Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
This week’s prompt is a cute one. I’m going to try to answer it without mentioning books I’ve talked about here many times before like Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, and the Little House on the Prairie novels. Not only will it make this post a bit more unique, it will show you parts of my personality that I don’t think most of you have seen before.
Childcraft is a set of encyclopedias and anthologies meant for kids. Someone gave my mother a set of them in the 1960s or 1970s. After she and her siblings outgrew them, she saved them for her own children a few decades later. I believe that my nephews are now reading or have read these anthologies, too!
These books covered an incredibly wide range of subjects: history, science, technology, creative play/hobbies, animals, fairy tales, crafts, kid-friendly sociology, how things work, and much more. Just about anything a child might wonder about was covered by one of the volumes. Reading them was a fantastic way to learn a little bit about a wide range of topics.
I think this series had far more than 10 volumes, so technically they could be the basis for my entire post today. Let’s count them all as one answer and move on to other stuff, though.
Lois Gladys Leppard’s Mandie series
Once again, there were so many books in this series that I could have counted them as all of my answers today.
Mandie was a biracial orphan whose solved all sorts of mysteries in the late 1800s to early 1900s. I haven’t reread these books as a adult due to my loss of interest in the inspirational genre, but I do remember really liking her adventures when I was in elementary school because of how smart and headstrong the main character was.
The Dictionary
I loved reading the dictionary for fun when I was growing up. Sometimes I go to dictionary.com and look up new words for the sheer joy of it to this day.
The Thesaurus
I’ve also read thesaurus entries for fun both as a child and as an adult . Can you all tell I’m a writer?
Medical Textbooks
My mom went back to college to get her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing when I was about eight or nine years old. I remember being fascinated by all of the textbooks she bought for her courses. Sometimes I’d read them when she wasn’t studying.
While I didn’t necessarily understand everything they talked about, I loved the case studies in her textbooks and was proud of myself when I figured out how to pronounce the really long medical terms. These books also confirmed that I am in no way suited to be a doctor or nurse…although I have the utmost respect for people who can deliver babies, perform surgeries, place IVs, and stitch up wounds!
This might be the most unique Top Ten Tuesday post I’ve written so far. How many of you had similar reading habits as kids?
I have a little cousin that has started to read the dictionary too.
Fun!
Medical textbooks, now that’s a first! Can’t say I’ve seen them on any other TTTs this week.
Heh, I seem to be pretty unique in that regard. 🙂
Me too on the dictionary and reading my mum’s textbooks (she was studying anatomy & physiology for her courses)
Yay! There are at least two of us out there then. Haha. What sort of degree did your mom end up getting (if any)?
Still today everytime I search a word in a physical dictionary, I get loss looking up other words. Great list!
Thanks! That’s a great story, too.
Those childcraft books look good, bet your general knowledge is great because of them!
Heh, I’d like to think so. 🙂
Great list! I love that your family has a set of books to pass down to each generation, they’re such lovely keepsakes.
Thank you. Yes, it’s a nice tradition.
I mentioned a place called Greenfield Village in my TTT post. My very favorite thing about going there is Noah Webster’s house. It’s where I will often get separated from the people I’m with because I take too long looking at every little thing…although I’ve been there numerous times. So I totally get your dictionary thing. The Mandie series is not familiar to me though, I’ll have to keep it in mind for the young people in my life.
Visiting Noah Webster’s House sounds so cool!
I hope the young people in your life enjoy the Mandie books.
I haven’t heard of a couple of these, but the anthologies look really interesting.
It’s also pretty funny, my mother went to medical assisting school when I was seven.I loved looking at her textbooks even if I didn’t understand them.
That’s awesome! There are three of us now who have done that in the TTT community. 🙂
Childcraft! Many friends had these, but never read them. The fate of most encyclopedias in the 60s. We loved our Grandmother’s 1920s?? Britannica. I had a real “shut the front door!” moment when I was introduced to the Thesaurus by a fabulous teacher in the 3rd grade. Wow. It had a hold on me for quite a while–it’s refreshing to learn someone else enjoyed it! Even with Google, I still have my bound Dictionary and Thesaurus on my desk at all times and still use them! Great post!
Wow, that 1920s Britannica must have been so much fun to read.
And thanks.
I’ve never heard of the childcraft series, but it seems really interesting!
Yes, it sure was.
I don’t think they’re still being published anymore?! But they were great while they lasted.
I’m pretty impressed to be honest!
Thanks. 🙂
The Mandie series made my list too! I didn’t know you had read them too.
Yep. 🙂
That’s so funny that you were reading medical textbooks! That would have scared me as a kid! I didn’t even like that big plastic dummy with the removable organs that we had in school.
Thanks for visiting my blog today!
Heh, I was a unique kid. There were times I read stuff that scared me a little, though.
What was it about those dummies that scared you? I was fascinated by them.
Wow, these books definitely made a unique answer for this week’s prompt! I had a fascination with the dictionary growing up too. We had this really colorful Oxford one and I would love randomly opening up pages and choosing some random word on the page and trying to sound it out. This was such a fun prompt to do 🙂
My TTT post
Thank you.
How many of those words do you remember now?
It’s cool how you read your mother’s textbooks as a child 🙂
I enjoyed flipping through children’s dictionaries growing up.
Neat list! I didn’t read the dictionary for fun (though we did play a dictionary game) but I remember pulling out random volumes of the family encyclopedia and reading entries from there.
What was your dictionary game? I’m intrigued.
And reading encyclopedias definitely is fun. 🙂
Loved the Childcraft encyclopedias! I had forgotten all about them!
It’s cool you got to grow up with them, too.
OMG, I’d forgotten all about the Mandy mysteries. I read ALL OF THEM. I was obsessed with those! There was another horse series that was in a very similar format to the Mandy books, but the heroine was named Crystal. (Which of course was very exciting to me!) Now I have to go look those up…
Found it! The Crystal Blake series, 6 books by Stephen and Janet Bly. Horse mysteries. XD
Ooh, that sounds good! Thanks for the recommendation.
And I’m impressed you read that whole series. Weren’t there like 40 books in it or something?
Oh my gosh I remember the Childcraft books! We had some of them too, they were handed down to me by my mom and I LOVED reading them. There was a dinosaur one (I think), unless I’m confusing it with another series, but I do know we had at least several volumes of these. They were amazing- I wish I still had ’em!
That is so cool that your family had this tradition, too.
I don’t remember if we had a dinosaur one. Maybe?!
I used to love reading the encyclopedia!! Also- these are not at all what I expected on a post for childhood favorites- fun list!
Heh, thank you. I try to be creative with my posts.
I’ve started to look up words I don’t know in books I come across in the dictionary and put them in my book journal. Don’t run into too much with contemporary books, but books set in other time periods and other cultures… I’m actually surprised!
I did have some old textbooks I got from my parents or something. I know I have these history books from the 1800s that I read. They didn’t get on my list this week because I can’t remember the titles right off the bat, and they’re currently in a box in the garage.
Yes, reading old books or books from other cultures are great ways to improve your vocabulary.
Those textbooks sound super interesting, too!
Wow, I think this is one of the few TTTs I’ve seen that’s so nonfiction heavy–and in a childhood favorites post of all things! Not to mention most of the books aren’t even geared towards kids. Definitely a unique one, enjoyed seeing it.
Thank you very much.
That’s so funny that you loved reading the dictionary as a kid. I’ve always liked learning new words, too. 🙂
Heh, thanks.
I loved the dictionary, too. One day at my last job, they announced they were getting rid of some books since we were moving offices. I have never hustled so fast to claim the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, with its marbled end papers. And I’ve always said that if I win the lottery my first purchase will be a complete set of the OED and then the second will be a house with built-in bookshelves in which to display it. My non-lottery dream is probably a dictionary stand and a bigger apartment that has room for more book furniture.
Good for you for saving those books! I hope you get that dictionary stand and space for more book furniture someday.
I completely forgot about the Mandie books! I read those YEARS ago over a short period of time, and quite enjoyed them. They were fun little mysteries. Never did finish the entire series though. Oh, well. Maybe someday I’ll revisit those I own… just for nostalgia’s sake. 🙂 Thanks for visiting Finding Wonderland, Lydia.
Cool!
And you’re welcome.
You know, I used to look through dictionaries just for fun, too. My Childhood favorites
That’s awesome.
My husband’s mom saved all their Childcraft books so we have a set now. I pull out the art one to use all the time.
That’s wonderful.
That is some serious reading! Lol! It’s too true though that parents’ influence what their kids read. Thanks for stopping by!
Heh, thank you. And parents absolutely can/do influence what their kids think is fun to read.
I used to love browsing the dictionary and thesaurus as a child. And then sprinkle my conversation with words I learned. Probably not quite using them correctly (LOL) but I tried. 🙂
That’s awesome!
funny I used to read the dictionary too, I never finished it that was my goal and never did, I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one 🙂
Very cool. We definitely weren’t alone in this hobby.
The Childcraft series looks really interesting! I wish I had heard of it and had that for reference. Thanks for visiting <3
You’re welcome. Yeah, those books were a lot of fun. It was sort of like having the Internet long before such a thing existed for anyone outside of the military. 🙂
Oh gosh yes reading the dictionary! Also entertaining myself by staring at random maps and finding things of interest in them – the Ordnance Survey was a gift, honestly. There’s so much to find on every map 🙂
There sure is!
Nice! I never really read the Dictionary myself! Only used it to know what a word meant when it popped up in a book and I couldn’t figure it out! That’s cool though!
Thanks for visiting my TTT post!
You’re welcome.
My oldest son could probably say that he’s read the dictionary more than any other book.
That’s wonderful.
I had My First Dictionary that had fun pictures that I loved growing up. I saved it for my daughter and she loved it, too.
Aww, that sounds adorable.
Ha, ha! A very unique and intellectual list! I’d forgotten about Mandie. I think I read one and really liked it.
Heh, thank you.
I’m surprised by how many other people read the Mandie books in this group. Very cool.
I loved Childcraft and the dictionary and the encyclopedia. I’m afraid I was quirky, too.
Yay! I think being quirky is a blessing.
A couple of years ago my son (he’s 7 now) asked me to read him his Children’s Dictionary.
Marie @ Pages to Explore
That is so cool!
I had a set of encyclopedias too. I loved looking up information for school projects. I tell my kids they have it so easy with Google lol.
Heh, they sure do. Did you have any favourite topics to look up?
I can honestly say I never picked up a dictionary or thesaurus for fun as a kid (or ever!). Super unique list!
Thanks. I don’t think that’s something most kids do to be honest. Although some of us did!
I’m so happy to see the Mandie series on your list! I loved those books growing up!
Thanks. 🙂
Growing up, we had a deluxe dictionary in our house that was also kind of like an encyclopedia with reference sections on subjects like birds and insects, and I LOVED reading that dictionary/encyclopedia so much, lol!
Oh, that sounds so cool!
We also had a children’s encyclopedia set when I was growing up. I can’t tell from the picture if it was the same edition, but I remember how much I loved looking through them. What a great memory!
That’s wonderful.
When I was five I was given an old set of Britannica type encylcopaedias and used to read those all the time and would get Dad to read them to me random parts as Bedtime stories LOL>
That is so cool!
Reading a dictionary? Awesome! 🙂 Fab, unique list!
Heh, thanks.
It is just the most wonderful thing that this has been passed from one generation to another in your family!
Aww, thank you.
Awww that’s so cool that you loved reading the dictionary growing up! I loved reading the thesaurus… what a time 🙂
Thank you. It’s cool we share this in common.
I hadn’t seen that encyclopedia set! Very cool.
For sure! 🙂
I can definitely relate with the dictionary, I used to spend hours looking through it. Me and my brother used to play a game where our mother would give us a letter and we would see who could find the most interesting word!
That game sounds like so much fun.
Really cool list! I can’t remember if I read Mandie; it sounds familiar though. Your inclusion of non-fiction reminds me I was really into biographies. I think kids have more intelligence than people give them credit for. 🙂
Yes, they sure do. And thanks.
I loved Childcraft growing up and then actually read Worldbook Encyclopeadias. My kids also read them, but sadly I do not have them anymore for my grandkids. You were quite an avid learner as a youngster. That is awesome.
Thank you very much.
The Worldbook Encyclopeadias were quite interesting, too! I’m glad you had that same sort of childhood experience.
Haha, Lydia, I love that some of my adult reads mirror your childhood ones:) When I worked in circulation, I would continually read through the Reference Thesaurus and a personal favorite, The Idiom Thesaurus. I also love the Miriam Webster Dictionary site and try to quiz myself weekly, as a child I was more into the visual illustrated dictionaries.
Funnily enough a few years back I acquired a set of Childcraft encyclopedias but realized I had no use or space for them and donated them to a children’s book drive, they were fun to browse through however.
Heh, thanks.
That Idiom Thesurus sounds like such an interesting thing to read.
I never read any of these exact books as a child but I was definitely with you in regards to reading encyclopedias, the world always felt so big and amazing and I always wanted to know more!
Yes, exactly!
Oh my gosh, I totally remember those Mandie books! I definitely read them too. I especially loved them because we shared a named. 🙂
That’s awesome.
I haven’t heard of either of those series. And medical textbooks?! There’s something I never expected to see on a Childhood Favourites list!
Heh, thank you. I was a unique kid. 🙂
Wow, I had forgotten all about the Childcraft series but remember reading them as well.
I loved your unique answers. I sometimes read the dictionary for fun, too. I’ve never heard of the Childcraft series but it sounds like something I would’ve loved.
This is a unique list. A medical textbook sound impressive.
Those Childcraft series sound perfect, so fun and great for kids to learn about so many things!
As a hyperlexic child (it wouldn’t surprise anyone to know that was me!) I had a troubled relationship with books as I read a book called Strange Stories, Amazing Facts so obsessively that my mum threw it away! (This is actually an excellent book if you look it up)
Later I had a book about the interpretation of dreams that scared me so much I was afraid to sleep for fear of having a bad dream, and I eventually summoned up the courage to throw this away myself when I was about 11.
My parents bought a book called Helping Your Anxious Child which was presumably about me as it can’t really have been about my brother! But while the advice therein was good, I know they never seriously tried to implement it as I read it from cover to cover obsessively, which I think is fairly ironic!?
Sorry if the above seems bleak but I now think reading too much can be as bad as not reading enough. The first books I remember really enjoying were the Warlord Chronicles and the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell, which I started reading when I was 12 and also read too much, but which are still favourites now.
I used to read through the children thesaurus when I was little haha. I just loved to read.
Oh my gosh, my family won the Childcraft Series in a raffle and I loved reading them as a child too! They are amazing and I still have the volumes on my bookshelf now! Fab unique list!
Ooh, I remember Childcraft! It’s actually kind of interesting how many classic/new classic children’s books they were excerpting that I didn’t know of at the time when I was a kid (e.g. Harriet the Spy, The Phantom Tollbooth, etc.)
My favorite volume was the arts & crafts one … I loved it so much and made stuff with the instructions even though they were totally 1970s … =P