'The book I'd give to my 10-year-old self' Join our competition to celebrate the announcement of the 10th Waterstones Children's Book Prize shortlist.

[RachelMumsnet]

The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is 10 years old this year. To celebrate this and the announcement of the shortlists for the Waterstones Children's Books Prize 2014 this morning, we're asking you to tell us

The book I'd give to my 10-year-old self

Post your choice and reason on this thread. Everyone who joins will be entered into a draw to win the FULL SET of SHORTLISTED BOOKS - that's 18 books altogether. Here's a list of the shortlist:

Best Picture Book:
Open Very Carefully by Nick Bromley and Nicola O'Byrne (Nosy Crow)
Harold Finds a Voice by Courtney Dicmas (Child's Play International)
Weasels by Elys Dolan (Nosy Crow)
Penguin in Peril by Helen Hancocks (Templar)
Time for Bed, Fred! by Yasmeen Ismail (Bloomsbury)
The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino (Macmillan Children's Books)

Best Fiction for 5-12s:
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill (Random House Children's Books)
<a class="break-all" href="//www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1408827786/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1408827786&linkCode=as2&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">Shiverton Hall by Emerald Fennell (Bloomsbury)
The Skull in the Wood by Sandra Greaves (Chicken House)
Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell (Faber and Faber)
The Last Wild by Piers Torday (Quercus)

Best Book for Teens:
The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale (Faber and Faber)
Butter by Erin Lange (Faber and Faber)
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch (Orion)
Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter (Hot Key Books)
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (Penguin)
Geek Girl by Holly Smale (HarperCollins Children's Books)

To kick off: I'd give my ten year old self Wonder by RJ Palacio - as well as it being a wonderful, moving and uplifting story, I'd hope I would pick up on the lesson it manages to teach without begin too preachy about being non-judgemental and kind to others.

This competition has now closed.

[SummerSevern]

Mine would be The Invention of Hugo Cabaret by Brian Selznick.
By 10, I was reading older fiction, and I feel like I really missed out on the world of imagination in children's books. This book is the most wondrous, imaginative story and a great introduction to mixed-media.
I read it to the kids at school and they applauded at the end.

[StarsAbove]

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr. I first read it aged ten, and borrowed it from the library many, many times. I have my own copy now - 25 years later it is probably my favourite book!

[noUggscuse]

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. It took you away to a magical place and inspired creativity.

[siiiiiiiiigh]

The Silver Sword. Very moving and brought that era to life for me. It was my mother's favourite kids' book, and mine, and I've just given it to my daughter.

Precursor to Michael Murpurgo and the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Oh, and, on a lighter note, The Borrowers. Arriety loved books too!

[Filimou]

On a very light note, "The Boy Who Sprouted Antlers" by John Yeoman.
I loved it when I was younger (not sure if it may be too young for ten year old though. But it is a great story with a good message about willpower, how you can achieve just about anything if you really want to and about how its ok to be different.

[GossamerHailfilter]

The book I would give my 10 year old self is 'King of the Vagabonds' by Colin Dann.

Its about a tabby cat called Sammy who lives a very nice domestic lifestyle but wants to follow a different path and have an adventure. There is something so brilliant about Dann's writing and how he managed to bring these cats and their personalities to life.

[Leeds2]

Anne of Green Gables. Still love it, and I always cry when Matthew dies.

[Kveta]

As a horse mad child, I would give myself Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Not only a beautifully written book, with a tale straight from the horse's mouth (as it were), but also a timeless classic which deals with the subject of kindness and cruelty in a very gentle way, ideal for a young child.

I still read it from time to time in my 30s, and there are not many books from my childhood I can say that about!

[chaosmonkey]

Alanna - Song of the Lioness quartet. (Tamora Pierce)

I gave them to my 9 y o daughter, and she's reading them for the third time.

I love how hard she works, there's no 'I found a magic sword and became great' rubbish, just hard work and determination...

DD1 said 'I'm going to be like Alanna, I want to pass my swimming test, can you take me swimming more often so I can practice?' - and after putting in more work, she passed it and was rightly proud of herself

It's also lovely to see that books don't have to come in 3's!

[chaosmonkey]

ooh, mind you now I read the thread - The silver sword and Anne of Green Gables are amazing too!

I do love children's books...

[TheNumberfaker]

His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman.
I can remember reading the Chronicles of Narnia when I was a child. I was so disappointed and angry when I read The Last Battle and realised it was a load of Christian propaganda!

[RachelMumsnet]

The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is 10 years old this year. To celebrate this and the announcement of the shortlists for the Waterstones Children's Books Prize 2014 this morning, we're asking you to tell us

The book I'd give to my 10-year-old self

Post your choice and reason on this thread. Everyone who joins will be entered into a draw to win the FULL SET of SHORTLISTED BOOKS - that's 18 books altogether. Here's a list of the shortlist:

Best Picture Book:
Open Very Carefully by Nick Bromley and Nicola O'Byrne (Nosy Crow) Harold Finds a Voice by Courtney Dicmas (Child's Play International) Weasels by Elys Dolan (Nosy Crow)
Penguin in Peril by Helen Hancocks (Templar)
Time for Bed, Fred! by Yasmeen Ismail (Bloomsbury)
The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino (Macmillan Children's Books)

Best Fiction for 5-12s:
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (HarperCollins Children's Books) Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill (Random House Children's Books)
Shiverton Hall by Emerald Fennell (Bloomsbury)
The Skull in the Wood by Sandra Greaves (Chicken House)
Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell (Faber and Faber) The Last Wild by Piers Torday (Quercus)

Best Book for Teens:
The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale (Faber and Faber) Butter by Erin Lange (Faber and Faber)
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch (Orion)
Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter (Hot Key Books)
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (Penguin)
Geek Girl by Holly Smale (HarperCollins Children's Books)

To kick off: I'd give my ten year old self Wonder by RJ Palacio - as well as it being a wonderful, moving and uplifting story, I'd hope I would pick up on the lesson it manages to teach without begin too preachy about being non-judgemental and kind to others.

This competition is now closed.

[Punkatheart]

I am David - Ann Holm. Boy escapes from a concentration camp and goes in search of his mother. It is astonishing.

[katb1973]

It's so hard to choose just one book at that age, but my all time favourite was and is "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norman Juster. The book not only took me on an imaginative journey full of wonder but also exposed me to the wonder of words and their power. If you haven't read it...do!!

"In this box are all the words I know," he said. "Most of them you will never need, some you will use constantly, but with them you ask all the questions which have never been answered and answer all the questions which have never been asked. All the great books of the past and all the ones yet to come are made with these words. With them there is no obstacle you cannot overcome. All you must learn to do is use them well and in the right places."

[Madamecastafiore]

Goodnight Mr Tom. It was the first book that I read that made me cry. I hadn't until then realised how books could stir so many different emotions. I have since been an avid reader, never happier than when I have my head in a book and will read anything I can get my hands on. I gave dd a set of books when she turned 10 which I had found inspirational as a child and am pleased to say that she is a fellow book worm so we now have great fun attending a book club together and swapping books.

[EduCated]

Mine would be Ballet Shoes - I absolutely adore it as an adult, and know that it would have been a firm favourite that I'd have read and reread many times! It's so heartwarming and homely, with just the right sprinkling of magic and fantasy.

[EduCated]

Madame I've bullied all my close family and friends into reading Mr Tom Have you read any of Michelle Magorian's other books? I read Back Home last week, would highly recommend

[chobb]

Aloha. If I could have given my ten year old self a book it would be the prince of the mists by carlos ruiz zafon. I would choose this one for a very personal reason. At that age I had just started puberty and found none of the books for my age suited, as I felt older than I was and usually read regency classics. Prince of the mists would have been perfect for my tastes.

[Fuseki]

The Phantom Tollbooth. Or...or...From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler. Oh, but it's so hard to pick just one!!!

[Dottyhols]

I'd give my 10 year old the wizard of oz so I could see a good pair of shoes can change everything!

[MarianneEnjolras]

I would give my 10 year old self The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett because Tiffany Aching and Granny Weatherwax are everything the hero should be - clever, hard working, brave, practical, caring. There weren't enough female literary role models when I was growing up.

[LizardQueen74]

I would certainly have given myself The Folk of the Faraway Tree by the blessed Enid Blyton. I read the whole set of books when I was a little older than 10 and when I reached my 30's I couldn't recall if they had been amazing dreams or something I had heard long ago. I recently rediscovered this book and I am reading it to my 4 children who absolutely love it. It's timeless.

[maillotjaune]

I'd give my 10 year old self The Silver Sword. I have just read it with my middle son (9) but his 10 year old brother, dad and I have all loved it. The boys enjoyed every adventure and we were all on edge until we got to the happy ending.

[insanityscatching]

So many great books already, I'd probably give my ten year old self "A Dog so Small" by Phillippa Pearce because it teaches about love and acceptance without preaching and the story is captivating and charming the whole way through.

[TaurielTest]

Adore the Phantom Tollbooth, just reading it to my son now. But I did have it when I was ten, so this should be something different - maybe something that wasn't published then...

I'm going to go for Philip Pullman's Northern Lights trilogy - or if that breaks the rules, then just the third one, Amber Spyglass.