Reading Princess Academy this week brought on a lot of memories of some of the favorite books I had as a kid that had the same effect on me as Shannon Hale’s wonderful novel. So, as a quick Saturday post, here are some of my favorite books from when I was growing up. I see reviews of these coming on in the future!

Synopsis: For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams…-Goodreads

Why I love it: The Phantom Tollbooth was my first real look into ridiculous realities. Words and numbers came to life with a healthy dose of ridiculous. I think I must have read this book at least four times when I was younger and I still have my well worn copy in a place of honor on my bookshelf. If you haven’t read this yet, I highly recommend it. Even if you are no longer in the target age group, this book offers a perfect mental getaway.

Synopsis: Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back. -Goodreads

Why I love it: The Giver was my first ever dystopian read, and over a decade later still holds on to one of the top spots on my list. I think I was forced to read this at two different grades in school but it was so fantastic I didn’t mind. This was one of the first times I ever got to see the power of a book bringing people together as many of my classmates who hated to read simply devoured this book.

At BEA, I was lucky enough for the chance to see Lois Lowry speak and talk about the last book in this series and so now I have some catching up to do as I would love to see where else she took this beautiful series.

Synopsis: Gareth’s definitely no ordinary cat. For one thing, he can talk. For another, he’s got the power to travel through time. And the instant he tells this to Jason, the two of them are in ancient Egypt, on the first of nine amazing adventures that Jason will never forget. -Goodreads

Why I love it: It has been so long since I’ve read this book that I barely remember the details (time for a reread) but I remember how much I loved this book and how it brought to life a love of history that I still haven’t given up on. Time Cat was pretty much my gateway drug into the world of history leading to Carmen Sandiego to Philippa Greggory to actual *gasp* history books.

So these are some of my favorites… what were yours? I would love to hear about the books you remember most fondly from when you were younger and why. We’re never too old for great books.