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Books That Influenced My Childhood

Hey guys!

It's Monday, and as I mentioned in my last post, I've been having a bit of a rough week.

I've been dealing with some stuff that's had me pretty down, and literally all I've felt like doing is working or doing housework. I haven't picked up a book in about five days, which is really unusual for me, and I've also not really had the TV or my computer on in that time, other than for working on my blog.

I know that everyone goes through tough times, and that in the end, I'm sure it makes us stronger, but it's definitely been a time in my life that I hope I never have to repeat.

I feel I so rarely go through reading slumps, that it's always weird when I finally do, but I know I will eventually find my way back to my beloved books, as let's face it guys, books have and will always be a huge part of my life.

So along those lines, For today's post, I wanted to talk about some of the books that had the greatest impact on my childhood. I was honestly the type of child that always would have chosen reading over watching TV and whatnot, and as such, there were a lot of books, that I discovered, that had a huge impact on me. So I know I'll get back to my beloved books soon, and in the meantime, here's the ones that had a huge impact on my love of reading as a child.



1) The Bible: I couldn't talk about the books that have influenced me the most, without mentioning this one. Without a doubt, my faith has pulled me through some really dark times, and I'm beyond belief thankful that my mom instilled the love of reading the Bible in me as a child.

2) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: When I was in public school back in elementary, I didn't exactly fit in with my classmates. I could have cared less about the sports teams, and that right there made a freak in most of my classmates' eyes. I remember in 5th grade, reading this book at my desk during a free period, and being made fun of by my whole class for reading books that were way too big, and not standing around gossiping with the rest of them. Lol I'm beyond belief grateful that my love of the classics was instilled in me at such a young age, as Little Women to this day is still one of my all time favorite novels, and I think reading it did more for me than standing around gossiping would have. :)


3) Pit Pony by Joyce Barkhouse: I discovered this beautiful novel from a fifth grade reading assignment. Our teacher's back in elementary always used to pick one book that they would read aloud to their class a chapter every couple of days until we finished, and then we would have assignments to complete based on the book. I was so in love with this hauntingly beautiful story that I ended up finishing it way before our class did, as I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next. Coincidentally, right after our class was assigned this book, was when CBC chose to make it into a TV show, and I was beyond belief excited to get to watch this TV show every week.


4) Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: This book series is special to me in more ways than I could ever explain. Growing up, my maternal Grandmother was one of my favorite people in the entire world, and I loved being at her house more than anything. This was her absolute favorite book series, and not only do I remember her encouraging me to read it, which I did and loved, but I also remember curling up with her as a little girl to tune in and watch Road To Avonlea every Sunday. This has definitely remained one of my all time favorite series over the years, and I've actually been thinking lately that it may be time for a reread.


5) The Babysitters Club, and The Baby Sitters Little Sister by Ann M Martin: My list of childhood books could never be complete without mentioning the series that started it all for me. The Baby Sitter's Little Sister series were the first chapter books I ever read on my own, and after that, there was no stopping me when it came to books. As I got older, I also grew to love the original Baby Sitters Club books, and I have a huge collection of novels from both of these series that I hope to eventually pass onto my own kids someday. I would love the opportunity to get to meet Ann M Martin in the future, and tell her just how much her books have always meant to me.


6) I Want To Go Home by Gordon Korman: This was another find from a school assignment, and words cannot express how much I love this book. Even reading this book now, I can't keep myself from outright laughing, and Chip's classic "MILLER" scream is one of my all time favorite book moments. I highly recommend everyone encouraging grade school kids to read this book, as it's a great book to introduce a love of reading. :)

7) The Mandie Series by Lois Gladys Leppard: The Mandie series was a series that my maternal Grandmother introduced me to as a young girl. She bought me a few of them for a birthday gift from our local Bible bookstore that no longer exists, and I was instantly hooked. I loved the daring adventures that Mandie always went on, and how her adorable kitten Snowball was always getting her into trouble. I've recently been reading and rereading these books, and this is another series that I hope to get to share with my own children some day. 

8) Charlotte's Web by E.B. White: I've always loved this classic children's novel, and it's a novel to this day that makes me tear up. I remember our class performing a Christmas play based off this book once, and I've just always had such a deep appreciation for it.

9) The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner: The Boxcar Children is another series that I grew up loving, and now have a huge collection of these books in storage as well. I always loved the mysteries that Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny were able to solve, and they were really my first introduction into loving mysteries, and that has continued until today. 


10) The Ramona novels by Beverly Cleary: I think as a child I honestly loved reading about troublemakers, since I was a pretty quiet child who would never have thought of doing the fun things these kids did in books. I adored the Ramona books, and her daring adventures that almost always ended up with her in huge trouble with her parents. 


Those are the ten books that had the greatest impact on my childhood, and encouraged my love of reading guys! Were there any books that influenced your childhood, or love of reading? If so, leave my a comment, as I'd love to know!


Thanks so much for reading, and I'll hopefully see you all back here again tomorrow :)


This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. 

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