Top Ten Tuesday – Childhood Favourites

I’m cheating and backdating another post as I missed Tuesday’s Top Ten Tuesday but I had an idea I really wanted to complete so I’ve decided to do it anyway!

I’ve spoken about my childhood favourites a few times on SWB. Back in 2017 I did a discussion post on childhood books, I also completed a Top Ten Tuesday on hidden gems from my childhood, and more recently completed a Six for Sunday all about books from my childhood. Please feel free to go and look back on some of those posts!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Modern Childhood Favourites

I’ve added a little bit of a twist to this and instead picked ten books or series that I think would be childhood favourites if I were reading them as a child today! With a few I still have to read but that I hope will fall into that category once I’ve read them!

The Train To Impossible Places by P. G. Bell

A train that travels through impossible places. A boy trapped in a snow globe. And a girl who’s about to go on the adventure of a lifetime.

The Impossible Postal Express is no ordinary train. It’s a troll-operated delivery service that runs everywhere from ocean-bottom shipwrecks, to Trollville, to space.

But when this impossible train comes roaring through Suzy’s living room, her world turns upside down. After sneaking on board, Suzy suddenly finds herself Deputy Post Master aboard the train, and faced with her first delivery―to the evil Lady Crepuscula.

Then, the package itself begs Suzy not to deliver him. A talking snow globe, Frederick has information Crepuscula could use to take over the entire Union of Impossible Places. But when protecting Frederick means putting her friends in danger, Suzy has to make a difficult choice―with the fate of the entire Union at stake.

I read this recently and adored it – you can find my review here. This book was full of adventure and I’m sure it will appeal to so many children, it certainly appealed to my inner child! I cannot wait for the follow up The Great Brain Robbery which is due out in October!

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The Secret Key by Lena Jones

Meet thirteen-year-old Agatha Oddly – a bold, determined heroine, and the star of a stylish new detective series.

Agatha Oddlow has been a detective for as long as she can remember – she’s just been waiting for her first big case. And nothing gets bigger than saving the City of London from some strange goings-on.

With a scholarship to the prestigious St Regis School, a cottage in the middle of Hyde Park, a room full of beloved sleuthing novels, and a secret key that gives her access to a whole hidden side of London, Agatha is perfectly poised to solve the mystery of what’s going on. But just who can she trust when no one is quite who they seem…

As a child I adored mystery series, things like the Famous Five and Secret Seven. I read and reviewed the first story in the Agatha Oddly series earlier in the year and loved it, for me it feels like a modern updated version of those stories I loved so much. The books are written by a team of writers under the pen name Lena Jones, so it’ll be interesting to see how cohesive the series will be, a second book, Murder At The Museum is already published with a third coming in September

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Cogheart by Peter Bunzl

Some secrets change the world in a heartbeat…

Lily’s life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her?

With her friends—Robert, the clockmaker’s son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox—Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart…

Murder, mayhem and mystery meet in this gripping Victorian adventure.

Cogheart is the first in The Cogheart Adventure series. I’ll be honest parts of this book are a little dark but as a slightly older child I would have absolutely adored this adventure tale! The inclusion of the clockwork servants and especially Malkin the clockwork fox would certainly have appealed to younger Sarah! This Sarah wants a clockwork fox as a pet! I’m really looking forward to reading Moonlocket and Skycircus, fortunately they’re both published already!

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Everdark by Abi Elphinstone

It is midnight in Crackledawn – a midnight full of magic. Sea dragons stir in the depths of the ocean, silver whales surface beneath the moon and sand goblins line the shores. Everyone is waiting for the phoenix, the guardian of the kingdom’s magic, to rise up from the forests of Everdark.

But there is no sign of the phoenix tonight. Something else surges up out of Everdark instead: a harpy bent on stealing Crackledawn’s magic.

It is up to an eleven-year-old girl called Smudge and an eccentric monkey called Bartholomew to set sail beyond the legendary Northswirl and stop the harpy before it’s too late.

This is the first in The Unmapped Chronicles series by Abi, this was a short story published for World Book Day but the amount of detail and action Abi managed to fit into such a short story amazed me! I adored Smudge and Bartholomew and they had such a wonderful adventure together. I went straight out to buy Rumblestar for myself and I also picked up a copy for my 8 year old goddaughter as I think she’ll adore it.

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The Adventures of Amelia Fang by Laura Ellen Anderson

MEET AMELIA FANG

Everyone’s favourite little vampire – and friends!

Amelia Fang lives in Nocturnia – a dark and gloomy place full of furry, fanged and frightful creatures . . . and the occasional glittery unicorn!

Along with her friends and pet pumpkin, Squashy, Amelia has the most eyeball-spinningly exciting adventures EVER!

So come and join Amelia and her friends. They’re all dying to meet you . . .

This was a book that was given away as a happy meal book to encourage reading which I think is a fantastic idea anyway! This was a great little introduction to Amelia Fang and I know my goddaughter adores these stories after reading the first one in class. I recently went out and bought it for myself so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in

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Sam Wu Is Not Afraid Of Anything by Katie and Kevin Tsang

I am SAM WU and I am not, in any way, shape or form, afraid of anything!

But just in case I might come across any man-eating sharks, be made to camp in the dark, encounter invading aliens, lurking jellyfish or skulking stingrays, then it’s worth taking some precautions. You know, like never going outside EVER again.

That’s totally do-able right?

Common childhood fears dealt with in a hilarious, sensitive and accessible way.

This was another book that was given away with happy meals. It’s another short book I absolutely loved, Sam Wu seems like such a wonderful character and I cannot wait to find out more about him when I pick up some of the books in the series, by January next year I’ll have five to choose from!

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Peril En Pointe by Helen Lipscombe

Ballet Shoes meets Murder Most Unladylike in this fresh and funny spy story! Milly yearns to dance like her ballerina mum – but during the biggest performance of her life, she messes up and her mum disappears. Six months on, Milly receives an unexpected invitation to join the Swan House School of Ballet. Thrilled, Milly accepts, only to find that Swan House is no ordinary ballet school: it’s a ballet school for spies. Can her new skills help her discover the truth about her mother’s vanishing act?

This is another recent purchase for me, it sounds like another fantastic read, and although I wasn’t actually a dancer myself the mix of ballet and spies would have certainly appealed to me as a child! I believe this is the first in a planned series so I’m looking forward to reading this one, and hopefully discovering more Swan House Mysteries!

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And Then I Turned Into A Mermaid by Laura Kirkpatrick

Molly Seabrook’s dull seaside life is turned upside down when she turns 13 and is let in on the family secret: she’s PART-MERMAID! While this does explain why her bonkers Mum is always skinny-dipping, Molly isn’t exactly thrilled. She already has to dress as a haddock to promote the family fish ’n’ chip shop, and now this? Growing up is hard enough without sprouting a fish tail in Double Maths, or disguising your gills from the cute boy at the ice cream kiosk.

Join Molly as she navigates the stormy sea of social awkwardness, best friend fallouts and the World’s Most Embarrassing Family – all while attempting to hide her (Very Weird) new double identity. Will she sink or swim? You’ll have to wait and SEA . . .

The first in a hilarious new series about family, friendship and one BIG fishy secret.

I wasn’t a particular fan of The Little Mermaid as a child even so mermaids in general intrigued me so I’m sure young me would have adored this story. It’s my current read, I’m just a couple of chapters in but I’m loving the Seabrook sisters so far. I have really high hopes for this book as I love Laura’s adult books which she writes as Laura Steven

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Nevermoor: The Trials Of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she’ll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate. 

I’ve heard many good things about this story and the next in the series. It sounds wonderful so I’m looking forward to reading it. It sounds wonderful and full of adventure, it sounds like it has the potential to be a favourite!

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Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. A curl-up-on-the-sofa debut from a uniquely talented author.

Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents’ bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.

One day Tilly realises that classic children’s characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering’ – crossing over from the page into real life.

With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.

This has been sitting on my shelves for far too long! It sounds like the perfect book for book lovers and I’m sure that 9 year old me would have adored this story! I must read it before the next in the series is released!

There’s my take on the prompt. Current children’s books I think would be firm favourites if I’d read them as a child! Are there any books you’ve read as an adult you know the childhood you would have adored? Let me know in the comments!