Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl – definitely check out her awesome website to see more info. This week’s topic is…Childhood Favorites! Not gonna lie – this one is challenging for me.

I did not grow up in a reading household. My parents immigrated from the Philippines to the USA. Growing up as farmers, they didn’t have the luxury of leisure reading in their motherland. They worked hard as children and as adults had to work hard in Hawaii to give me and my sister a better life. So my joy of reading came first from my elementary school librarian. I loved her! She was this petite Japanese-American woman, named Mrs. Aoki, with a high pitched, sweet, soft voice. Story time at the library was always my favorite part of the day!

Madeline – I loved when our school librarian read Madeline books to us in the afternoons before school ended. I wanted to be Madeline in Paris with her uniform and chic hat.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses – I’m not even sure what version our school librarian read to us – all I remember is the story. I love how these sisters snuck out at night (element of danger) and danced the night away. I would wonder where they went and my imagination would take flight. I thought it was amazing to be able to dance all night that their shoes would get ruin. 😂

Cinderella – once again, this isn’t the exact book I read as a child, but I did read the Disney version of Cinderella and fell in love. I loved the animals more than anything. Her gown was pretty and it was nice she got a Prince in the end, but I loved the magical aspect of the book.

Tikki Tikki Tembo – I still remember my first grade teacher reading us this story. It was after a field trip and it was hot as heck, but there were like 15 minutes to the bell ringing to end the school day. She read this book, as we tried to cool off, sitting outside of the classroom praying for a breeze and I got lost in this story. I’ve now read it to my own son and we love saying Tikki Tikki Tembo’s name. 😂

Green Eggs and Ham – This book was my favorite by Dr. Seuss when I was a child because green eggs and ham do not sound appealing. But it’s so funny how Sam-I-Am insists it’s amazing throughout the whole book. I still enjoy this book and my kids love it too now.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales – because I was going to say Rumplestiltskin is a favorite of mine BUT…since I love a lot of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, why not list them as one? Rapunzel, even Cinderella was writing by them, and so many other fairy tales that are now re-imagined today in YA books.

Since I mentioned Brothers Grimm, then I have to add Hans Christian Andersen in here as well! My favorites from him are The Little Mermaid, The Little Match Girl and Thumbelina to name a few.

East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon – I remember we saw a play of this story for a field trip in the 5th or 6th grade and I was entranced by the story. Just the title itself sounded magical! Definitely a love of mine and I’m thinking I needed to buy myself a copy and re-read it.

Sweet Ferdinand! The Story of Ferdinand is short and sweet with a lovely message about a bull who wanted no part in the violent world of bull-fighting. How can you not love a bull who loves flowers? He is the sweetest! It’s a story that always made me feel happy at the end.

Last, but not least, the very awesome, The Giving Tree. It’s a beautiful, sweet simple story with a message that relates to children and adults alike. I could read this one over and over again.

There you have it! Ten amazing collections and stories that shaped my love of reading as a child. Today, some of these books are shaping my own children’s love of books and reading.

Did you enjoy any of these as a child as well? Let me know in the comments below. Happy Reading!