Making the Cut

Last week I gave my honest, if not entirely kind, opinion of The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic by Jennifer Trafton. I shared the post on my Facebook page and a friend made the comment that she was "incredibly selective" about the books that made it on her "re-read" list. Well, that caused my wheels to start turning, and before I knew what was happening, I was creating a mental list of "re-readable" books from my childhood.

You already known my affinity for the Anne of Green Gables series, as well as the Little House stories, but I thought that there might be those among you who would be interested to know what other books made my re-read list. To keep it short, I've stuck with chapter books, because if we went with picture books, we'd be here all day!

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The Boxcar Children: Book 1 by Gertrude Chandler Warner

This book holds a special spot on the list because I still have my original copy, purchased at a Memphis bookstore just prior to my brother's graduation from medical school. My mother, a wise woman, thought that a four hour ceremony might be a bit much, especially for an eight year old, so she allowed me to select a new book to help pass the time. This was my choice, and I've loved it ever since.

{2}

Follow That Bus! by Pat Hutchins

I was so sorry to discover that the only way you can add this to your book collection is if you're willing to buy it used. I lost track of the number of times I read through this story, but I remember laughing hysterically as I followed the adventure of the absent-minded Miss Beaver, her third-grade class, and a couple of unlucky bank robbers. Buy it used - it's worth it.

{3}

 

The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt

Easily one of my favorite books, the story of young Gaylen and his quest to discover the true definition of "Delicious" never ceases to entertain. But, in the words of LeVar Burton (of Star Trek and Reading Rainbow fame), don't take MY word for it! It also won over FishMama, if you'd like to see what a mother of six thought about this book.

{4 & 5}

  

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory & Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl

My copies of these books are completely worn out from all the re-reading that they have seen. I love the poems in the Chocolate Factory (specifically about TV watching), but for general hilarity, I can't get enough of the grandparents antics in the Great Glass Elevator. Dahl's skill as a writer shines through in both of these stories, and I never grow tired of them. In fact, they are some of the few books that have remained on my adult "re-reading" list, year after year.

{6}

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

I adore the clever word usage that makes up the plot line of this story. The whole idea of reaching the Island of Conclusions by jumping? Brilliant. If you want to find a book that will captivate while instructing, then this would be on my list. Well how about that - it IS on my list. NEXT! 

{7}

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
I've mentioned this story several times on the blog, but it's worth telling again. My sister gave me this book for my 14th birthday, and I was quite sure that I was way.too.old to be receiving a children's story. Oh, how wrong I was! In fact, I still read this book on a yearly basis. The characters are well thought out, the plot leaves nothing to be desired, there's humor and mystery and patriotism - all in all, a well written book and certainly worthy of re-reading.

{8}

In Grandma's Attic (Grandma's Attic Series) by Arleta Richardson
I don't know how my mom found out about this series, but it has been a favorite re-read of mine since I was about eight years old. There are ten books in the series, and while I enjoyed them all, I tended to re-read the last six more than the first four. While they were written for younger girls, I read and enjoyed them well into high school and have read them through a couple of times as an adult.

What books would make YOUR re-read list?