Many of those already mentioned (except Twain. Sorry to disagree! I always thought he was over-rated. Just my opinion).

In addition to the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, I also read a lot of Edgar Allen Poe, ALL of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Agatha Christie, etc. Guess I loved mystery!

The Little House books, Harriet the spy, The Velveteen Bunny and probably my all time fav, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Just a few. I read a lot as a child. Not so much now.

Annie's "The Goops" reminded me about stories I didn't read, but loved to have read to me: The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series. They are also 'cautionary' stories about 'bad example' children -- who are mean or selfish or unhelpful, etc. As I remember, Mrs. P-W advised parents on what to do about their children's character flaws. Her 'cures' involved letting the child reap (exaggerated) natural consequences. I remember one about a greedy boy who hoarded his toys. His bedroom filled with toys. He finally became exhausted, unable to locate his bed amidst all the toys.

The first book I remember reading independently was a copy of "Black Beauty" for young readers where the words were written in syllables. I was absolutely *delighted* that I could have a story whenever I wanted one, without begging an adult to read to me!

Loved all the horse books. Then went on to Judy Bolton, Nancy Drew. My favorites were, and still are, Little Women, An Old-Fashioned Girl and Anne of Green Gables

Judy Bolton , Cheryl Ames , and others I can't remember in addition to ones I listed above. I liked Little Women so much I organized the neighborhood kids to do a play and of course, I played Jo, my favorite. I adored Secret Garden, did a play about that too and to this day I love when people say entering my yard is like entering a secret garden. I read a lot, read to my kids a lot, and to this day I (and my husband ) read a book or two a week for decades. My kids don't read much despite being read to.

I too loved Little Women and Nancy Drew and the Honey Bunch series plus the Maida's Little Shop series.

Probably more tween than child but my favorite is"a wrinkle in time". So excited for the movie next year

I've loved your replies and the accompanying memories! Thank you all!

Bothell, I remember looking forward to the movie The Black Stallion, even tho' I was a grown woman by the time it came out! So I know how you'll enjoy the movie Wrinkle in Time.

I read everything. I loved all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Nancy Drew, Little Women and everything in between. I could read before I went to kindergarten because my Mom read to us all the time, so it kind of stuck. I still love to read and I adore my Kindle, I can make the print any size I need for my aging eyes. I could count and add too. I had 2 older brothers and they needed a third for all their card games, to keep it interesting, so I was drafted.

Black Beauty and Toby Tyler.

All the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. My grandmother gave me Heidi and Little Women which I loved. I still have my copy of Heidi. I read all he time but can't recall what else. Our Brownie and Girl Scout troops volunteered in the library so I was always there.

It was more like what didn't I read. Seems like I always had my nose stuck in a book and still do. My favorites were the Bobbsey Twin's series, Little Women and The Secret Garden.

OMG, Heidi--I forgot all about that one, a favorite for sure and The Secret Garden. I'm sure these 2 books nurtured my love of reading.

No question about it, The Black Stallion and the rest of the series; I devoured those books over and over. Also everything by Marguerite Henry, with gorgeous illustrations that I would study intensely. King of the Wind was my favorite of hers. Also the Silver Chief, Dog of the North series, by Jack O'Brian. And White Fang!

Dogs and horses, horses and dogs, until around age 12, when I discovered historical novels, beginning with Quo Vadis and Ivanhoe.

Anything with horses, cats or dogs: Walter Farley, Albert Payson Terhune, Marguerite Henry. Nancy Drew, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables. Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Books. Charlotte's Web. Classical Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology from an amazing set of children's stories published by Houghton Mifflin in 1907, that had been owned by my father's first wife and given to my half-brother.

He outgrew them so they came to me, and I read every one of the 14 volumes. I read and re-read those excerpts of the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid, complete with old fashioned steel engraving lithograph pictures.

Fairy tales - I had almost all of the great Andrew Lang collection (Blue, Green, Grey, etc.).

And of course, comic books. I was in time for the Silver Age of Comics, when the great Gil Kane was drawing for various comix companies. I had all the original Spiderman, the Green Lantern reboot, and Mysteries in Space comix up through 1967. I owned the short-lived reboot of Lamont Cranston/The Shadow. I had the original Iron-Man comic which introduced Natasha Romanoff, The Black Widow. I owned the original Avengers comix!

I kept all my comix in excellent condition. I never loaned them out, never let the covers get folded or ripped.

I never have actually forgiven my two older sisters, when as a teenager I came home from summer camp one day, to find they had THROWN THEM ALL OUT.

Their excuse was, "Oh, you're too old for that sort of thing."

The Amazing Fantasy issue that was Spiderman's first appearance, sold in 2011 for....$1.1 million.

Anyone else remember this one? I still have my copy from 1951.

The "Maida" books by Inez Haynes Irwin -- Maida's Liitke Shop, Maida's Little Gouse, Maida's Little Camp, to name a few. I still have my Mom's first editions from her childhood. Also anything Horses -- National Velvet, High Courage, Man o' War, Silver Birch, Black Beauty, Faraway song. Anything Louisa May Alcott -- Little Women, Eight Cousins, Rise in Bloom.. I still have many of these and re-read occasionally, I was an early and prolific reader. I kinda skipped over the basic young children's books, probably because they had been read to me so often before I learned to read, but that probably helped me break the code early and begin reading more advanced books quickly. . Even read a lot of my Mom's approved adult books as a preteen -- I remember The Tudor Wench about QE 1. There was also a series I recall about Nurse Cherry Ames. Basically, I was either playing outside, riding a horse or had my head in a book my entire childhood.

I've always been a great reader and it all started when I was a child. I adored all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Nancy Drew, all the various "nurse" books, horse books, and later the Janet Lambert series of books.

I have a signed Marguerite Henry book that was sent by her to my late husband when he was a little boy. It was "Justin Morgan had a Horse". My husband was named Morgan as he was a direct descendant of Justin Morgan. My husband's grandfather provided Marguerite Henry with many family documents. The Morgan name was used by two other family members - as a middle name of an aunt and a niece.

My children, from a previous marriage, were thrilled to see the book after we married as it was a favorite of theirs.

Nickel - I also loved Jim Kjelgaard's books. I am so sad to read about his death, poor man.

Socks - Yes to Album of Horses. It's in the Horse part of my library! Those illustrations were dream-worthy!

Jim Kjelgaard, Albert Payson Terhune (Lad: A Dog books), Black Stallion, Nancy Drew (then they updated them, no more roadsters and frocks), The Voice of Bugle Ann, Whee the Red Fern Grows. The first story I read by myself was The Velveteen Rabbit.

One of my earliest reads was Heidi. I really wanted to live on a mountain and eat 'real cheese'. LOL

Any animal story, and still true to this day. I didn't care for Nancy Drew, but I kept all of my Hardy Boys books until a few years ago. Those boys were great!

I read so many books as a child. Bobsey Twins, Little House on the Prairies series, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Jane Eyre, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Nancy Drew, Disney movie books like Mary Poppins. Pippi Longstocking. I still have most of my books except the Nancy Drew books. My most favourite books as a young teenager was The Outsiders. I can't even count how many times I reread that book. Edited to add the Pigman was another favourite book I read more than once as a young teenager that I just remembered because of this post.

charlotte's web, trumpet of the swan, stuart little, Harriet the Spy, little house on the prairie series, ramona quimby series, anything by Beverly Cleary.

To Kill A Mockingbird, still my favorite. Also another book which I can't find....unexplained mysteries or something which had like twenty stories of the unexplained including one about spontaneous combustion. If I had a daughter I was going to name her Harper....all boys, not WASPY enough for one to be a Harper but I did have a sweet cat named Scout.

I thought I'd add a book my DH remembers reading as a young teen. It's "Grass Beyond the Mountains", writen in 1951, the first in a trilogy that was set in British Columbia. I see on Wiki that Canadian television used the material for a series, "Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy". If you have young boys, they might like this. Given the ranch setting, it might not seem dated.

Black Beauty, Pippi Longstocking, and, of course, Nancy Drew books.

Heidi, The Secret Garden, 5 Little Peppers and How They Grew, Cherry Ames, Gone With The Wind were among my favorites.

Carol

Well, I hardly know where to start! My parents read to me every night at bed time, and sometimes during the day, too, if they had time. I was able to read fairly simple books (the kind where each page is a picture and has one or two sentences) when I entered kindergarten. One of the Bobbsey Twin books was my very first book "without pictures' that I remember. But I don't remember my age when it was given to me. Probably around 6 or 7, maybe 8. Anyhow, I loved the Bobbsey Twin books, and eventually read all of them. But the one book that stands out in my mind as my favorite, was "Misty of Chincoteague". I loved that book! And read it numerous times. I think I was around 10 or 11 when I first read it. There were various other books that I liked, too. One I sort of remember, the main character was 'Elsie Dinsmore'. I don't remember the book title, nor the author, just that I enjoyed that book. Didn't read "Robinson Crusoe", but read & loved 'Swiss Family Robinson". I also remember my reaction the first time I was ever in a public library. It was in Jr. High, elementary grades were in small country schools, but we were bussed into town when we got to the 7th grade. An English teacher took our class to the library, which was within walking distance of the school. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! All those BOOKS! Shelves and shelves of them! Clear up to the ceiling! (Almost) I don't remember what I checked out that day, but the teacher had to put a limit on me, she finally convinced me that all those books were not going anywhere, they would be there the next time I came, and I could visit it often. I still love libraries, I still love to read, and usually read about 1 or 2 books a week.

Rusty

Socks, I have "Album of Horses" too! But this one is my fav:

jakkom, King of the Wind, what a wonderful horse book--I think it's the same artist, Wesley Dennis. "Dream-worthy" as sableincal said!

Chisue--you can tell your DH I'm getting that book. Just what I like--a little adventure, a little history.

Link to Wesley Dennis' Wikipedia page if anyone cares:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Dennis_(illustrator)

Sorry to hear you lost your treasured comics. I'm a sister and I know we get silly ideas at times. :(

Trixie Beldon, Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys. I do love animals but didn't find those type of books to be my favourites.

My brother's girlfriend gave me a series, "The Five Tucker's" absolutely loved them!

I remember reading "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew", borrowed it from my cousin who lived next door. I loved it.

socks -- I'll be interested to hear what you think about "Grass Beyond the Mountains". If it's not too 'dated', our DGS might be interested. (Not a great reader!)

Seeing the name Wesley DENNIS made me wonder if he was related to Morgan DENNIS, an artist known for his portrayals of dogs -- and creator of the Black & White Scotch ads that featured a Scottie and a Westie. Somewhere in our attic is one of his books of dogs, and I have a single plate (dated 1936) framed and hanging in my kitchen. (These belonged to my aunt and uncle, who had a Sealyham Terrier.)

Chisue, Morgan is Wesley's brother. You can read about it in the link I posted above.

I'm only 8% through "Grass," but so far I like it. I do not know how old your DGS is, but another good adventure story is Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour. It is a survival story (not a Western). You or your DH might even like it! If your grandson is younger, like third grade or so, any of Gary Paulsen's books are excellent, Hatchet being one of the most popular.

OMG I keep thinking of other books your DH and DGS might enjoy. Another of Gary Paulsen's I enjoyed was Winterdance. It's not written for children but suitable for anyone about Paulsen's actual experience running the Iditarod for the first time. It would especially appeal to dog lovers.

I'll stop myself now!

Like many of you, I read the Nancy Drew series. I also loved anything to do with animals and off the top of my head I recall Black Beauty, Where the Red Fern Grows, Champion Dog: Prince Tom, Thomasina, Old Yeller (I cried and cried) and Chip the Dam Builder.

I checked Chip the Dam Builder out of the school library when I was about nine and at the time felt rather naughty due to the title. It was only later when I was reading the book that I realized Chip the Dam Builder was about a wild beaver building a dam on a creek and not the about some "damn" builder!

socks -- Thanks for the suggestions. DGS is 12. I finally saw your link. Gosh, I was right; they were not just 'related', but brothers. Seems Wesley fared better, having inhered royalties to Henry's horse books, and dying in Falmouth. (The Cape is not a cheap residence!) Morgan seems to have retired to the Florida Keys early on.

Chisue....I read "Grass Beyond the Mountains." It's an interesting book, an actual true account of the struggles and difficulties of pioneer frontiersmen--cowboys--forging their way in the north of British Columbia in search of land for a cattle ranch. It's not dated, but it is very detailed describing the geography, scenery, vegetation, horses, their names, habits and behavior, lots of detail about the difficulty of trail rides herding animals. I did skim quite a bit near the end. To be honest, I think it would be tough reading for most 12-year-olds. But thank you for mentioning it, and tell your DH I enjoyed and thought of him as a teenager reading this book of cowboys early last century.

What didn't I read? I loved them all especially Little Women, Nancy Drew, The Chronicles of Narnia, Trixie Belden, Heidi...the list went on and on. Actually, to this day it still does. I've always been an avid reader.

The Little House Series, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, Little Women, Tuck Everlasting, The Borrowers--so many more!

Black Beauty.

The Wind in the Willows. My Nana gave it to me. I still have it

socks -- I'll pass along your kind words. Seems I was right to think it might be 'too much' for our DGS.

Now I'm going to start a thread about a book DH and I both found fascinating.

I remember a nurse series also--Nurse Cherie Ames? I think that's right. I also really liked Charlotte's Web and Phantom Tollbooth!

Probably The Borrowers. I devoured books.

The Bobbsey Twins, Little Women, Little House on the Prairie. There was a school library book called Matilda, about a black cat. It was written as if Matilda were telling the story of her life as a stray, describing her new family, her new kittens, and the little boy with a new puppy. I checked out and re-read that book so many times during the school year when I was in 2nd grade! One day a few weeks after school let out for the summer, the school librarian showed up at our door. She told my Mom that I'd read that same book so many time that only a few other people had a chance to read it. I was feeling a little guilty until she reached into her bag an pulled the book out and handed it to me. She said they had made a book order right before the end of the year, and she'd ordered another copy of Matilda for the library. They were pulling the older books and donating them or selling them to make room for new books, so she paid the 15 cents for the old copy and gave it to me. I still have it and have read it to our grandkids. It was my first chapter book, too!!

Every evening my mother read a chapter of the book, "The Poor Little Rich Girl," to my twin and me. Plus we had all the Little Golden Books she could find in our small town for us. We also loved "Little Women" and "Black Beauty." With all the moving around the family did, plus Mother's being in a nursing home at the end of her life, no one knew what happened to the first book I mentioned. So for one Christmas my sister searched (pre-computer days) for it and ordered one for herself and one for me. The inscription she wrote inside, "Sweet Memories", is sweet and the book still means a lot to me. I've read it to my granddaughter a chapter at a time when she was here as a child. We always had lots of books in our houses growing up and now so my son and daughter. I now have a 4 year old great-granddaughter who knows that gifts from me will usually be books.

If I go back to my toddler days it would be Grandfathers Pocket Watch...it was a golden book and if anyone knows how to find it....the title might be a bit off.....I would love to have a copy.

Betsy Tacy series

i remember a teacher (like 3-4th grade) who would have us put our heads down on desks after coming in from lunch-time recess. she would read to us as we "decompressed". i remember "the box car children", "misty of chincoteague", and "on the banks of plum creek" (little house on prairie series).

when i went to college to become elementary teacher, had to take a class everyone called "kiddie lit". we had to read about every single Caldecott and Newberry award winning books and make a 3x5 card file. most memorable book was "from the mixed up file of mrs. basil e frankweiler"! adventure of unappreciated" kid who runs away and hides out in metropolitan art museum in NYC.