A few of my fave books from my earliest bookshelf, all with awesomely memorable covers!
The Coral Island
The Coral Island
Supernatural Stories for Boys
A similar book for girls [for balance!]
and the first of the great paperback Armada Ghost Books
Which were fave books and book covers readers when you were kids?
I was an odd kid. I hated children's literature when I was young and only ever read factual books (usually of a technical or zoological nature). My teachers actually told me off for it, which had no effect!
ReplyDeleteI loved factual books too Kev. Early Man, dinosaurs, How and Why books and wildlife. I have managed to find most of my old books in charity shops over the years. I came out of childhood with just Jason and the Golden Fleece from Zodiac Toys and a handful of teenage novels survived too. Oh and I adored encyclopedias back in the Sixties.
DeleteThese genres of childhood reading seemed to have been worldwide in scope.My childhood bookcase was full of Hardy Boys mysteries and Alfred Hitchcock scary compilations.Whatever editions I didn't own I would seek out at the library.It is a shame that my grand daughter views nothing but her IPad.BTW, I see some foul weather named Hurricane Ophelia is heading in your direction.Looks like Ireland will get the worst of it,but have a candle and some good books ready if the power goes out!
ReplyDeleteNever read any Hardy Boys Bri but have read Alfred Hitchcock as an adult and have quite a few of his anthologies. I'm reading old paperbacks called Pan Book of Horror at the mo. They are amazingly gruesome and really quite brutal stories. I can't believe this is what my folks read when I was a kid. Pan Horrors were were in a couple of different bookcases at home back then in the Sixties.
DeleteGreat books with great covers, Woodsy. As a kid I actually had a copy of the 1st Armada Ghost Book. I found the cover art with the large terrifying face very worrying. Even now it's still a little unsettling perhaps :)
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Tone. isn't there one with a huge sea serpent on the cover or even a nessie?
DeleteIt seems to ring a bell, Woodsy, although I certainly didn't have that one. Wonder how many ghost books were in this Armada series? They were very popular with kids and maybe paved the way for us to graduate to Pan Horror which you also mentioned :)
ReplyDeleteThe Coral Island is a great book - got a hardback copy of it in my bookcase. Did you ever read its sequel, The Gorilla Hunters, in which the three boys are now adults? That was also quite good. And one of my pals bought the Supernatural Stories For Boys back at the end of 1972. I acquired a copy in the late '70s - still got it today. If you haven't read Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner, you should!
ReplyDeleteNope, never read the Gorilla hunters Kid or Moonfleet, which I think was a TV series wasn't it? I think I'll get my Supernatural Stories for Boys down from the attic and put it on the reading pile for this winter! My older Brother's equivalent is up there too, Algernon Blackwood's Tales of the Supernatural, another superb cover!
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