the books that shaped my childhood

and I still read them today!

I have been an avid reader all of my life. Seriously, I would be lost without the written word. I am that kid that would be sooooo excited about the school book fair. Remember those? You'd get the scholastic book sheet with all the books and items listed and I would circle the ones that I wanted. And then actually going to the book fair with cash that your parents gave you burning a hole in your pocket, surrounded by the bookish opportunities dancing in front of you? Sheer bliss... Even as an adult now, I get excited about my children's school book fairs. I still get that same giddy feeling when I go with my daughters to pick out books. I love it.

I thought I'd share some of the books that shaped my childhood. Let me know if you've read these too as a kid!

The Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary

I loved these books when I was a child. I read them over and over and over again. These books in the photo above are my copies from when I was a child. They've gone with me through all of my life transitions, my many moves, my life in general.

I loved the personality of Ramona, I loved the relationship she had with her family, but best of all, I loved her imagination. Ramona expressed what it was like to be a child and at times misunderstood. I remember the excitement at getting new shoes for the school year, just like Ramona and the feel of using brand new pencils on the first day of school. When Ramona doesn't want to change out of her pajamas to get dressed for school because they are so cozy and warm, and decides to wear her clothes over her pajamas to school but regrets it later because she gets overly warm and uncomfortable, well we mayn't have worn pajamas to school but we can relate to wanting to stay in our pj's, right? Especially when those pajamas are our favorite and just so comfy and cozy.

The Ramona Quimby books just hold such a special place in my heart, and I am thankful that I still have my copies, purchased at the school book fair of course!

The Babysitter's Club books by Ann M. Martin

I'm showing my age here a bit, but these books became all the rage when I was in elementary school. I remember in 5th grade, some of my friends and I started our own babysitter's club complete with naming a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. I was the secretary in case you were wondering. Once a writer, always a writer I suppose. But the truly funny thing is, is that we started our babysitter's club and that was the extent of it, ha! We never actually started babysitting. We set up the club and read the books and that was it! That makes me laugh as I think about it. We had short attentions spans, I guess. But we met up at recess for several days trying to figure out the logistics, which I dutifully wrote down (secretarial duties) and it just didn't pan out. Lol...

Anyways, this series was such a lifeline for me. My childhood and adolescence were tumultuous and vicariously living through other people, even if it was just a bunch of 7th and 8th grade girls recording their babysitting adventures, was lifegiving for me. I could lose myself in the babysitting hijinks of Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, and Mary Anne, and feel that there was another world out there, yet to be explored. I would read them over and over and every time a new book in the series came out, I would beg my dad to go to the bookstore so we could get it. I spent so many afternoons and weekends reading Martin's words and just feeling like everything would be okay when I stayed lost in their world. I am grateful for the Babysitter's Club books and the security they gave me at a difficult time in my life. Profoundly grateful.

The Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene

My introduction to mysteries! Almost 100% of the fiction books that I read are mysteries. Literally, 99.99%. Besides the Encyclopedia Brown books (remember those?), Nancy Drew with her crime solving abilities, gave me my first inklings of the deductive process and clues, and footprints, and suspects. I adored the hidden panels and sliding doors and secret staircases. I revered Nancy's ability to find missing wills, buried treasure and lost jewels. Nancy could do it all and actually did do it all, while maintaining an active social life and a devoted boyfriend Ned, who sometimes had to come to her rescue. She drove all around River Heights in her convertible, wearing a cute outfit, solving crimes and wishing for a new crime to pop up as soon as she had solved her current one.

Nancy Drew was cool as a cucumber and suspects always knew that when Nancy was on their trail, they were in trouble. They tried so hard to stop her! But they never succeeded, and they always grudgingly admitted how clever Nancy was. I spent many a summer vacation, caught up in the hijinks that Nancy and her friends got into. As I got older, the Nancy Drew books gave way to Sherlock Holmes and the works of Agatha Christie, but I still love to go to the library and from time to time, check out some Nancy Drew books for a bit of nostalgic reading.

I'm a sucker for a hidden staircase 😊

Which books did you love as a child? Let me know in the comments below!