This week, the crew behind Top Ten Tuesday suggested we revisit our favourite childhood characters and speculate on where they might be now. I’m flouting the rules and leaving my favourites JUST THE WAY THEY ARE.
10. Ramona / Beverly Cleary – the master of ‘how to be a sibling’.
09. Alice / Lewis Carroll – I’ll never tire of reading Alice.
08. Pollyanna / Eleanor Porter – the ‘glad game’ – blind optimism or a 1920s version of mindfulness?
07. Anne / Anne of Green Gables / L.M. Montgomery – because allowing your imagination to run wild is an excellent idea.
06. Erica Yurken / Hating Alison Ashley / Robin Klein – we all knew an Alison Ashley in primary school.
05. Jessica and Elizabeth / Sweet Valley High / Francine Pascall – I think about SVH far more than a grown-up should…
04. Margaret / Judy Blume – nothing more needed except to say “We must, we must, we must increase our bust…”
03. Jo / Little Women / Louisa May Allcott – wonderful, bookish, hero…
02. Milly Molly Mandy / Joyce Lankester Brisley – I didn’t know what ‘stuff’ was but I did want to take a penny to Miss Muggins’ shop and buy some. Also: maps.
01. Elizabeth Allen / Naughtiest Girl / Enid Blyton – the root of my deep-love for boarding school stories.
I love books with maps – the Milly-Molly-Mandy ones are the best 🙂 I’d like to find out what happened to Ramona too, and Pollyanna!
The Milly Molly Mandy map was my favourite thing about the book – I traced every one of her adventures through the village.
I loved Pollyanna as a kid! Or at least, I loved the movies. I think I remember reading the books, but it been ages. I keep meaning to pick up again!
My TTT
When looking for a ‘glad game’ reference I was quite surprised to discover that since the book and movie people have been extremely critical of Pollyanna and her blind optimism, dismissing her as ‘silly’. As a kid, I never saw it that way and nor do I looking back on it. 🙁
Love this post. I was a big Little Women fan. I’d forgotten about Margaret!
Have you got your kids onto Judy Blume yet?
I am so glad someone else has Sweet Valley High on their list. I LOVED those books. I know I also probably think about those books and characters far more than a grown up should. 🙂
Great to see some SVH love! I adored those books as a young teenager.
Along with Sweet Dreams, they dominated probably two years of my teen reading life.
Have Sweet Valley High afficionados come across redlemonade.blogspot.co.uk? She’s rereading and blogging her way through the series – affectionate, scathing and VERY funny.
I’m another lover of Milly Molly Mandy and Anne of Green Gables, though my boarding school obsession was inspired by Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School series…
Oh. My. Goodness. How did I not know about Red Lemonade?! It is BRILLIANT. Thanks for the tip.
(Also, can’t believe I never read the Chalet school series when I was younger….).
I had Ramona and SVH on my list too! Have you read Sweet Valley Confidential? It is about the twins 10 years later! 🙂 Happy Reading!
Yes, have read SV Confidential (and there are bits I’m still recovering from!). Thanks for stopping by.
These are great and giving me complete nostalgia for some of the characters. Any from Judy Blume and Ramona is the best! Ah, the SVH twins. Wonder if the books hold up today? 🙂
Check out the comments on this post – another reader included a link to a blog where the blogger is re-reading the whole SVH series – her reviews are HILARIOUS.
Oh my god, this brought back some memories… I LOVED everything Enid Blyton, but had forgotten about the likes of Milly Molly Mandy!
I pretty much read all of Enid Blyton as well (although just wasn’t a fan of Secret Seven…). Milly Molly Mandy has a very special place in my heart – the first ‘chapter’ books I can remember reading on my own and the first books I remember reading over and over and over again.