Following on from a reblog yesterday about the positive impact of letting pupils choose books to read rather than be pushed into reading I started thinking about the books I enjoyed growing up.
At school as an early reader I loved it when I got on to the ‘Roderick the Red Pirate’ series, written by Sheila McCullagh. Having found some old copies on Amazon I must get some for Alex. Like me at his age, he’s pirate mad. These books promoted a love of reading, for enjoying the story, and the sense of anticipation of what was going to happen next.
The Red Pirate Series of books by Sheila McCullagh, great reading for improving readers!
Slightly older, I remember really enjoying the humour of Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear series, breakfasts were always an event, trying to eat, read and laugh at the same time!
At the age of 9 or 10 I had two books I truly loved, they were cherished and read and re-read. One is a classic, Ian Serraillier’s The Silver Sword, which needs no explanation.
The other book I just can’t remember the name. I’ve tried asking my parents, googling, pestering my older sister, raiding lofts all to no avail. It was set in Australia, and was about a boy called Col. If this rings a bell with anyone and they know the name of the book I’ll be eternally grateful. This book allowed me to dream, to see another part of the world in my mind, to understand the little differences in culture and society.
Intermingled were always the traditional well loved books such as Roald Dahl, Famous Five, the Hardy Boys, Sexton Blake, but the Silver Sword and the book about the day to day adventures of Col were my definite favourites.
What was your favourite book?
Related articles
- Paddington ‘inspired by evacuees’ (bbc.co.uk)
- The Paddington Bear Books by Michael Bond – review (guardian.co.uk)
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