What was your favorite book from elementary school? The one you had to read but ended up liking!
What was your favorite book from elementary school? The one you had to read but ended up liking!
101 Answers
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loading Please wait
To Kill a Mockingbird!
Oh, Atticus, if only you could tell us a story!
Due to undiagnosed dyslexia as a child, I did not read in elementary school. It caused so much grief that I avoided it like the plague. I would say the first book I read for school (middle school in this case) and liked was The Outsiders, in 8th grade. That was the year I also picked up Jurassic Park for a book report (one of those read what yo want for a report) and fell in love with reading. It was the book that pulled me into my love of reading and I credit Michael Crichton (and a very special tutor who worked on me to diagnose me and my parents for getting me the help) for how much I read now days.
Good for you! dyslexia is tough. Keep reading. I admire you!
What a great success story!! Thanks for sharing!
I loved the Outsiders too! The only book I can remember enjoying was Freckle Juice. I did not enjoy reading until I was older.
The Call of the Wild
The phantom tollbooth. I think it was 5th or sixth grade and I have no idea why but I absolutely loved it
I love it too! I’ve been meaning to reread it for years!
i have thought about it a few times but worried I wouldn’t love it as much at this point in my life and decided against it in fear of ruining it lol
Olivia and Erin, I love The Phantom Tollbooth. One of my friends’ mothers read this book aloud to us – it was my favorite part of that school year and I looked forward to that day each week! Thanks for bringing back that memory of the good ole days.
That’s my husband’s favorite! I bought him an anniversary version of it a few years ago. I think it’s annotated, but I can’t exactly remember right now.
Yes! I always remember the Doldrums from this book.
Picnic at Hanging Rock. I still hate the ending though ?
That’s was turned into a TV series on Amazon Prime. I haven’t watched it.
I haven’t watched it either
I wouldn’t say it’s a favorite, but I had to read Where the Red Fern Grows in 3rd grade and I ended up liking it.
The one book i remember being captivated by in high school was Night by Elie Wiesel.
Julie of the Wolves
It wasn’t elementary school, but I had to read The Little Prince in French. It’s one of my very favorites now (in English).
Coal Camp Girl. I chose it from our class collection and have never forgotten it.
Rebecca (high school required reading)
Number the Stars!
The scarlet letter. High school.
I remember all the books I read in jr and sr high but can’t remember a single assigned book before then.
Island of the blue dolphins in elementary.
One of my favorites!
Bridge to Terabithia
Another one… The Endless Steppe
I am a true nerd. If I was told smart people read this book and love it, I loved it. Great Expectations, A Separate Peace, The Scarlet Letter.
We read A Separate Peace in high school. I Loved it.
The Giver and it’s still my all time favorite.
Wonderful story! I saw a beautiful staged production of it at my local high school.
I would love to see it adapted for a play!
Johnny Tremaine
Loved that book!
I was pleasantly surprised by that book. I thought it was just going to be a war book and that I would hate it but it wasn’t bad at all.
The Yearling, 6th or 7th grade.
Early elementary school, but I remember it well. Escape From Warsaw.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond. It is still one of my favorites!
Sigh! Love is Nat, and Nat is love. ❤️
Completely agree! ❤
Oooh, I totally forgot about this one. I really liked it. I grew up in the beach, so the idea that anyone couldn’t swim or think it was evil totally blew my mind.
Wrinkle in Time
Canterbury Tales
I didn’t like any of them I found them all boring. I wasn’t a huge reader when I was a kid. However, I had to get a library book for quiet reading and I chose Skinny Bones by Barbara Park and I found it so funny it made me more interested in reading other books.
My second favorite Jane and Dick, followed up by Spot the Dog?
It wasn’t assigned but my favorite book from grade school was The Boxcar Children. The imagery was amazing. Sweet Valley High series was a favorite when I got a little older. I actually don’t think we were assigned books to read in elementary school.
Miss Nelson is missing was a favorite too. The Clifford series comes to mind.
I forgot that Freckle Juice and How to Eat Fried Worms were both assigned and great. And my favorite series were the Anne of Green Gables series. Frog and Toad books were well loved too. I had to look at my Pinterest to see some of the books I read as a kid.
Love Frog and Toad!
Me too. I always waited for the Scholastic order forms. I may have “borrowed” money from my parents a few times to order books. ?
Oh, how exciting it was when the scholastic box came!
I know, when my kids came home with them was the best. I don’t even know if they still do them. My kids are all too old for them anymore.
Elementary-Hank the Cowdog series
Middle School-The Westing Game
Never HAD to read a book for elementary!
Do you mean they weren’t assigned or you just read them all anyway? 🙂
Leslie Dalgleish they weren’t assigned. I just read them all anyway. It was the late 60s. I would have been in heaven if I got a grade for reading a book! Actually i did get graded on book reports but those were our choice:)
Oh! Where The Red Fern Grows! I still have the copy they gave us in 6th grade and I still tear up thinking of it… Also really loved Island Of The Blue Dolphins and The Girl Who Owned A City from 6th/7th.
Yes, I forgot about this one. Old Yeller was another one we read.
Where the Red Fern Grows!
Bridge to Terrabithia – 5th grade.
Charlotte’s Web, Where the Sidewalk Ends, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Stuart Little, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Ramona books. It’s been so long since grade school that I completely forgot that we were assigned books to read.
I read most of those but I dont remember being assigned to read them! Just read by choice because they’re awesome!
Go Ask Alice
The Phantom Tollbooth
Dove…true story of a 16 year old kid who sails around the world, mostly solo, in a 24ft (if memory serves) boat. I had a small sailboat myself and was obsessed with his story. Read it many times ⛵️
OMG How could I have forgotten?! Ramona Quimby!
I love Ramona! I think I just read them all by choice though, not in school.
Or any Judy Blume books. ❤️
From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler, Where The Red Fern Grows, Island Of The Blue Dolphins….
Island of the Blue Dolphins!
I never read this book as a kid, but on the recommendation of my 10 y/o grandson I read it this summer. We were able to visit the Santa Barbara Mission where she is buried. What a great time we had discussing this book and sharing this experience! Now we’re both reading the sequel, Zia.
Where the wild things are
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Phantom Tollbooth
It wasn’t an assigned book, but I read “A Little Princess” 13 times.
The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson – it’s the best!
Snow treasure!
Harriet the Spy.
A child called it
Growing up… Anything Roald Dahl- now that I’m a teacher my favorite read alouds include The One and Only Ivan, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Because of Winn Dixie, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the second one (and Roald Dahl of course). Fun to read them again as adults too! Love children’s lit! Check out Star Girl and Love, Star Girl and the Giver Series. Up there with my favorites
Secret Garden
No More Monsters for Me! By Peggy Parish
The Lottery Rose
As a little kid: I loved the Ramona books, Superfudge, Amelia Bedelia, and Nancy Drew. As an assigned book it was probably Call of the Wild.
In high school I loved The Count of Monte Cristo and As I lay dying.
Oh man, how could I forget all 3 of those?
Pippi Longstocking was a favorite too.
I can remember doing my first elementary school “book report” (which was really just 3-4 very simple sentences) about Beverly Cleary’s Henry Huggins. I can remembering scouring the library for every Cleary book that I could after that one. Then it was Judy Blume, Madeleine L’Engle and, in Junior High, S.E. Hinton. ❤
The Indian in the Cupboard?
Misty of Chincoteague
The Littlest Witch (from the school library). I would check it out week after week. The Family recently went on a vaca to South Dakota and I came across it at a antique shop. Had to but it. Here I am a 59 year old buying a kids book. I don’t care It was a fav. ❤️
Biography of Amelia
From the mixed up files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler ❤️
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, by Julie Andrews. We read it in the 3rd grade. The same year that my sister and I fell head over heels in love with The Sound of Music.
My daughter started kindergarten this week and I keep telling her she has at least 13 years of school ahead of her. And I just realized I get to reread books I’ve forgotten about AND read new books that didn’t exist when I was a kid in the 70’s. Eeeeeee!!!!!!
Christy and the cat jail!!!!
A Little Princess
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Giver
Where the Red Fern Grows.
The Island of the Blue Dolphins