The 'Tom Corbett: Space Cadet' books were great, probably my earliest introduction to SF, followed by Asimov's Robot stories...didn't understand some of it as a kid, but I loved the stories...
Regards,
M. Graham _________________ Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage among his books.
For to you kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring,
but to him they are but toys of the moment,
to be overturned with the flick of a finger. -- Gordon R.Dickson
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 291 Location: Waco, Texas
Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 1:05 pm
I didn't get into SF until I was a senior in high school, but I did read a lot of other books before that. I was able to convince my parents to subscribe to several different book clubs over the years, and I still remember quite a few of them. One set was primarily abridged versions of classics like the King Arthur stories, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, The Three Musketeers, etc., most of which I eventually read the full versions. Another set contained mainly juvenile novels set in various places around the world, and a few that I remember (titles only, have no idea of the authors) are In Old Quebec, about a girl lost in that city, The Gift of the Mikado (can only recall the title but not the plot), and Follow My Leader, about a boy who is blinded in an accident and must learn to cope with his situation and adapt to using a guide dog.
I also read a lot from school libraries, mainly histories, biographies, or fictionalized historical stories like Johnny Tremaine, and I fondly recall one about Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox of Revolutionary War fame. I was fascinated by early Americana, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War, and historical figures such as Lincoln, Franklin, Jefferson, etc. And of course there were The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown, Danny Dunn and on and on. Actually if it was a book, I was interested, which I can't say for many of my friends or family. I could also spend hours looking through encyclopedias. We had both the World Book and Britannica at home, as well as other reference books.
Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 306 Location: Port Angeles, Washington
Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 6:05 pm
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron and its sequels, sparking the sense of wonder in children.
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss. This one is actually a lot more mature than his later stuff, which was aimed at the pre-school crowd. Also good were The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and Bartholomew and the Oobleck.
I liked the Tom Corbett books, but my favorite juvenile series was the Dig Allen, Space Explorer series by Joseph Greene. Anybody else remember them?
Everybody talks about the Heinlein juveniles, but , as a boy, I much preferred the Lucky Star books by Isaac Asimov.
There were a lot more, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind.
Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 318 Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:22 pm
I don't recall really. Dr. Seuss, I'm sure, and other books like that: Ten Apples Up on Top, A Fish Out of Water, Look Out for Pirates!, Put Me In the Zoo, and Stop That Ball!.
Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time, Dracula, the Narnia series, the King Arthur stories, Treasure island,Christmas Carol,Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Johnny Tremaine, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. There's more, just can't think of them now.
Pamela
I was a great proponent of the Ramona books when I was in second to fourth grades. Then I got into the Baby-Sitters Club and other Ann M. Martin books. Of course, the Little House and Anne of Green Gables books got my kudos. I also liked to read books about hauntings and strange encounters.
The Tom Corbett books have already been mentioned (I bought them for $1.25 each at the "Perry's" department store with my paper route money, but the first one was a gift from my parents).
However, Heinlein's "Have Space Suit - Will Travel" was the first real Sci-Fi that I ever read. I've probably re-read it 50 times since then, including within the last year. I still have the original copy which I bought (of all places) at Baptist Book Store in Lubbock, Texas. My original copy is starting to come apart just a little, but still has the jacket that came with it, covered by a textbook cover that I meticulously put over it in about the fifth grade.
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