Recently, I signed up for a free month of Kindle Unlimited so I could read a seven book story arc from Sweet Valley High. I read this books as a tween. I can't say the SVH books are QUALITY reading, but they sure bring back a lot of nostalgia!
Reading these books brought back a lot of memories of the books I read as a kid/teen, and it inspired me to tell you about some of those books. The post got a little long, so today we will stick with what I read as a kid.
This is what I remember reading
as a KID...
The Baby-Sitters Club Series
I was OBSESSED with the BSC. I even read the Little Sisters series despite the fact that they weren't as good. I was a member of the fan club AND had BOTH of the board games. I still have the games... and all of my books!
Yes, I also had all the VHS tapes of the television show I could afford. Unfortunately, I didn't have all of them, but now many of them are on Youtube! So is the movie that came out in 1995. I owned the movie and the soundtrack. In fact, I took the soundtrack to work because it has some catchy tunes in it I thought the students might like!
I also had the dolls! I am pretty sure I gave those away, though.
I liked keeping my BSC books (and all books) in MINT CONDITION. No wrinkles, no creases in the binding... nothing. One time I fell asleep on one of my books and woke up with the front cover bent in half. I BAWLED. Why!? I bet the book cost $4, couldn't I just buy a new one!? (Don't you wish books still cost $4???)
Proof:
Book in mint condition.
Wrinkled book that made me cry!
The public librarian noticed I was obsessed with the BSC books and often urged me to try new books and authors. Guys, that PISSED ME OFF. I hated when I would go to check out my stack of BSC books and the librarian would lead me over to a different shelf and try to show me other things to read.
When I stopped reading the BSC books, the regular books were up to the 80s. (As in, over 80 books.) I could recite all of the books in order and took great pride in that skill! Now, I can only correctly remember up to #19...
1- Kristy's Great Idea
2- Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls
3- The Truth About Stacey
4- Mary Anne Saves the Day
5- Dawn and the Impossible Three
6- Kristy's Big Day
7- Claudia and Mean Janine
8- Boy Crazy Stacey
9- The Ghost at Dawn's House
10- Logan Likes Mary Anne!
11- Kristy and the Snobs
12- Claudia and the New Girl
13- Goodbye Stacey, Goodbye
14- Hello, Mallory!
15- Little Miss Stoneybrook... and Dawn
16- Jessi's Secret Language
17- Mary Anne's Bad Luck Mystery
18- Stacey's Mistake
19- Claudia and the Bad Joke
20- Kristy.... ???? (Turned out to be the Walking Distaster!)
I just Googled how many books in the regular series there are now 131 books! I wonder if they ever got out of 8th grade!?
Even though I spent most of my time reading BSC books, I did read some other books...
I loved the Anastasia Krumpnik books. It was the first time I read anything "quirky".
Then of course there was Sideways Stories from Wayside School. These were the best short stories and more WEIRD than quirky.
Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret was a book I read over and over again.
The Dollhouse Murders were TERRIFYING!!!! I feel like if I read this book now I would still be scared!
I read the Sweet Valley Twins books but I wasn't as obsessed with them as I was the BSC. However, my FAVORITE Sweet Valley Twin book that I have read many, many times... even as an adult, is The Magic Christmas. I think I got rid of most of my Sweet Valley Twins books, but not this one as I totally plan on reading it again!
I'm sure I read other random books as a kid, but these are the big ones I remember! One thing I can say is that I am SO GLAD the I was a reader growing up. I loved to read so much and it was the main thing I did in my free time. It gave me so much joy.
My favorite book was the super special where they put on the show Peter Pan and the one where they went to sleep away camp. Oh, also Boy Crazy Stacy and The Ghost at Dawn's House! What were your favorite books?
What books did you read as a kid?
I do remember reading BSC but honestly I don't remember one thing about them. I think maybe I ordered a few of them from the Troll book order that we would get in elementary school. I loved when the book order would come out!
ReplyDeleteThe books I do remember enjoying where The Little Gymnast, although I could not tell you one thing about that either as I don't remember and also The Little House on the Prarrie series. I remember reading Little House in The Big Woods when I was in second grade and being so proud of myself because I thought it was such a big book!
Omg I looooooved Troll book orders! I ordered books, stickers, posters...
DeleteI never read The Little Gymnast but I definitely remember seeing those books at the library. I was never into Little House the books OR the TV show, which I think is a little weird because I enjoyed "Old timey" stuff. Reading a chapter book is impressive as a 2nd grader! I don't think I was reading chapter stuff until 3rd grade maybe??
Do you remember how in school they would divide the class into three reading groups- low, medium, and high? I was always in the medium reading group and I KNEW it. I knew I wasn't one of the "smart" kids, but I loved reading so I didn't understand why I wasn't in the high group. I never got into the high reading group! I was always just average in school.
I actually had to go to Amazon and look up those books and it actually wasn't "the Little Gymnas" it was just "the gymnast"...haha, and as soon as I saw the front cover with all the girls on it I remembered that was it!
DeleteThat is impressive that you remember the reading groups. I don't remember if we had 2 or three groups but I do remember that one of the groups was called "the care bears". It's funny the things that we remember as kids.
Oh BTW till this day I have never watched one episode of Little House on the Prarrie...haha.
DeleteFor as much as I read as a kid, I'm surprised I never picked up any BSC books. I loved Nancy Drew and just a ton of random books that got my interest when I would browse the library shelves. When I got my American Girl Doll, I became obsessed with those books.
ReplyDeleteOh I read American Girl too! But by the time I discovered thrm I quit read all of thrm and then grew out of thrm. I don't think there was as much American Girl stiff when I was a kid. I believe there were 4 girls... Samantha, Molly, Kristen,... Addy? Felicity???
DeleteIt sure is! Did you ever read Trixie Belden or the Happy Hollisters? I enjoyed those mystery books.
ReplyDeleteI never read BSC, but I loved to read as a kid. My mom used to take us to the public library all time in the summers, and getting 'reading points' during school was no problem. I LOVED Troll/Scholastic Book orders, obviously the best day of school when those came out, and Pizza Hut Bookit!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite books as a kid-teen:
Boxcar Children
Goosebumps
Bernstein Bears
Where the Wild Things Are
Anything Judy Blume, I LOVED Ramona
(I also loved) Wayside Stories
Harry Potter
When I was in HS I loved Gothic Novels:
Frankenstein
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Les Miserables
Phantom of the Opera
Then later in HS got really into Anne Rice Vampire books and Steven King, now, I can't stand any new King or Rice books, ugh.
I basically read nothing in college besides music scores and textbooks...
I'm shocked at how many of my students *hate* to read. I feel so sad for them.
OMG BOOKIT!!! I also loved the book orders and my mom took us to the library too. She read to us all the time. I guess we can thank our moms for reading to us as kids and taking us to the library because I bet that's why we love reading so much. :)
DeleteYOU READ SO MANY BOOKS!!!!
I read Bernstein Bears in like 2nd grade- loved them. We Ramona was great! I don't remember how old I was. I tried Harry Potter as an adult and could not get into it. You read a lot more high class books in HS than me. That post is coming soon. Spoiler alert: Fear Street. LOL.
I do feel bad for kids who hate to read too! I want them to find something they LOVE. Because I hate reading things that don't interest me but I love reading stuff that DOES interest me. I wish they could find something they liked... no matter what it is. Just reading is awesome.
I loved those Babysitters books. I also had some dolls, I had the Kristy and Karen dolls that were like Barbies, and a Stacey doll that was bigger. I had sooooo many of those books and read even more that I checked out at the library. They're all at my parents house now, sitting in the bookshelf. I liked them more than Goosebumps, Sweet Valley, etc. Babysitters Club has graphic novels now, they're trying to bring it back for the next generation and it's more up to date. I saw them in Books-A-Million before Christmsa.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the Anastasia/Lois Lowry books! Glad to realize I'm not the only one who remembers those. Besides that, I read a lot of American Girl books too, with the historical girls. I wish those were still popular, I think that company kind of sold out.
Oh yeah, when we were kids American Girl was no as big as it is now. Girl, we read all the same books! What Baby-Sitters Club books do you like/remember the most? Did it make you want to be a baby-sitter? I wanted to baby-sit... until I became a baby-sitter and realized it sucked hahaha. Go to the Snark Squad website and they make fun of the BSC books. It's hilarious!
DeleteThe way you felt about BSC is how I felt about Sweet Valley. I read some of the BSC books but never really got super into them for some reason which is strange because there is nothing I love more than a good series! I hate getting wrapped up in characters only for the story to end after one book!
ReplyDeleteDollhouse Murders... omg I forgot about those books. They were terrifying!!!
Did you read Sweet Valley kids, twins, high? I know you read uni, any others?
DeleteI read twins, high and uni!
DeleteOH EM GEE we are meant to be besties. I was OBSESSED with the BSC. I had all the books, the games and the movies too. I made my own Kid Kit to take babysitting when I would go. Yep. OBSESSED. Mary Anne was my favorite. And my favorite books were the wedding ones like Kristy's Big Day and Mary Anne and the Great Romance. And I loved all the Super Specials, especially Baby-Sitters on Board and Baby-Sitters Island Adventure. Man I just read them all the time. I read the Little Sister books as well, but not quite as many of those. I read some Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High too and I read a ton of Judy Blume books. This post takes me BACK. I love it!!!
ReplyDeleteBeth
Coffee Until Cocktails
Wasn't is awesome to have a series of like hundreds of books to enjoy??? I think that's why I liked series... it's never over!
Delete