Bookstalgia: Books From My Childhood (Part 1)

For most of us booklovers memories of growing up are always accompanied by a special trove of unforgettable books that shaped our childhood and ignited in us a life-long passion for reading. Whether adventures or love stories, they excited us with the joy of discovery, made us want to read more, and instilled in us important values for life.

If you are looking for books for your kids, or simply want to rekindle your love for reading perhaps it might help to think about the books that made you start to read in the first place. Here’s the list I grew up with. Are any of them part of yours, too? Perhaps you would like to share your childhood list, too!


1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Believe it or not this book is the actual copy of Little Women by that I’ve kept for more than 20 years! I think every one of us loved the four sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, and their mother Marmee, and how they dreamed of a better life reunited with their father.



I remember watching and falling in love with the animation based on the book that came out in the 80s. I’ve always wanted to see this again and writing this blog helped me to!


In 2006, Geraldine Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for March which imagines a first hand account of the sisters’ absent father Mr. March’s experiences of Civil War.

2. Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

Who among us didn’t grow up with these unforgettable hardbound volumes with yellow spines! I’m referring to the classic series of 56 books by Grosset & Dunlap from The Secret of the Old Clock to The Thirteenth Pearl. I remember the time when I got hooked on Nancy Drew (I was eight years old then) I ended up exhausting my library card four times!



If you have a Nancy Drew collection, complement it with this commemorative volume The Lost Files of Nancy Drew which I found at Fully Booked! :-D Featuring excerpts from Nancy’s journal of her most exciting cases, browse through memorabilia such as letters, last wills, old photographs, diagrams of secret passages, sleuthing guide, and lots of other fun stuff!

Beyond the excitement of joining Nancy in her various sleuthing adventures, there were a lot of lessons that we learned from her about the world, including tips on survival, etiquette, and on simply being a lady. If you have daughters, the Nancy Drew series is highly recommended!

For more information, Jenn Fisher has a comprehensive site on everything Nancy Drew :-D

Here is a nice article on the enduring icon that is Nancy Drew.

Here is a list of the first 56 titles in the classic series! :-)
1. The Secret of the Old Clock
2. The Hidden Staircase
3. The Bungalow Mystery
4. The Mystery at Lilac Inn
5. The Secret at Shadow Ranch
6. The Secret of Red Gate Farm
7. The Clue in the Diary
8. Nancy's Mysterious Letter
9. The Sign of the Twisted Candles
10. The Password to Larkspur Lane
11. The Clue of the Broken Locket
12. The Message in the Hollow Oak
13. The Mystery of the Ivory Charm
14. The Whispering Statue
15. The Haunted Bridge
16. The Clue of the Tapping Heels
17. The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk
18. The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion
19. The Quest of the Missing Map
20. The Clue in the Jewel Box
21. The Secret in the Old Attic
22. The Clue in the Crumbling Wall
23. The Mystery of the Tolling Bell
24. The Clue in the Old Album
25. The Ghost of Blackwood Hall
26. The Clue of the Leaning Chimney
27. The Secret of the Wooden lady
28. The Clue of the Black Keys
29. The Mystery at the Ski Jump
30. The Clue of the Velvet Mask
31. The Ringmaster's Secret
32. The Scarlet Slipper Mystery
33. The Witch Tree Symbol
34. The Hidden Window Mystery
35. The Haunted Showboat
36. The Secret of the Golden Pavilion
37. The Clue in the Old Stagecoach
38. The Mystery of the Fire Dragon
39. The Clue of the Dancing Puppet
40. The Moonstone Castle Mystery
41. The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes
42. The Phantom of Pine Hill
43. The Mystery of the 99 Steps
44. The Clue in the Crossword Cipher
45. The Spider Sapphire Mystery
46. The Invisible Intruder
47. The Mysterious Mannequin
48. The Crooked Banister
49. The Secret of Mirror Bay
50. The Double Jinx Mystery
51. Mystery of the Glowing Eye
52. The Secret of the Forgotten City
53. The Sky Phantom
54. The Strange Message in the Parchment
55. Mystery of Crocodile Island
56. The Thirteenth Pearl

3. Walt Disney's Giant Book of Fairytales (1972)

Of all the books from my childhood, this one brings back the most memories, especially of bedtime when my eldest sister would read to me from it. This copy must be at least 25 years old and has been loaned down to 2 more generations after mine :-)

This book is out of print, but if you are interested I highly recommend Disney’s Storybook Collection, 1999 (ISBN 0786832347) – this is a hardcover volume of Disney’s best-loved film classics in short, easy-to-read retellings. It’s not available in any of the bookstores in Manila but may be ordered at Amazon (and ship via Johnny Air).

To be continued in "Bookstalgia: Books from my Childhood Part 2"