I'm reading it right now. It's fabulous. I recommend reading 1-2 chapters of each Potter book before bed-time.

I read all three on trains, travelling around England. I like the fact that in the UK, there are two paperback covers for each book, the original, and one that just has a black and white photo, so grownups can read the book in public without embarassment.

What embarassment? Those books are FABULOUS. I was talking about Harry's moments of pro-active anger rather than reactive fear with a co-worker today.

That book narrowly missed getting some prestigious Brit literary award recently. it lost by one vote to Seamus Haney's translation of Beowulf.

Just the embarassment of being seen reading a children's book. Not that it mattered one bit to me. That was the Whitbread Prize, and they changed the rules this year to allow children's books to compete. There was a bit of controversy about it, and BritLit snobs decided that it makes the Booker Prize that much more prestigious for not considering children's books.

I never saw this thread here before. I've read all 4 Potter books. They rock. But I've never understood how that Malfoy boy continues to pick on Harry even though Harry has demonstrated time and again how powerful he is. If you knew someone could face Lord Voldemort 4 times and survive, wouldn't you back off?

Um. I avoid harry potter. I read a bit of the first one, and was truly disgusted. Ugh. Give your kids some motherfucking C.S. Lewis or even like dragonlance/other fantasy novel series instead of this garbage.

No one said it was literature. But that doesn't mean it isn't mightily entertaining. Sheesh. You sound like Harold Bloom.

Whos that? No, I seriously don't know. The name kinda rings a really quiet bell...but that's all.

He's a very famous literary critic, and he recently went on the record to say that he thinks the Harry Potter books are horrible. I think he was quoted in Time or Newsweek a few weeks ago saying as much. Killjoys, both of you. :Þ

Oh, bah!

i tried to read those books and i got bored and stopped.

Fuck all that shit. I am a serious consumer of Juvenilia. Rowling totally stacks against Lewis. Fuck all you Aslan-loving beeyatches. Lewis seriously sucks my ass. The best kids books I ever read were by Joan Aiken.

I think I might be ordering a few meathooks soon...want your name on it? and surprise! there's more to Lewis than aslan...try the Space Trilogy, just for starters. I painted a rainbow when I was really little and sent it to Jim Stevenson. He's great. He sent me back a note, too. I oughta scan it.

Roald Dahl rocks all your mother-fucking children's authors asses. So step off.

Umm. Like I have read the space trilogy, like dork. Like, I've read like the Screwtape letters and like Suprised by Joy and like all sorts of like C.S Lewis, and stuff.

oh, welcome back Margret! Been busy, I bet. So, what do you think about the Harry Potter movie that's being filmed over in the UK?

Okay, well, love y'all, it's great that you can read, fantasy, wonderful, blah, blah, sure, I loved narnia, Roald Dahl, good, yeah, but, um... JUST SO STORIES. by Kipling. nuthin' better.

uh, yeah whatever. PIPPI LONGSTOCKING by astrid lindgren she is the role model of my entire life, her and annie sprinkle.....and weetzie bat....

the wife's nick name was pippy when i first met her.........her long red hair....(swoon).....but i changed that real fast, the name that as.

Damnit. Narnia rules! And so does Piers Anthony! Long live Xanth!

yum. red hair. I've had a lifelong addiction to redheads. Well, not lifelong. Ever since 5th grade and Daniela Macneil torn jeans, long red hair, high cheekbones; I was toast. I think I started going through puberty the day after I met her. Pippi Longstockings was a rocker, indeed. So, who'd win in a fight to the death? Aslan, Pippi, Harry Potter or the Big Friendly Giant? LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!

Aslan, duh.

are people forgetting lord of the rings? tom bombadil would waste them all.

ohmigod. You're right. That does it. I'm going to go kill myself now.

don't make a mess.

Yes, sir.

TOM BOMBADIL!!! heheheheheeeeheeeheee *MWAHAHAHAHA!!!* *collapses, wheezing from laughter* Who wrote that? who? dave. that is SOOOO dave. I... I /love/ you, man.

Funny, I don't consider LOTR to be children's literature, even though I read it when I was 8 or so.

it's not that funny. asshole.

fucker! I forgot about tolkein! and what about "The Iron Cauldron" series? I forgot who wrote that...damn. And hey, I DID start reading Dragonlance books like when I was 10. fucking dork. Still. tons of great fun Raistlin would thrash anyone.

The black cauldron. Lloyd Alexander. You're right. Those were great. incredible, even. Thanks. Tom Bombadil IS so that funny. *sigh*

AGGHH! I was going to say Lloyd Alexander! (I just learned he's from the Philadelphia area...I always thought he was British.) I loved his Westmark books even more than the High King saga. I always wanted to be the Beggar Queen, with her ability to mimick people's voices and all. I also loved Susan Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising" books. Madeleine L'Engle Jane Yolen Anything illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, including this one series about a princess who goes to live with some dragons...what were they called? Andrew Lang's colored fairy books Joan Aiken, like Margret said. A book called "The Red King" "Half-Magic" and "Octagon Magic" "The Perilous Gard," of course Ursula K. LeGuin Andre Norton Charles De Lint Stephen Donaldson David Eddings, but only the books with Sparhawk Brian Froud and Alan Somebody's book called "Faeries" Others I forget

WHAT? Lloyd Alexander wrote something besides the High King bookS? Damn. I'm panicking, now. MUST FIND BOOKSTORE! I must've read that series 5 billion times. almost literally, but not quite. I remember reading books about mushroom people? Journey to the Mushroom Planet? Maybe not. Damn. Who wrote "Half-Magic" and those other books? Edgar someone? no, that was a character, maybe? ackackack. They were great. Also... E. Nesbitt? I can't remember any of these names. Double-Damn. the Gnome book. David Eddings? ugh. I admit that I guzzled the books, but they all have the exact same plot. He wrote the same series 5 times over. Robert Aspirin's "Myth, Inc." Series.

Yes. The Lloyd Alexander Westmark books are called: Westmark The Kestrel (out of stock -- hie thee to the nearest library) and The Beggar Queen They're not so much about fantasy as about political intrigue in a fictional European(?) country. They're cool.

Half-Magic I can't find Octagon Magic. I know there were other books in the same vein, but I can't remember their names, either. Of course, no library would be complete without the greatest companion to fantastical literature: The Glass Harmonica, by Barbara Nynde Byfield; also known as The Book of Weird. Sadly, both editions are out of stock. I got mine from a library sale. It rocks. Yeah, David Eddings ain't no great shakes, but I liked Sparhawk. Two really great and really weird books are Robert Holdstock's Lavondyss (and the companion, Mythago Wood) and Greer Ilene Gilman's Moonwise. They're rather hard to understand (though keep in mind I read them when I was 12-13), but fascinating. I think they're also out of print. :(

Oh, wow. I loved half-magic. Damn.

I use to read the Bernstein Bears to my kids and Jonathon,they loved them.My Secret Garden was good.

stephen donaldson is pretty cool. i really liked the latest sci-fi stuff except that i got really tired of him constantly describing the color of nick succorso's scars as an indicator of how pissed off he was getting. "nick's scars flashed a dark purple. her words had stung him deeply. blah blah something something." patricia mckillip (sp?) neil hancock terry brooks katherine kurtz piers anthony i have an awful lack of memory. must be from all that pcp i smoked as a teenager. i'm not kidding, i often wonder how different i might have turned out if i hadn't done stupid shit like that. well, they say it's better to regret something you have done . . .

But Dave,we are still standing:)

yeah, in the freeway.

or the desert. either way, standing is the operative word. motionlessness is not an asset in this instance.

Freeway!

i read the little house on the praire books in second grade and from fourth grade to sixth grade i wouldn't read anything that wasn't considered a classic (with exception to judy blume). of course, i didn't understand all of the things i read, but damn it i read them. when i got to sixth grade i secretly read books by vc andrews. i was embarrassed to tell people then, but i read at least two of her books a week until i finished them all.

As someone who grew up as the oldest of six, I think I know a little about children's books. My favorite authors are DR SUESS (He hasn't been brought up yet? Who doesn't love the cat in the hat? I first learned about the enviroment from the Lorax, and about racism from the Sneeches.) Harry Potter books are very very well written, quite like Dahl in fact. I really like James and the Giant Peach, and of course Willy Wonka (whom I have always seen as the personification of evil), and The Lion witch and the wardrobe, and a wrinkle in time etc. Aslan would whoop ass beacuse A, He is a Lion (with the powers of Christ), B Because he can come back from the dead, see also A).

Was Aslan some sort of precursor to Rastafarianism? I consumed Eddings as well. I noted the same deal with the plot, but Ifigure it's just more obvious with his books, that plot device which is so common. I really liked his characters, he really had a knack for description and could get the little things right that made them come alive for you. Aspirin I also devoured. I really loved the graphic novel adaptations that Phil Foglio did for Warp Graphics back in the 80s. I thought they were much better than the original book, in fact. Suess just goes without saying. And Lloyd Alexander! Man, I loved the High King series, and was I ever pissed off at the movie they made of the Black Cauldron! I read all the Dragon lance stuff too. I recently reread it and realized how awful the first novel is. A lot of the books in that series are, but I chalk this up to farming it out to so many authors, some of which just obviously novelized some Dragonlance RPG adventure they ran or played. And Elfquest i discovered early too. I remember Wendy Pini came to speak at the local university, I got her autograph right after. I was like 11 or 12 at the time. I still am awaiting patiently the movie (next year, maybe). Of all the books I read as a kid, the Elfquest graphic novels had the biggest impact on my character. When it comes down to it, I'm pretty much a mushy guy at heart, but a lot of my ideals about how to view people and places and even relationships came from that series.

my 2 favorite childrens books, which I'm sure nobody has heard of, were Parsifal Rides the Time Wave and My Father's Dragon I also remember Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox, Black Beauty, and the Black Stallion books. The Secret Garden. I was very mad at C. S. Lewis when I found out TLTWATW was allegory. Hadn't a clue... Oh, and All About the Human Body, without having read which I might not know about sex to this day...

Also E.B. White (Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little) The Borrowers What was the story about the kid and the donut-making machine? I have to know... I agree about Tolkein being an "adult" (i.e. over 10) book... My sister read Lolita when she was 13, by the way. I was impressed. When I was 13, I found my parents' copy of "The Group" in my father's bureau drawer. I read chapters 1 and 2 and a bit of chapter 3, then lost interest. (Chapter 2 of course, was The Sex Act Chapter). The Boxcar Children.

does anyone remember the books by rumor godden? she was one of my faves.

Who was that Finnish lady? You know, the Adventures of Moomintroll? Those were great. and Mavis knows the answer to the donut machine one, I think.

Oh fuck. I even fucking went to moominland (yes, there's a theme park in finland) when I was a kid. I read all the books. And used to be into them like mad. Oh well. I used to fucking love books. Now I never have any time. HP lovecraft? (please don't kill me for it) or what about that dude...damn..forget his name my brain really isn't functioning today. uck. going to nyc tomorrow against my will to see people that are related to me from washington. fucker and a half. my black knight better fucking come rescue me, damn quick. who the fuck was that guy, though.... oh right! John Bellairs! he wrote some rocking books! hmm. who else?

2 words... Dragonlance Baby!!!!

you poor little people. I was Ramona Quimby in another life.

Dragonlance fucking kicks ass. Tove Jannsen, or something like that, wrote the moomin series.

Zephyr... Your a DL fan... Sweet, I have every DL book ever written, and all the ones done by Margret Weis, And Tracy Hickman I have in Hardback... Damn smooth, oh by the way, I should have some snail mail your way soon.

The magic in any literature for children is its ability to make you feel for a few hours that you have the awe and fascination of life back. That it is okay to believe in magic. One of my favorite authors from my childhood was L.M. Montgomery. She wrote Anne of Green Gables (all eight) and about fifteen other books. True, she is a bit romantic, but her way of viewing the world is so delightful and refreshing you feel that life is truly beautiful (if only for a little while). Her talk of 'scope for the imagination' and kindred spirits still makes me smile. Oh yeah, and Ronald Dahl, Beverly Cleary, Lewis, and Tolkein rock. Who can forget the Hobbit?

As a kid I wasn't allowed to read most of the books mentioned above. My mother thought anything having to do with magic was satanic. I didn't get to read much outside of fairy tales (isn't that funny) mother goose, seuss and tolkein until I was in high school and then I was allowed to read Sweet Valley High and V.C. Andrews so long as I bought the books myself. Then she started reading Ann McCaffrey and really got into those books and all was allright. I started reading the first Harry Potter book. It is well written but obviously a children's book. I find it hard to hold interest in it while I am reading it, but at the same time, every time I pass by it of feel a little bit bored I immediately start thinking of this book and how I must finish it, must read Harry Potter. I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me, but I think this sums it up: "The magic in any literature for children is its ability to make you feel for a few hours that you have the awe and fascination of life back. That it is okay to believe in magic." Another one I love to read is the Warlock series by Christopher Stasheff. Not a children's book. The magic and "witchcraft" are actually psi powers and the good vs. evil always has to do with political change. I have the entire warlock series now (finally found the last missing one at a used book store last weekend). Now it is time to start collecting the wizard series (which is based on the warlock's eldest son).

children's book's i've read that rock: charlotte's web (first chapter book i ever read) pippi longstocking gone-away lake xanth dark is rising (want to read it? i have the whole series) beverly cleary (portland, baby, yeah!) cs lewis is good, but as roald dahl's matilda says, "his books are too serious. there's no funny parts". what author wrote "number the stars"? she's awfully good. lm (lucy maude) montgomery is good. the borrowers i found a volume of andre norton at the wicca shop and have perusing it lately. james thurber (the incredible o! read it! nobody else has even heard of it, it seems!) worktime.

Eri's mom has a point. I grew up reading books about magic, playing D&D, using my imagination, and thinking for myself. Now I'm a godless heathen and loving it! I don't remember much of my pre-High School days, but I do know that I liked The Mouse and the Motorcycle and books by John Bellairs like The Curse of the Blue Figurine. I had a lot more books than I successfully read. I loved to read when I could keep myself from being distracted.

Henry & Ribsy Ramona the Pest The house with a clock in it's walls 101 Dalmations (not the animated disney book) Harriet the Spy ALL of the Alfred Hitchcock for young readers series At one point in my geeky childhood, I actually read on average a book a day. I secretly read books on black magic, and hid them where my older brother used to hide his porno mags (In the rafters of the basement storage room). I started to read "The Satanic Bible" around its first publishing in 1974, and threw it away because I thought I would go to hell for looking at it. I was 10 years old. Weirdly enough, my old village library had an enormous section on witchcraft and such, with many of them actually containing spells and rituals. They didn't seem to me to be trade books, but were rather specialized and old. I was so paranoid that my catholic Mom would find out, that I would stuff these books into my parka without checking them at the desk, and later return them the same way.

oh my god...House With the Clock in the Walls was one of my favorites!!!!!!!!! So so so scary. And all the Ramona Quimby books...Ralph and the Mouse and the Motorcycle....read all those.

I loved the Judy Blume books. The Chronicals of Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and A Wind at the Door were my favorites. I love Shel Silverstein. My mom made me read Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear durring the summer between 2nd & 3rd grade. It was a hard back book with like 1500 pages in it. I also loved My Side of the Mountain.

Oh, and I read the entire Happy Hollisters series one summer i was shipped off to my mom's mom.....

My mom had the entire original Nancy Drew collection. She used to tell me that I could read them as long as I didn't hurt them, and then as soon as I started reading them she told me I couldn't because I would wreck them. I wasn't allowed to read Judy Blume or Ramona Quimby or any of that stuff. My mother said it was about children who misbehaved and were bad kids. You all know that my mom is extremely bi-polar, right? Dr. Seuss, and Disney as a little kid. She also had this collection of "me" books. They used to make them in Hollywood. There were two series "All about me" and one other. She had both entire series made for me and forced me to read them. Ugh. I have one left, "Me and the mousehouse". Micki got ahold of it and left it at their house when we moved and they had a cow and are sending it to me. I always said that books are one thing that a kid can't have too many of. We buy the girls all kinds of books. Oh, I almost forgot, I used to get the "Choose your own adventure" books. Had lots of those. Read them til they fell apart.

i had this children's anthology that was like three inches thick with those extra super thin transluscent pages, i carried it everywhere my parents actually tried to get me to stop reading because i would stay up in my bed with a flashlight and try to read at the dinner table it might be why my mom signed me up for basketball camp at a local highschool, me and fifteen boys. maybe i wanted to go, but i don't remember. i remember i wanted a hoop for the driveway, it's a good thing the bushes around there were so tough.

I still have the entire Nancy Drew collection. An old American woman, who had no children, owned them. I would ride my bike over to her house every day to read them, sitting very properly on her old couch. When I'd finished the last one, she gave them all to me. That was one of the best days of my life. Apart from the day I discovered anal, of course.

oh for fucksake cat.

Cat, you put a big shit eating grin on my face.

i think all women have to do, to get our undivided attention is just say "anal".

Cat, I just blew cold Coors through my nose after reading that. Hurts, but it was worth it. I forgive you.

You'd all just like to get your hands on my Nancy's, wouldn't ya? Sluttards.

Margret Mahy is a Kiwi author who writes kids books and they rock. I loved the myth books too, but I only have a couple. Own a few Judy Blumes, and loved Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the Three Detectives. There is another author who wrote The Halfmen of O. That rocked.

My mum used to take me to the library every week where i would get the maximum amount (i think it was 10) books out. I would have one finished by the time we got home. The first thing people say when they walk into my house is: 'oh my god, look at all your books'. I love books.