We all have that childhood book that we cherish throughout adulthood. That one book your parents used to read to you constantly and stays with you forever.
From Enid Blyton to Roald Dahl, the team at Happy HQ have been delving into our memories to remember the book we love – and some of us are even reading it to our children.
As it’s Childhood Book Month across the planet, here are the Happies favourite books and why they love them so much:
Karen Lambert (a “blinged-up” rubber duck)
Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales is one of my favourite books from childhood. Featuring Thumbelina, The Emperor’s Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea and the Ugly Duckling. The Ugly Duckling taught me from an early age that you should never give up in finding your passion and accept the beauty of who you are.
Simon Brooke (soft toys and a family picture)
My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell. I was obsessed with animals, nature and adventure as a young boy and this book does it all with the kind of humorous edge that’s stuck with me.
James Chantler (a bottle of ginger ale)
The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton. I remember a summer holidays when I was given one of the books to read and spent most of my summer lost in a book. The stories were easy to read, fast paced and I loved the idea that kids were able to outwit adults.
Hakim Shujaee (a purple hat and a bar of chocolate)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. I first read this in class in year three. For the whole year we would have a certain topic (and for our class it was chocolate) We would sit on the carpet in the afternoon and read chapters upon chapters of Charlie’s adventures whilst eating (you guessed it) chocolate! And as if that wasn’t enough at our end of year school trip we visited a real life chocolate factory where we learned about the process and were given like a million pieces of chocolate to test out. Happy Times!
Estelle Guerineaux (a soft toy cat)
Perle by Gab & Anne-Sybille Guerineaux. This book was written by my sister so it has a very strong family connection which cannot be broken. I love reading this to my daughter at bed-time and she loves it too!
Damian Budny (a small Damian!)
Tom Thumb by the Brothers Grimm. I remember reading this book over and over again, it’s a lovely story about a tiny boy who was so brave and saved the world. There was drama, magic and a happy ending, the perfect book for a youngster.
Morag Dumbarton (a red and white hat)
The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss. My family love this book as we too like to have fun no matter how much destruction is left behind post fun just like the cat in the hat.
Marilia Spindler (pantone swatches)
Elmer by David McKee. Elmer is a patchwork elephant that is multi-coloured. I like it because he is different, he is innovative and he is not afraid to be himself!
John Filmer (a “moon”)
The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I used to love reading it to find out what land would be at the top this time: the Land of Do-As-You-Please, the Land of Birthdays, the Land of Dame Slap…you never know! Moonface lives in a round house near the top of tree, filled with round furniture. And he is the owner of the slippery-slip, a slide which takes you all the way to the bottom of the tree – sounds ace fun!
Sylwia Lukjanowska (a crown, surrounded by snowflakes)
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. I really liked to read Andersen’s fairy tales as I think they’re very universal, there is always some scary part in each tale, but always they end in good and positive way. They give hope that good can always conquer evil… There’s also something “magical” and it’s almost like gateway to fantasy world.
Nick Hyde (soft animal toys)
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. This brings back memories of being in the cub scouts where everything was based around the characters. My family were involved in the cubs so not only is it a great book but it’s got a lovely family connection. The songs from the film were great too!
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