"I Read It So Much That It Fell Apart" — 29 Childhood Books That People Couldn't Put Down

"I'm a teacher now and still insist on reading it to my students."

I don't know about you, but I loved reading when I was younger. I'm pretty sure I ended up finishing almost all of the books in the school library...

Sony Pictures Releasing

So, I got curious and asked the BuzzFeed Community what their favourite book was in primary school. Here are some of the best responses:

1. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Harper & Row

"I so wanted a wolf suit, the wild things were terrifying and marvellous. Oh, to be part of a wild rumpus!"

—nikkimadans

2. Diary of a Chav by Grace Dent

Hodder Children's Books

"It's always wild to me that she's now like a guest Masterchef judge."

—mollydoll

3. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Puffin

"It was one of my absolute favourite stories ever. I must have read that fifty, sixty times."

—garebehr

4. The Amazing Adventures of Chilly Billy by Peter Mayle

Escargot Books Online Limited

"We read it as a class in year two. When our fridge broke at home and we had to get a new one, I insisted to my parents that I write a note to leave in our old fridge to tell Chilly Billy what was going on."

—apricot_tea

5. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

Clarion Books

"I adored it. It was about a poor girl who drew many beautiful dresses, while owning only one."

—susaneschnur

"I'm a teacher now and still insist on reading it to my students. It may make me cry at the ending, but it's so very good."

—skipnees

6. The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler by Gene Kemp

Faber & Faber

"A twist that little me didn’t see coming."

—ruthruthruth

7. "Jacqueline Wilson's books had us in a chokehold. A vice-like death grip one at that."

Yearling / Corgi Childrens

"Anytime a new one came into our library, you had to be among the first to put your name on the waitlist so the librarian saved it for you after entering it into the system. The topics were always rather sad and morbid, but maybe we felt grown up reading them."

—n48656c421

8. The Rainbow Magic series by Daisy Meadows

Orchard Books

"I read them to my year one class now they’re so good."

—livrose394

"They were high commodity. We all wanted to read them all but could never get out hands one one book or the other. One girl had all of them in her personal library at home, and that was hot gossip."  

—n48656c421

9. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

Harper Collins

"Especially The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It introduced me to fantasy literature while also helping me realise the value of classic literature. Plus, it was exciting to know that there were six more books in the series!"

—patk1026

10. The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon

G P Putnam's Sons

"I always looked forward to monthly field trips to the library, and checked out as many of them I was allowed to. Two brothers, and sometimes a friend or two, solving mysteries."

—aditson

11. Night House, Bright House by Monica Wellington

Puffin

"I would bring it everywhere, made games out of it, memorised it. I loved it and read it so many times a day."

—jessicacomesincolors

12. The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osbourne

Random House Books for Young Readers

"I think that’s what got me really hooked on the fantasy genre."

—brieannad

13. Journey to Jo'burg by Beverly Naidoo

Harper Collins Children's Books

"I remember our teacher reading it to us. It was about a brother and sister in South Africa walking from their village all the way to Johannesburg to find their mother to tell her that their baby sister is sick. It's set during apartheid and it's one that has still stuck with me to this day."

—hobbitgirl96

14. Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon

Orion

"I clearly remember getting the book Horrid Henry's Underpants at the school book fair and being super proud that it was my first 'adult' book (it wasn't a picture book)."

—hobbitgirl96

15. Doodlebug Alley by Robert Swindells

Award Publications Ltd.

"It was about a girl living in London during WW2 bombings, but no one else seems to have ever read it."

—jazsesy

16. The Twits by Roald Dahl

Puffin

"I was obsessed with that book, and read it so much that it fell apart!"

—emmapower1

17. Horrible Histories by Terry Deary

Amazon

"Even better I was in my school's team for the county book quiz and the finals were hosted by Terry Deary so I got to meet him twice. I was briefly one of the coolest people in school."

—kathryna456a720b8

"I used to love reading them, and the spin offs too - the science, geography etc. Safe to say I was quite the boffin."

—shypepper88

18. Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

Farshore

"My dad read those books to me every night before bed when I was younger, and he had different funny voices for all of the characters in the book, which always had me doubled over in laughter. I associated those books with the love and care my father showed me, and it became my favorite book because it meant I would cuddle up on dad's lap and hear his funny rendition of how Pooh would get his honey and all about his friends."

—cnf1

19. Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville

FCA Press

"It was my introduction into a lifelong love of fantasy literature."

—hailcthulhu

20. Mystery of the Russian Ruby by Iain Smyth

Puffin

"I got it for Christmas and it was the first ever pop-up book I'd ever saw. There's a whole bloody mansion that pops out in the middle of this book with doors and windows that YOU CAN OPEN. And it's a whodunit with a few different endings so it's super interactive. I loved it. Still do actually. I take it out for a read whenever I'm back my gran's where it's stored for safekeeping."

—ravenbard

21. The Jolly Pocket Postman by Allan Ahlberg

Amazon

"The letters you could take out and read were next level!"

—lauraa47b084b65

"I absolutely loved this because my dad was a very well-loved mailman in my town and I'm so proud of him!"

—sweet87ness

22. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Clarion Books

"It was the first book I learned how to read, and I loved that it was about bats! Of course now, I understand where my lifelong obsession with bats started."

—fillionfan4002

23. Matilda by Roald Dahl

Puffin

"I value it so much more as an educator today because it really emphasises the importance of reading and touches on the risk of letting technology be what runs our lives."

—charmingtraveler54

24. Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

Farshore

"It was awesome, I wanted to be able to do the stuff he did."

—kellyd905

25. The A to Z Mysteries series by Ron Roy

Random House for Young Readers

"He came to our elementary school, and it got a lot of kids including myself to enjoy reading. The librarian couldn't keep the series on the shelf. I know he was one of the authors who made me enjoy reading at a time when I struggled a lot with reading due to having learning disabilities."

—zoo00

26. The Berenstain Bears by Stan Berenstain

Vintage

"It taught me about life, school, and overcoming obstacles I could relate to as a kid in a feel-good way and there was always a happy ending."

—heatherchristie1

27. The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson

Yearling

"It was the first book I ever read at the library. I’ll never forget it."

—ruchav

28. Choose Your Own Adventure books by R. Montgomery

Chooseco

"As a kid who loved to read, it was the closest immersion you could get to being in the book and that appealed to me. Of course I almost always died, so maybe that is more telling than anything."

—hopelovetrust

29. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Harper Collins

"It was my favourite book. I swear my life follows that exact problem of doing one thing that leads to another thing, and so on, all just to get the first thing done."

—bravewalrus46

H/T to the BuzzFeed Community for having this discussion!

Note: All submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Do you have any more to add? Let me know in the comments below.

Additional thumbnail credits: BBC / Sony Pictures Releasing / Puffin