Books: What Are Your Favorite Children's Books?

Whether you’ve got little people of your own or just happened to keep your entire Little Golden Books collection through college, children’s books stand the test of time on our bookshelves.

These Days’ Monday chat with Dr. Alida Allison of SDSU’s Childrens Book Review service got me thinking about the treasured books of my youth – and wondering what yours were.

The first book I ever read “by myself” was “Go Dog Go!” by PD Eastman, which chronicled the comings and goings of many dogs, whom I believe ended up in a large tree party that I desperately wanted to go to.

But the book I treasured the most was the tale of the reluctant fighting bull, “The Story of Ferdinand.” As you may recall, he would rather look at flowers than fight – only recently did I learn that the book was banned in Spain and burned in Nazi Germany for its pacifist sympathies.

As I got older I devoured "The Baby-sitter's Club" series (I don’t think there’s a political subtext there, but you never know…), as well as young persons' classics like Scott O’Dell’s "Island of the Blue Dolphins," which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

What are your favorite children’s (and young adult!) books – from yesterday and today?