Wonderful Wednesday (on Thursday) Childhood Books

I missed Sam's first Wonderful Wednesday post, so I'm doing it now...as I couldn't find a new one for this week and I know I can't link it, but I'll put it in the comments on her blog.

From Tiny Library:

The meme is called Wonderful Wednesdays and it's all about spotlighting and recommending some of our most loved books, even if we haven't read them recently.  Each week will have a different theme or genre of book to focus on.

This week's theme: a book you loved as a child.
 We all have a book that we read over and over again as a child and still think of fondly as an adult.

          I don't know if I can pick just one...ummmm...there are three. Yes, three and I think about these books often, really. They are the foundation of my pre-teen years.

          The first is The Purple Pussy Cat, a book about a polka-dotted cat that comes to life at night and visits with all these nocturnal animals like an owl, raccoon, and a family of opossums...the pages are so pretty and full of cool colors and lots and lots of purple. This is a favorite book from my childhood because I taught my sisters how to read using this book. I remember all of us sitting on the bottom bunk as we went over the words...the word purple is hard when you are 5 years old.

           Popcorn is a book about a little bear whose parents go to the opera and while they are out he pops popcorn, literally a whole house full, he then invites his friends over for a Halloween party and ask them to help him eat all the popcorn. It's hilarious to read a book about bears dressed as ballerinas and ghosts et cetera having to eat tons of popcorn. I still have this book and can't wait for the tiny person to read it.

          And, a book that I can read again, again and again is The Phantom Tollbooth this book is all about words. He travels to Dictionopolis, where he eats his own words, rescues princesses Rhyme and Reason and goes through the Doldrums. There are so many play on words and puns that make this book delightful, especially if you have a love of vocabulary,  the English language and fantasy.

          Sigh, childhood.