and great plots too.

aaarghhh this thread has made me go and spend ££s on amazon, thought we had most of the childrens classics but a few titles there had me longing for them...Gobolino the witches cat and Tom's midnight garden esp...
did anyone read Minnow on the Say? Can't remember the author. Lovely, just lovely.

Fireweed
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harry Potter
Chronicles of Narnia

My nomination for children is The Odyssey.

Your heart will be in your mouth!

Someone just bought my 6 month old DS Dogger! As soon as my BIL came over he was so excited and sat and read it all over again. I've not read it yet but I must as it seems very popular here.

Another vote for the 'Weirdstone of Brisingamen', and its sequel, also 'Elidor' and 'The Owl Service':all by Alan Garner.

I still worry about the end of Dogger - will he be restored to his rightful owner!

OMG I remember Dogger, loved it as a child.

For girls: Any Judy Blume, how would we have got through puberty without her.

ds loves all the Mr. Men as I did when I was his age.

For adults: gotta be 'This Book will Change Your Life' by AM Holmes, by far the best book Ive ever read, in fact I wish I'd never given it away would love to read it again

the velveteen rabbit
beaver towers and sequels by nigel hinton

The Earthsea trilogy by Ursula le Guin

The Stone Book Quartet by Alan Garner

both for adults and children.

Mr Monday series by Garth Nix

Larklight by Philip Reeve (and someone else..)

The Edge Chronicles by Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart

Roald Dahl of course

CS Lewis

Dr Seuss

Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry

Carrie's War
Blue Horse and Tilly
Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack
Dear Greenpeace
Under a War Torn Sky
Adventures of Mrs Pepperpot
Famous Five

for adults
The Time Travellers Wife

Answer to both questions is simple

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Just thought of another

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic

Tom's Midnight Garden - Philippa Pearce

Goodnight Mr Tom - heartbreaking as it is its definately one that stuck in my mind from childhood

Charlotte Sometimes
The Selfish Giant

For adults:
The Great Gatsby
Birdsong
To Kill A Mockingbird
Brideshead Revisited

Carbonel books - Barbara Sleigh
Tom's Midnight Garden - Philippa Pearce
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (and sequels) - Judith Kerr
Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper
Anything by Rosemary Sutcliff, especially Eagle of the Ninth
Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House books
Narnia books
His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman
Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse
Anything by E Nesbit...

...and loads more...

Of course there is the tendency to just choose things you remember reading and loving as a child, all of the above except the Philip Pullmans fall into this category.

Tom's Midnight Garden

All the Willard Price adventure stories.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr

Gobbolino the Witch's Cat

The Little Wooden Horse

Cannoball Simp

How Does a Czar Eat Potatoes

All the Asterix books

All the Tintin books

To Kill a Mockingbird

All the Maya Angelou books

Mary Poppins opens the door

I didn't know that!

All the Chronicles of Narnia
Anne of Green Gables and all the associated books

iwishiwasamermaid

It was a series of books iirc

Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins comes back
Mary Poppins in th Park

wondering if there is one about Closes the door but need to look

The Hungry Catepillar and anything by Richard Scary

I'm sorry to ask this, but was Mary Poppins a book? I honestly didn't know that!

Mary Poppins great books

Fab film but great books first

adults

saki
rosamund lehman

mervyn peake - child and adult books

bogwoppit
family from one end street
milly molly mandy

Witch Week - Diana Wynne Jones
Charmed Life - Diana Wynne Jones (Hell, all DWJ's books)
Hounds of the Morrigan - Pat O'Shea (I loved this at 10, a really quirky book with lots of visual jokes & it sparked an interest in Irish myth & legend)
The Little House books - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Willard Price's Adventure books (The reason that I know how to escape if a giant clam grabs your leg underwater. I still maintain that it'll come in handy one of these days.)
Song for a Dark Queen - Rosemary Sutcliff (She wrote wonderful tales of Roman Britain which really brought history alive <cliche alert>. This one's about Boudicca but they're all good. Outcast is another favourite.)
The Goalkeeper's Revenge - Bill Naughton (Master of the short story. These are fabulous)

I can't wait for ds to read some (all) of these. I'll be gutted if he doesn't love them as much as I did!

All adults should read Breakfast of Champions and Slaughter House 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

and The Blind Assasin Magaret Atwood

and The Magic Toyshop/ Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

- The Haunting - Margaret Mahy
- The diary of Anne Frank
- Alice in Wonderland
- Fungus the Bogeyman
- His Dark Materials trilogy
- Gormenghast trilogy - Mervyn Peake
- A childs history of Noodle Island - Annette Tison & Taylor Talus

Pollyanna

Plop, the Owl who was afraid of teh dark - Jill Tomlinson (the chapter book not the picture book as it isn't as good)

The Phantom Toolbooth.
Box of Delights.

the perks of being a wallflower
the sea lady
good behaviour molly keane

lijkk perlease.....

TH White, Once and Future King/Mistress Masham's Repose
E Nesbit, The Enchanted Castle/Railway Children/Five Children and It

I really don't like the title of this thread, reading should be a joy, not a "must".

The "Little House" books - all of them. I've read them many times.

"Pippi Longstockings".

The "Narnia" books.

"Down with Skool" and the rest of the Molesworth books - hilarious.

As an adult - I love books by Margaret Atwood, Rose Tremain, Helen Dunmore.

Oh, God, and Narnia.

Huckleberry Finn (sp?!) by Tom Sawyer.

Danny the Champion of the World
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory both RD of course.

Anne of Green Gables, um, can't remember author but I loved that one.

Charlotte's Web (with a box of tissues)

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
A NEcklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken

Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf (about the best book for yr1 and 2 I reckon)

Mill on the floss
Passage to India
Jude the Obscure
To the Lighthouse

Any woman ought to read the Woman's Room and some Marge Piercy...

All Narnia.
All The Dark Is Rising.
All Earthsea.
All Noel Streatfeild.
All Rowling.
All His Dark Materials (even tho, I'm not sure what a child would make of them, having only read as an adult).

For younger kids, the Gruffalo is simply a must have.

For adults? I think I would say Testament of Youth, That Lady, and the works of Jane Austen.

Young Children: The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood

Older Children: Back Home by Michelle Magorian

All of the Narnia books - I read them again and again.

The KAtie Morag books
Alfie and Annie Rose series
The Hungry Caterpillar
The tiger who came to tea

Kensuke's Kingdom
As much Roald Dahl as possible
Spike Milligan's poetry
Holes
The Iron Man
The turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler (I think that's it!)
Rose Blanche

Babar (the original 5 or 6 by Jean de Brunhoff).

I loved the Phantom Tolbooth! Must get it for dc too.

Did anyone ever read The Ship that Flew? I dont know the author but I can remember it was a wonderful story when I was about 8.

The Velveteen Rabbit

The Phantom Tolbooth by Norton Juster - for every child and every adult. It's very funny!

Black Beauty
The Root Cellar
Pumpkin soup

older kids - Crime and Punishment

The Box of Delights, John Maesfield I loved that book.

Are You There God? It's me. Margaret, Judy Blume, helped me through pre-teen and early teen years.

Fantastic Mr Fox, just fab.

Burglar Bill.

Charlotte's Web, it was the first book that I just could not put down.

Only one book

"Are you there God, It's me, Margaret"

Harriet the Spy

Middlemarch, George Eliot
Franny and Zooey, J D Salinger
Updike's Rabbit books

Ballet Shoes.
The owl who was afraid of the dark.
Any/all roald Dahl

Tuppence To Cross the Mersey, and other autobiogs by Helen Forrester.

I first read them when I was about 12 and I enjoyed re-reading them as an adult. A great way to find out and understand everyday poverty in the early to mid 20th century.

BFG - Roald Dahl
The Witches - Roald Dahl

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken

Room on the Broom - Julia Donaldson
The Smartest Giant in Town - Julia Donaldson

Dogger - Shirley Hughes

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

definite exclusions would be all Mr Men books gah like pulling teeth

Aaaaagggggh! Want to contribute suggestions but too many books! Too many books! Am...about...to...combust! <KABOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!>

For younger children, The Night Pirates and In the Woods are two which DS loved/loves which do not date from my childhood. 'In the Woods' is a favourite choice of DS's Teddy Bear, even though it scares him

My dd1's teacher has a dog called Dogger, who features in a lot of classwork (dd is 15, by the way!) I love these listy things, I work in a bookshop and it is great to be reminded of 'possible reads' for people who like.... It also reminds me of all the books I have never read!

Bit shocked at recommending 'Flowers in the Attic'. I remember my friend frightening us with this story when we were about 12 and camping in the back yard.

If I remember, it is a horrible story about a crazy aunt or somesuch locking up a bunch of siblings in an attic for years and years and then the brother and sister have an incestuous affair, described in gory detail.

Hmmm..think I will stick with Robert Westall etc.

try that again..

You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum

I haven't read the whole thread but has anyone else read [[ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Youre-Bad-Man-Mr-Gum/dp/1405223103/ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232710073 &sr=8-1 "You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum"]]? - I am reading it to DS(6) at bedtimes ATM and he literally rolls around laughing.

Each, Peach, Pear, Plum
Peepo
Pippi Longstocking
Moomins
Gruffalo
Swallows and Amazons
Weirdstone of Brisingamen
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Ramona Quimby
Barbapapa
Noggin the Nog
Box of Delights
Just William
Anne of Green Gables
The Pigman
The Chocolate War
Peter Pan

Adults:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
Wild Sheep Chase- Haruki Murakami

The Jolly Postman series
The Lighthouse Keeper
The Very Hungry Catapillar
Each peach Pear Plum
Beatrix Potter collection

Im not sure who wrote any of these but i loved them and so do my kids.

I am going to get flamed to bits but i think every child should read or have read to the Enid Blyton The Faraway Tree stories.

Every older child should read the Harry Potter series.

Matilda!

i was busted age 8 reading it under the desk at school

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is brilliant, I'd forgotten all about it.

Another conundrum: which is the best Roald Dahl? For me its a fight between Fantastic Mr Fox, George's Marvellous Medicine and Danny Champion of the World. And The Twits. So that narrows it down...

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

any books by Michelle Magorian

My Naughty Little Sister

Mr Magnolia

The Little White Horse

Diary Of Anne Frank
Tom Sawyer
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The Weirdstone Of Brisingimen
Swallows And Amazons

Ages 1 - 5 Thomas tank engine books
Mr Men

5 - up Magic Key books
Captain Underpants
Roald Dahl's books

11 - up Harry Potter
Chronicles of Narnia
Pullman's - Dark Materials trilogy

Adult Books Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy
Call me Elizabeth by Dawn Annandale
Q & A (I forget the author, but it's the book behind "Slumdog Millionaire")

OOh, Perfume by Patrick Suskind (adults)

All Jane Austen (teens)

For adults - any/all Evelyn Waugh

For Children - Danny Champion of the world

And:

Complicity by Iain Banks (adults)

Lion witch and the wardrobe (Children)
Gruffalo
What Katy Did

Go Ask Alice - ! I remember that

The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren

Looking at that list I have read all but nine of the middle years, all but three of the younger years, and about half of the older ones. Maybe I'll read the other half I like Michael Morpurgo. There are lots of other books I'd add to his list too though. I don't remember anything influencing me in particular. I've read 61 of the "best books" list. What a strange collection!

There is no "the book". Each of us will have our own favourites, and what affects one person deeply may leave another person cold. Sometimes it is just about the occassion - even rubbish books can take on personal meaning.

I'd just like my children to read lots of books!

I have about 150 odd children's books in my personal bookcase, books I have read and re-read and held onto over the years, and they are just older children's fiction. We have probably another 50 or so picture books that we are keeping, and the children will have their own favourites too.

I'm not sure I really believe in the concept of "great" fiction. I have loads of favourites, but I am always being reminded of other books that I really enjoyed, and would like to have again, or finding new books that I think are really good.

I've also found reading my favourite books to the children slightly disappointing, because I'm not sure they love them as much as I think they should !

Black Beauty
Go Ask Alice
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Outsiders
Huckleberry Finn

shabster

ingles! Just sourcing the finance but pretty much decided on new! I became obsessed with the pie not being central to the aga so am going for power flue...dreading whole experience

thanks for all your help btw

Perfect book to read to your baby or young child and then for them to read by themselves is 'Love you forever.' Just a story that goes through the life of a baby through to adulthood. Makes me cry every time I read it. I just gave my much thumbed copy to my first grandchild. Now my firstborn (27 years old) is reading it to his firstborn (7 months old). Perfect book x

you made me lol with your LITTLE children post....
so to digress slightly...bought an aga yet?

fear not Ingles...I am used to it

i could stay alone on here all night - quite therapeutic!

Who are you talking to Ria?

for LITTLE children thee was a great thread the other day....

where angels fear to tread

Bonjour Tristesse

Ria (we digress, sorry) if you like DuM, you may enjoy this Daphne

dp would say duncton wood although not read it myself

dont remember adaptation (thanks for correcting spelling!)

Rebecca is really great ...Daphne Du Maurier is considered a bit too 'popular culture' to be taken seriously but 'Is that the Northern lights?' and 'Last night I dreamt i went to manderley' SHUDDER!!!

Ria - Rebecca. I also liked Therese Raquin, I seem to recall a very good TV dramatisation with ..Kate Nelligan?

Victorian - do you have weird sexual tatses or do you mean Shirley Hughes?!

Lightshines which is your favest book?

Therese Racquin (sp)

dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger dogger

list was from,

In April 2003 the BBC's Big Read began the search for the nation's best-loved novel, and we asked you to nominate your favourite books.

Ria - that is my favest ever book, so I am not completely without literary taste then?

I am so relieved.

A book that left a very strong impression on me is Walter Macken's "Island of the Great yellow Ox".

Rebecca ( fab and very haunting)

Oh, Ria - I think you may be right. 'Little Women' is no 18 on that list.

[sneaks away, embarrassed]

G M should be for both adults and children - so much to draw from it

Goblin Market - Read it to my dcs ENCHANTING

or crime and punishment

I need to read 24 books to complete that list...
not sure I'll ever manage war and peace though

Black Beauty

51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

just found this list...

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

Hiya

I think you are alone there LIght!

the wishing chair and the magic faraway tree

What about Grimble at Christmas - I read it out loud to the children and dp this christmas...they did not seem as impressed as me!

...and what is it about 'Little Women'? Am I the only person who cannot abide that book or am I way out of step?

Hello again Ingles

Oh alright then, Grimble by Clement Freud.

God I loved that book.

In fact, I shall nominate it as the one adults should read too.

neither can we Grimble

Kids : The Outsiders by SE Hinton, I am David by Anne Holm, The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier. Diary of Anne Frank.

Adults : Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

I couldn't possibly choose one book.

I just can't.

I'll join you Ria

I liked Heidi as well

The Trouble with Donovan Croft

Railway Children

Little House on The prairie

Ingles!! ( I dream of opening a bookshop! )

Anne of green Gables

oh god I loved Ballet Shoes.
I'm going to stop now, or it'll be like that book thread the other night, I was there for hours

Ballet Shoes ( how could I forget!)

Lord of the Flies

The Hobbit

Mill on the Floss

Jungle Book

Pride of Miss Jean Brodie - nice teen read - thought provoking

yes lady Chatterley

Are we talking older dc's now?
To kill a mocking bird
Moonfleet
Treasure Island
Harry Potter
Little women

For adults
My all time fav: Sons and Lovers

Emil and the detectives
Far from the madding ( or any Hardy)

Peppermint Pig ( made me go vegetarian)
Wuthering heights

Any Lynne reid banks or Drabble as a young woman - or Plath

The Millstone
The L shaped Room

Ooooh Carrie's War ... I loved that book. What about The Secret Garden?
Swallows and Amazons
Gerald Durrell's autobiographical books abour Corfu

Room at the Top
Picture of Dorian Gray

God, I've read none of these. What does that say about me?

<hides chick lit under pillow>

Anna karenina
Madame Bovary

Every Adult

Girl with a pearl earring

Hotel du lac

The Bell Jar

Bitter Honeymopn Alberto Moravia

Eating Children Jill Tweedie

Little Princess
Secret garden
Toms Midnight garden
The Country Girls (Edna O'Brien -teen read)

Younger readers - any Roald Dahl.
Slightly older - To Kill a Mocking Bird.

Marianne Dreams
Charlotte Sometimes (pre 1980)
Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Carries War

Molesworth
Kidnapped
The Three Musketeers

Does childhood go as far as teenage years for this thread? if so then I nominate Flowers in the attic and petals on the wind by Virginia Andrews. I loved them when I was about 13.

As for adult nominations I vote Marley and Me though I can't remember the author.

The silver sword - Ian Serralier (sp?)
Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper

Kes
The Outsider

Every child should read all of Roald Dahl's books, but they must also read Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

Every adult should read ... bugger it, I can't decide!

Childhood books stay with you forever. Whether Roald Dahl's dark humour or the derry-do of Hardy Brothers, the earthy anarchy of Stig of the Dump or the magical excitement of The Secret Garden, they have a lasting effect on how you approach the big wide world.

What book do you think children MUST read before they leave home?

And while we're at it, what book should every adult read?

(My children's nomination: The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
My adult nomination: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Need a reminder of the all-time classics? This Daily Telegraph list brings back the memories...