In honor of National Library Week this week, it might be nice to look back at the must-haves for books in our younger years. Whether they were read to you or by yourself, these books probably meant something to you. They served as a way to put off going to bed and another scenario to act out during play time the next day. So here’s a brief list of books from childhoods’ past and see if you can remember any others.
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The ones you could recite from memory at the age of 4:
If you give a mouse a cookie by Laura Numeroff
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
From the stories that go in circles to those that bring animals and inanimate objects to life, these stories represent every story we ever heard before falling asleep with our nightlight on.
The ones your babysitter read to you every time:
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Anything by Dr. Seuss (Oh the Places You’ll Go, The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
From crazy rhymes with words you could barely pronounce to crazy adventures with these girls, there was never a dull moment when it was time for bed.
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The ones that were always checked out from the Library:
Goosebumps by R.L. Stine
The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Holes by Louis Sachar
These series were the best thing to ever happen in your middle school years, providing you with a constant imagination starter. Whether you formed your own babysitting club, “flew” around on broomsticks or dug your own holes in the backyard, you made sure to be the first one in the library to get your next copy.
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The ones that you had to read for school and are too cool to admit you actually liked them:
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger
Although these books were beaten to death by your English teachers trying to find the themes and symbols and uncover every literary device used within these pages, just admit it, these were actually really good books.
   In case you suddenly have an itch to relive these memories and put off your homework a little bit more, the children’s section is located in the basement of the St. Ambrose Library. Or, these treasures are still on your bookcase at home waiting to be picked up again. There’s a pretty good chance that what you got out of them when you were younger has changed drastically in the past few years and you’ll be amazed at what you overlooked before.
**Photos courtesy of wikipedia.org, sarahemarsh.blogspot.com, athousandbookswithquotes.com, fromthemixedupfiles.com, tumblr.com
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