Books, especially children’s books have become my passion as an author, and World Book Day is such a wonderful celebration of children enjoying fabulous stories. Stories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Thinking about this, I thought I would reflect on the books I enjoyed as a child, and the books my children loved.
For me one of my absolute favourites has to be the book “Kes: A Kestrel for a Knave” by Barry Hines. I love animals and thinking about it, the story reminded me of my relationships with my pets. This gave me a connection that took me into the book, and I have to admit the end did make me cry and would even today.
I also loved many of the Ladybird books when I was very young. I remember fondly “The Sly Fox and the Little Red Hen”, “Jack and the Bean Stalk”, “Nursery Rhymes”, “Puss in Boots”, “The Three Little Pigs”, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, “Five Little Kittens” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”, to name a few. I suspect these are the old memories of children’s storybooks that gave me some inspiration for the books I write.
My children grew up regularly reading or listening to tales from books including “A Busy Day at Jack’s Garage” by Leslie McGuire, very apt and may have had an influence on my eldest child, Jack, who is now a mechanic in a garage and regularly tells me about his “busy day”.
Then there were, maybe not surprisingly with our love of all things steam engine related, the wonderful world of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. “Ivor the Engine”, “Percy the Park Keeper” series of books, Ian Pillinger’s “Chuffy” and “Dozer” books are simple and wonderfully engaging.
Other classics my children enjoyed were Roald Dahl’s “Danny, Champion of the World”, “The Twits”, “James and the Giant Peach” and “The BFG”.
Keep reading with your children, there’s nothing more magical than a good story.
I would love to hear about the books you loved as a child, and the books your children won’t put down.
