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Lady Gaga Snerd


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The Kids’ Books You Wish More People Remembered
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A WEEK AGO, WE ASKED you to tell us about the obscure books you read as a kid that have stuck with you, but that hardly anyone else seems to remember. As it turned out, Atlas Obscura readers have a lot to say on this subject. All together, we received more than 900 responses. Below, the editors have compiled our favorites. Please accept our apologies if we weren’t able to include yours—there were simply too many to share them all. Enjoy!

I SUBMIT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, The Elephant Who Liked to Smash Small Cars. It is the sad tale of a purveyor of small cars whose neighbor is, to his misfortune, an elephant so predisposed. With his entire inventory smashed, the man rethinks his business model.

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“I’m going to sell big cars,” said the car salesman. “They are very good for smashing elephants.”

Then, he proceeds to pound the pachyderm.

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I have fond memories of my dad singing the accompanying ditty with each smash. Oh, yes. There is a ditty. In fact, there is musical notation provided for the ditty. I think it’s one of the first tunes I picked out on the piano when I learned to read treble clef.

The best thing about this book, however, was probably years of incredulity on the part of pretty much anyone I told about it. It was reissued in 2015, but I found an original a few years before that, for which I paid a moderately unreasonable sum. No regrets!
—Melissa Puius, 41, Ardsley, New York

NO ONE ELSE HAS EVER read Deathtrap and Dinosaur by Jane McFann, which is ideal, because if I were to be honest, most of my best jokes are cribbed from this book. I borrowed it from the library and thoroughly enjoyed its humor, although I didn’t identify with either of the two main characters—white people who attended a big high school in a small town (one a military brat), drove their own cars, and generally enjoyed lives defying authority with little parental supervision.
—Liz Kay, 38, Providence, Rhode Island

THE SUMMER BIRDS, BY PENELOPE Farmer, is a bittersweet magical story of a group of kids in rural England who learn to fly one summer. It’s as much about the fragility of childhood magic as anything, which when you’re 8 or 9 is a strange thing to read about. The end of the book, the return to “reality” that maybe isn’t so real after all, has stuck with me for decades. It turns out to have been her first book, written in her early 20s. This to me makes it even more remarkable.
—Nat Case, 51, Minneapolis, Minnesota

M. M. KAYE’S THE ORDINARY PRINCESS, Kaye turned the standard fairy tale on its head with this one. The seventh princess is given the gift of being Ordinary, so unlike her six beautiful sisters who have long golden hair, lithe bodies and perfect posture, alabaster complexions and no curiosity about the world beyond, Amy (which is an ordinary nickname for Amethyst) is gawky and freckled and speaks her mind and longs to know what there is outside her castle walls. Her parents are having a terrible time marrying her off because she doesn’t fit anyone’s ideal of what a princess should be, so they threaten to lock her up and hire a dragon to lay waste the countryside, and the brave prince who slays the dragon gets the honor of marrying Amy sight-unseen. Amy thinks this is a terrible idea and runs away to live in the forest and get along as best she can. I just loved Amy as a protagonist. She thinks her sisters’ lives are very boring and doesn’t understand why anyone would want to be perfect. She’s the ideal protagonist for every little girl who loves mud puddles and has strong opinions and wants to explore the world.
—Sarah Walsh, 34, Washington State

THE LITTLE GREY MEN BY Denys Watkins-Pitchford waited for me on the shelves of the Coos Bay, Oregon, public library when I was 11 years old or thereabouts. It’s about wizened old gnomes Dodder, Baldmoney, and Sneezewort, who go in search through the English countryside for their lost companion Cloudberry. Along the way they fish for minnows, talk with woodland beasts and birds, and find a child’s large toy boat that is suitable to their size. The author was a seasoned lover of rural England and his agenda is to impart such a love to children. I have no doubt that he helped me to be more attentive to, and fond of, the ferny nooks and tiny streams of wooded areas in this hilly lumber shipping town. The Little Grey Men contains scratchboard illustrations by the author. They contribute a great deal to the atmosphere of this book, a book I shared with my own children.
—Dale Nelson, 61, North Dakota

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/obscure-childrens-books-reader-responses

 



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FNW


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Can't say I've read any of those, or if I have, I cannot recall.

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flan327


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The Ordinary Princess is actually a minor classic.

flan

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I loved the Little Bear books.

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flan327


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Mary Zombie wrote:

I loved the Little Bear books.

 Oh, they're still around!

flan



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I might have to check them out again. They were so comforting

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flan327


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I remember listening to stories on Captain Kangaroo!

I hated The Story About Ping.

flan

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Lindley


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Mary Zombie wrote:

I loved the Little Bear books.

 I believe lit bear is now a cartoon on nick jr.



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lilyofcourse


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Grimm's Fairy Tales. We still have the book. I read them to my kids.

It isn't the watered down versions told today.


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We loved Little Bear.

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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
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WE have the set of Little Bear books.

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flan327


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lilyofcourse wrote:

Grimm's Fairy Tales. We still have the book. I read them to my kids.

It isn't the watered down versions told today.

 A couple things:

Fairy tales were originally told to adults.

I rarely use fairy tales with preschoolers...especially not Hans Christian Andersen. "The Little Match Girl" is one of the most depressing stories ever.

flan



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flan327 wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

Grimm's Fairy Tales. We still have the book. I read them to my kids.

It isn't the watered down versions told today.

 A couple things:

Fairy tales were originally told to adults.

I rarely use fairy tales with preschoolers...especially not Hans Christian Andersen. "The Little Match Girl" is one of the most depressing stories ever.

flan

 The adult thing, that makes a lot of sense. Some of them are pretty gruesome. It's one thing to be real with your kids, it's another to give them nightmares lol



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flan327


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Yeah, I paid attention to a couple courses while getting my MLS...

flan

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lilyofcourse


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Little bear, the cartoon, was quiet time.

I never forced my kids to take naps, but we did have quiet time.

After lunch, I'd close the curtains, turn off any lights, and turn Little Bear on and keep turning the volume down until it was barely audible. If they went to sleep, fine, if not, fine.

After that, we generally went outside.

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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

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Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys...of course.

Bobbsey Twins, anyone?

flan

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Once my kids learned to read, I generally let them read anything.

Of course there were some boundaries.

But very few.



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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
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As child I was so happy for the little match girl that she got to go be with her Grandma in heaven then I realized she died. Then hated the story for a while. But as I got older I started appreciating it again for the heartbreaking and bittersweet story that it is. The steadfast tin soldier was beautiful yet heartbreaking as well.

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flan327


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Mary Zombie wrote:

As child I was so happy for the little match girl that she got to go be with her Grandma in heaven then I realized she died. Then hated the story for a while. But as I got older I started appreciating it again for the heartbreaking and bittersweet story that it is. The steadfast tin soldier was beautiful yet heartbreaking as well.

 Good one!

flan



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well, don't remember many of the " kids " books from childhood--dr seuss and a few others--our parents had a veritable library at the big house where we all grew up--my father started me reading the time/life series of books--think there were about 35 or so in the series--stories/authors from all over the world(many of them translated into english)--many of them we still have--london, dickens, lewis, stevenson, dana, heyerdahl, gann, forester, saint exupery, beach, lindberg, asimov, bradbury and others--we were also given many short story collections by various authors as well--those and national geographic, reader's digest, life, look and time magazine made up the bulk of our reading material

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flan327 wrote:

Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys...of course.

Bobbsey Twins, anyone?

flan

I was hooked on Judy Bolton Mysteries.smile

I thought she was way cooler than Nancy Drew.wink 



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Mary Zombie


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I just remembered I have an old vinyl record of Danny Kaye narrating Hans Christian Anderson stories
I may have to dig it outbid storage. He has the perfect voice for that!

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Fort Worth Mom wrote:
flan327 wrote:

Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys...of course.

Bobbsey Twins, anyone?

flan

I was hooked on Judy Bolton Mysteries.smile

I thought she was way cooler than Nancy Drew.wink 

  I liked both Nancy  Drew  and Trixie  Belden  mysteries.  The Hans  Christian  Andersons "The little  Mermaid" was very sad. I Like  the  Disney's  version  better.



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I actually don't remember reading children's books. I was proficient at 3 and was reading on a 5th to 6th grade level in Kindergarten. I know I read the Little House on the Prairie books in Kindergarten, but could fly through those in just a few days.
I still read 2-3 books a week.

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Confession:

I never read Little House on the Prairie.

They sounded boring...

flan

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That's my kids.

By 4th grade, they had read every book in his school's library and was getting books from the middle school and public library.



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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
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Are you there God? It's me Margaret!


LOL

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TrudyML wrote:

Are you there God? It's me Margaret!


LOL

I think I read that one about 25 times.   



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" wind, sand and stars " by st ex--one of the finest books on flying ever written--will fill a child with wonder and questions and possibilities--read it as a child and is with me still



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Ohfour


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The Outsiders!!!!

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flan327


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LOVED that one!

flan

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Ohfour


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My favorite book as a child was Pocahontas and the Strangers. I read it when I was about 5. I still have it. In 40 years, I've never lost it...

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flan327 wrote:

Confession:

I never read Little House on the Prairie.

They sounded boring...

flan

  My dd loved the little house series when she was a kid.



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Ohfour wrote:
TrudyML wrote:

Are you there God? It's me Margaret!


LOL

I think I read that one about 25 times.   

The whole group of that author.  LOL

 

Blubber! 



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Lindley wrote:
flan327 wrote:

Confession:

I never read Little House on the Prairie.

They sounded boring...

flan

  My dd loved the little house series when she was a kid.

 Absolutely. They are classics...but my taste is somewhat different.

flan



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I was reading VERY inappropriate books for an 8 - 10 year old. I would raid my mother's stash, read, and then put back. I read Flowers in the Attic when I was 8. I read Once Is Not Enough at 10, and Back Street (Fannie Hurst) around that time. I didn't even know what was going on some of the time, but I knew enough to know that I shouldn't be reading them...

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TrudyML wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
TrudyML wrote:

Are you there God? It's me Margaret!


LOL

I think I read that one about 25 times.   

The whole group of that author.  LOL

 

Blubber! 

That Was Then This Is Now



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I hated to read as a child. Hated it with a passion. Any required reading books my mother read out loud to me. Before I started law school, I knew that I would be reading. A. Lot. So the year before I decided to join one of those "book of the month" clubs and start getting used to the idea. I became hooked. Never realized what I had been missing until then.

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lilyofcourse


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Ohfour wrote:

I was reading VERY inappropriate books for an 8 - 10 year old. I would raid my mother's stash, read, and then put back. I read Flowers in the Attic when I was 8. I read Once Is Not Enough at 10, and Back Street (Fannie Hurst) around that time. I didn't even know what was going on some of the time, but I knew enough to know that I shouldn't be reading them...

 Me, too. Mom was a Harliquin member, read everyone of them.

We also got those readers digest books, too. Condensed versions. There was always one in the bathroom. 

 

When all the Harry Potter hoopla started, Caitlyn was 3rd or 4th grade. She would rather read my Anne Rice books. She was reading Interview with a Vampire books and the Mayfair Witches.

I was called in to discuss why I allowed her to do a book reports on my Coontz or King books.

 



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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
lilyofcourse


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FNW wrote:

I hated to read as a child. Hated it with a passion. Any required reading books my mother read out loud to me. Before I started law school, I knew that I would be reading. A. Lot. So the year before I decided to join one of those "book of the month" clubs and start getting used to the idea. I became hooked. Never realized what I had been missing until then.

 It seems like is that one book, it's different for everyone, that hooks them.



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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.

Charley Harper
Vette


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FNW wrote:

I hated to read as a child. Hated it with a passion. Any required reading books my mother read out loud to me. Before I started law school, I knew that I would be reading. A. Lot. So the year before I decided to join one of those "book of the month" clubs and start getting used to the idea. I became hooked. Never realized what I had been missing until then.

 I was a late bloomer when it came to reading as well. I almost got placed in the special needs class because I just wouldn't learn how. 

By sixth grade I was reading a young adult novel every week, and I breezed through Stephen king. 



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Pippi Longstocking - they stopped letting me check it out of the library after the 10th time. Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley twins/High, VC Andrews. All regular kid reading. My favourite 'classic' would be Island of the Blue Dolphins. I was so sad!!

As a little kid I loved the Berenstein Bears.

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Tignanello wrote:

Pippi Longstocking - they stopped letting me check it out of the library after the 10th time. Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley twins/High, VC Andrews. All regular kid reading. My favourite 'classic' would be Island of the Blue Dolphins. I was so sad!!

As a little kid I loved the Berenstein Bears.

 Ummm, not sure VC Andrews is supposed to be considered a kid's book.  LOL.  



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flan327 wrote:
Lindley wrote:
flan327 wrote:

Confession:

I never read Little House on the Prairie.

They sounded boring...

flan

  My dd loved the little house series when she was a kid.

 Absolutely. They are classics...but my taste is somewhat different.

flan

 I understand, my daughter still loves to read. She loved all the classics when she was in high school and even now she would read books later or war and peace and anything she can find historica and starting her dd out on charlottes web, pippy long stocking and other childhood classic. The only kind of book she would absolutely wouldn't read either in high school or now is a love story.

 



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Oh my gosh! When Paul was in the 5th Grade, he had to choose books to give book reports on.

Everyone else was reading Harry Potter.

Paul picked, The Lord of the Rings.

Didn't I get the phone call, and meet with the teacher.biggrin

I told him if, after Paul's first report... the teacher thought it was to tough for him, give me a call, and we'll talk about getting him to switch to something easier.

I never got the call.

Other kids were reading Harry Potter.

Paul finished, The Lord of the Rings.smile



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Mary Zombie


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I could still read the Little House books! And Little Women

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TrudyML wrote:

Are you there God? It's me Margaret!


LOL

 OMG I was just about to post that! A must read for all pre teen girls.



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Frozen Sucks!

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FNW wrote:

I hated to read as a child. Hated it with a passion. Any required reading books my mother read out loud to me. Before I started law school, I knew that I would be reading. A. Lot. So the year before I decided to join one of those "book of the month" clubs and start getting used to the idea. I became hooked. Never realized what I had been missing until then.

 I was a book worm like DD is



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Frozen Sucks!

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Tignanello wrote:

Pippi Longstocking - they stopped letting me check it out of the library after the 10th time. Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley twins/High, VC Andrews. All regular kid reading. My favourite 'classic' would be Island of the Blue Dolphins. I was so sad!!

As a little kid I loved the Berenstein Bears.

 Loved pippi Longstocking and Nancy Drew. Those were my go to books at 10-12.



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I also liked, the Secret Garden. Daddy Long legs. And, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Back when I was young.smile



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