My Friday Five this week consists of five stories I have loved since childhood:
- Mediopolito (The Half-Chicken) – There are two versions of this Spanish folk tale that I have heard. The dual-lingual book I own is the nicer version, where little Mediopolito helps the wind and the fire and the stream and thus does not end up scorched like a cinder in a soup pot. The version my family told (and it is telling that I can’t remember which family member liked to tell me this story – the love of a good warning tale runs rampant throughout our clan) is the sadder version, where Mediopolito is selfish and unhelpful and leaves his mama to continue to be selfish and unhelpful, and terrible things that give children with vivid imaginations nightmares happen to him.
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis – The first time I read The Chronicles of Narnia, this was my favorite book in the series. At different times in my life, my favorite has changed, but this one is the one that I associate most with the wonder of childhood.
- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell – First given to me by my Aunt Gale in hopes that through reading (my favorite pastime of choice) about horses, I would become more interested in riding them (her favorite pastime of choice), I fell in love with the stories. I’m not sure it made me want to ride horses more (it DID make me want to race them, for I am competitive), but I enjoyed it.
- The Crooked Banister from the Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene – Speaking of one of the many things I wanted to be when I was a child, I loved Nancy Drew. I recently re-read this one, and oh, the nostalgia! I have read enough mystery stories since that I was expecting some sort of twist, but no. That’s not how Nancy mysteries roll.
- Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson – Technically, these didn’t come out until I was in junior high, but I’m still counting it. The author visited the elementary school where my mom worked, and she got me a signed copy. It’s a super cute series, especially for new readers or for reading aloud.
What are some of your favorite stories from childhood?
M. Suzanne Terry 
I love this, Suzanne! What a great idea! And man, I devoured Nancy Drew books when I was in elementary school. I should revisit some of them.
I kinda want to re-read the whole series now!
I loved Nancy Drew and another teen detective series – Trixie Belden – I think?
Was not introduced to Narnia until my early adulthood, but love, love, love the Chronicles and so enjoyed reading them with my children! Another series we enjoyed (my mom-in-law told us about them) was The Little Britches series by Ralph Moody – so good:)
Trixie Belden! I haven’t thought about those books in so long! Now I want to re-read all of those.