I have had many favorite books at each stage of my childhood, ranging from Noddy then, to Harry Potter now(I am still a child at heart.a big child, but a child nevertheless!)
I’ll try and review the ones that are closest to my heart.
1. Noddy(Enid Blyton)
Noddy inhabits the wonderful Toyland, with his friends Big Ears, Mr. Sparks and Tessie Bear and Goblins, not to forget his “favorite” person in Toyland, Mr. Plod, the policeman. Noddy has his faithful car, which accompanies him in his adventures and saves his bacon on a number of occasions. He has a series of fun adventures and the one that I still remember to this day, the story in which he goes to sea(Noddy goes to Sea). The Noddy series the very first time I ever read anything! These books are meant for kids who are just beginning to read, 4-5 year olds. They are oodles of fun, and a very good way of introducing children to the wonderful world of reading.
2. The Faraway Tree(Enid Blyton)
This was a superb book. TFT is a magical tree in the middle of the Enchanted forest, on the branches of which, live all kinds of magical people. On the top branch of the Faraway tree, are clouds. Not ordinary clouds, though. When you climb the ladder into the cloud, you enter a fair land. Now, each time you climb the ladder, you enter a different land. They sort of come and go like airplanes. You could enter a land where everything is made of chocolate, the next cloud that comes by, takes you to a land full of evil witches, the Land of Do as you please, the land of topsy turvy(*where everything is, yessir, topsy turvey), * and my favorite land, the land of dreams!
TFT is about the adventures of Three kids, I forget their names(the years have not been kind to my memory;) who climb the Faraway tree with their friends on the branches. These are the angry pixie, Dame Washalot(*the name says it all!), * Moonface, and my favorite character: Mr. Watzhisname, who is sleeping most of the time.
The faraway tree so impressed me, that I used insist on checking whether every tree in my neighborhood had magic people living on its branches!
3. The Adventures of Secret Seven
Who amongst us has not formed a secret society when we were 10-11 years old! (ok.don’t answer that question.I certainly did! *) The secret seven were like our idols at the time. We formed the Excellent Eight, as there were eight of us!(Other names that were suggested were Enchanted Eight and Entertaining Eight.but were rejected as being too superficial and not being too “cool”)
The secret seven are the adventures of 6 friends and their dog Scamper, who end up solving mysteries each holidays.
4. The Jungle Book Series
Mougli is a kid who is brought up in the jungle by wolves. He is found abandoned by Bagheera, the Black Panther, who watches over him. Mougli makes friends with Balu the Bear, who is a happy-go-lucky character, and whom Bagheera thinks is a bad influence on Mougli. Balu’s only worries are his itching back, which he rubs against the tree!
Sher Khan the tiger is looking to kill Mougli and in the first series, his adventures focused on his battle with Sher Khan. The subsequent series introduced his love interest, his brother and his returning back to humans.
I simply loved Mougli, Bagheera and Balu the Bear. Who can forget the antics of Colonel Haathi and Kaa the Python, and Mougli’s final battle with Sher Khan. Simply Awesome!
5. The Amar Chitra Katha Series
I guess there is hardly an Indian of my generation who has not read any ACK series. Amar Chitra Katha has stories from all over India, all the folk stories, fables, tales about the Kings and Queens, religious tales about Jesus, The Prophet Mohammed, about almost all the gods in Hinduism, Buddha, Mahavira, about the witty stories of Tenali Rama and Birbal.the list is fascinating and a must read for all.
And how can I forget the Jataka tales and the tales from the Panchtantra!
Some of my other favourite books were:
The adventures of Asterix(* apart from everything, the most fascinating thing in Asterix is the fact that there is a parallel story going on along with the main story. if you look closely at each picture, you will see a series of interconnected events taking place in the background
The adventures of Tintin(at the time I used to crave for a dog like Snowy!)
Enid Blyton’s wonderful school stories on the Mallory Towers
The Famous Five
Chandamama * I loved the adventures of the rabbit.can’t remember his name)
Tinkle(* Awesome!
Of course, now whenever I read Harry Potter, I am transported into the land woven by Rowling. Oh, how I wish I were not a muggle!
Writing this review has been such a nostalgia trip. While writing about Noddy, I could remember my Grandfather reading to me as if it were yesterday. And how can I forget the lessons I learnt from Amar Chitra Katha.after finishing each story, I had to tell my mother what I learnt from the story, and how I could implement the moral.
Sigh! I wish I were a kid again.