11 classic books that will remind you of your childhood

By Prathyusha Vedula

As a kid, I was an avid reader of storybooks. Reading just happened to me. Maybe because I was an introvert and the best friendship I could make was with books. The kind of books I read, the books that were available at the school library and the academics which included small chapters taken from classic books or novels, made my childhood.

That favorite chapter in English, we kept reading even after we got home from school, hiding books in the library in a secret place so that nobody would pick them up before you, that proud feeling when you own the new classic hardcover much before any of your friends in school did and reading books at night under a torchlight hiding under your blanket to escape your mom’s screams are the best parts we all can relate to.

Disregardful of the kind of person you were, I can definitely admit that every one of us had that one favorite storybook which we read repeatedly, a zillion number of times. Here are a few infamous classic books that make me get back to my childhood days. I’m sure you will, too.

1. MATILDA by ROALD DAHL

Firstly, is there anyone of classic books of Roald Dahl that cannot be a child’s favorite? Roald Dahl was one of my favorite writers when I was in my lower grades in school. And Matilda was not only a book to me. Matilda was my role model.  I cannot tell you how many dreams I had where I read a million books and got superpowers the way she did.

PS: I tried focussing on objects to make the magic happen after every book I finished reading. Anyhow, nothing worked.

2.KIDNAPPED BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

This book was a total of a different level to me when I was a kid. Much before Sherlock Holmes got into my life, this did. This is probably the first fiction adventure that I read. There was one thrilling chapter taken from this big novel and got inserted into my English textbook, which made me hunt for the whole book for years after I completed the exam. This is a must if you haven’t read it.

3.THREE MEN IN A BOAT by JEROME K JEROME

This novel was introduced to me during high school because it was a part of the curriculum. This was one of the best books I ever read which were a part of the curriculum. It is a comic novel that initially I could never understand, but later somehow it became a favorite.

4.DIARY OF A WIMPY KID by JEFF KINNEY

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of 12 books which are come under satirical realistic fiction. It is based on the adventures of an imaginary character Greg Heffley. The plot is fresh and very relatable to kids as it goes similar to how every day in a year of a school kid passes. I borrowed the whole series from a friend a few years ago and managed to finish it successfully, as my friend was too proud to lend them to me during childhood.

5.THE STORY OF MY LIFE by Helen Keller

This one of the classic books is rather close to my heart. I don’t remember if it was a part of the curriculum too, but it brought a major transformation to me, my thoughts, and the way I see the world. This is the biography of Helen Keller, a blind girl who strives her way to get with life. The experiences she has, the emotional breakdowns and the solution she finds out tearing out her blind vision and inferiority are heart throbbing.

6.GREAT GATSBY by  F. Scott Fitzgerald 

The Great Gatsby is a literary classic and a great love story. It might not be a children's book, but it turned out to be so famous that every child section in a bookstore had it in. It was romantic, mysterious, admiring, and thrilling at the same time, to me as a kid. “Can’t change the past? Why, of course, you can” is a very famous line that made me ponder on the possibility.

7.MEIN KAMPH  by Adolf Hitler

Mein Kamph is an autobiography by Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Party leader.  got to know about this in a history class. My history teacher was super cool because she talked about various other interesting stuff too excluding history and also because I hated history. Keeping aside all the destruction and negative impact, the book made many admire the leadership qualities of Hitler. The book was also a means for political inspiration for many.

8.THE WIZARD OF OZ by L FRANK BAUM

Who cannot get into this imaginative world of Oz! This book is a fantasy that starts with Dorothy making new friends as she seeks to find a way home. More than the book, the cover of the book seems soo cool and adventurous to a 12-year kid- the road and the wizard castle on a dark night.

9.THE CAT IN THE HAT by THEODOR GEISEL

Eva Burley reads “The Cat in the Hat” to a group of 3-to-5-year-old children during a Read Across America event at the Child Development Center at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., March 1, 2013. The event features volunteers reading books to children to promote reading. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Zachary Hada/Released)

A red and white-striped hat and a red bow tie? It’s the cat in the hat. I dunno if it was this book that made me realize that you can find extreme joy in reading. Every paragraph in the book was of excitement, awe, wonder, and whatnot.

10.OLIVER TWIST by CHARLES DICKENS

Oliver Twist is one of the classic books of Charles Dickens and a timeless appeal. It was more of a book that made me learn about hardships in life and also taught me some morals. Later that I came to know, the protagonist’s life in the book was much similar to the life of the author Charles Dickens. Though it is much more entertaining than how I described it here, it may be because different kids develop different opinions that cannot be altered during such an age.

11.GULLIVER’S TRAVELS by JONATHAN SWIFT

Gulliver’s Travels is the first of the classic books that pop up in my mind when I can think of adventure and fantasy to date. About the kind of adventure, the lilliput world, and the giant Gulliver were the trending gossips during class those days.

This is the best crisp list I could make out of the massive number of classic books that I read during childhood. What do you feel about them? Are there any more books that should have been on the list according to you? Please let me know in the comments below.