I absolutely LOVED reading as a child. I can't remember the last time I read for pleasure (nowadays it's just uni reading *yawn*), but I'm pretty sure it was probably in the noughties. I have managed to find a small collection of some of my favourite books that I loved to read as a child. So let's take a look back at what I was reading in the 2000s and I would like you to let me know whether you were reading these too...
Jacqueline Wilson books
I'm fairly certain every single girl growing up read at least one of Jacqueline Wilson's books. The ones I have included are just a few of the ones I can remember really loving and continuously reading. I think Bad Girls and Best Friends were the first two Jacqueline Wilson books I ever owned. I had watched The Story of Tracy Beaker on TV but never actually got the book until I went into WHSmiths one day and saw they had two books in one with The Bed and Breakfast Star. I never realised this at the time but these books were a way for children who weren't considered to be living 'normal' lives to feel included in society. Because there are always books about people who are living relatively normal lives. But how many books are there on people who have to live in temporary accommodation because they can't afford to live anywhere else? How many books are there on children who live in a care home, with no one interested in fostering or adopting them? How many books are there on children who have experienced domestic violence? These books were an absolute staple in my childhood and even though they were often quite upsetting (without me ever really realising it), they were highly interesting reads and I often couldn't bear to put the book down.
Usbourne Activities Sticker Books
This was just one of the books in this series that I can remember having (sorry about the quality btw). I cannot remember if these books had a story in them, however, I can remember that they had outlines of people and separate stickers and you could choose which stickers you stuck on the people. I used to have endless hours of fun with these (what a sad little life, Beth), but would often end up somehow managing to rip them.
Rainbow Fairy Books
Like the Jacqueline Wilson books, I'm also fairly certain that the majority of girls who grew up in the noughties had at least one of these books. I even had two copies of the Jasmine the Present Fairy books. I had one copy at home and one copy at my Nan's. These four books are the only ones I can remember having, however I am fairly certain I had more, I just can't remember which ones these were. I loved going on an adventure with the fairies (I wasn't on drugs, I promise) and always wished that one day a real-life fairy would come to my house so we could go on an adventure. I wish there had been a fairy called Beth (or Bethany) as when I was a kid it would have been magical to feel that I was reading a book about my own fairy adventures (and if there is/was a fairy called Beth or Bethany then I apologise). These were just an easy read and something I loved to read before going to bed.
Pride and Penalties ~ Chris Higgins
I absolutely loved this book and actually still have it now. I remember seeing it in WHSmiths and after reading the blurb I instantly wanted it. I got it when I was seven, which was probably slightly too young to be reading this book as if you have read it you will know it is more aimed at people between the ages of ten and fourteen. But for those of you who haven't read this book, it is about a girl called Charlotte who loves playing rugby; however, her Dad and the majority of the boys in her school don't think she should be playing it, despite her having an exceptional talent for it. She later joins the school team (which is full of boys), after being put in it by her PE teacher, who coincidently is also her maths tutor. Charlotte's younger brother, Will, also plays rugby; however wants to go into musical theatre, something he tries to hide from everyone, particularly his Dad, as he is scared of how everyone will react. There are many other twists and turns along the way, such as her Mum's supposed affair with her PE teacher/maths tutor; her Nan's dementia; and her Dad's struggling business. I would say it's probably an acceptable book to read now and I certainly wouldn't judge anyone over the age of fourteen for reading this.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar ~ Eric Carle
This book is legendary. I can 100% relate to this caterpillar with the amount he eats and will still be able to relate to him until the day I die. He essentially just eats a load of food (including cake if I'm remembering that rightly) and eventually turns into a cocoon, which then results in him turning into a butterfly.
Where's Spot? ~ Eric Hill
I can really remember reading this book. I had it at my Nan's and would always want to read it whenever I slept over there. It was a lift the flap book - which is probably one of the best type's of books as you have no idea what's going to be under each flap. If you couldn't already guess what happens in the book, it asks you if Spot is in a certain place (such as in a box) and you have to lift the flap to see if he's in there, which he isn't until the end. I think this book was more for my brother than for me (not a sexist thing, I just think it was brought for him), but I still loved it all the same.
Roald Dahl books
Let's be honest, pretty much everyone who lived through childhood when Roald Dahl's books were available (which they still very much are), read them. The six I have included in the image above are some of the ones I can remember most. I can't actually remember whether I actually had any of these at home or not, but when it came to choosing a new book at school I would always go for one of the Roald Dahl ones. I think Matilda had to be my favourite as I could relate to it somewhat (not on being exceptionally smart because I am definitely not that, but in terms of being a schoolgirl and being misunderstood). I can remember really loving The Twits but can't actually remember enough of it now to be able to talk about it in great detail. But it is safe to say that Roald Dahl is the king of childhood books and I only wish he was still around now so we could read more of his exceptional talent.
Mr Stink ~ David Walliams
This is the only one of David Walliams' books I have ever owned/read and it is definitely a stroke of genius. I have never read any of his other books as I kind of outgrew these types of books at that stage, but I have watched some of the films made based on these books and they are amazing (the more recent one I have watched being Gangsta Granny). But this was one of those books where I could read it over and over again and never be bored. I also found that there was always something I had missed when I read it the first time around, which I then noticed once I had re-read it. Would 10/10 recommend these books if you still have young children at home that are at an age where these books would be suitable for them.
The Magic Faraway Tree ~ Enid Blyton
This is probably the only Enid Blyton book I have ever read (please don't shame me in that because I fully understand how much of an amazing author she is and that I probably should have made the effort to read more of these books). I did find this book very weird but can't even remember the story well enough now to be able to go into why I found it weird. But it was a magical book, which was one of my favourite book genres as a child.
Biff, Chip and Kipper books
I'm fairly certain every noughties (and potentially nineties) child read these books as a child. For some reason I can remember this specific book, although now I'm looking at it I can't remember why I remember it. But these pretty much taught all kids about different things you have to experience in life, such as going to the dentist, to reassure children that they have nothing to be scared, nervous, or worried about. I think I can't fully remember these because they're aimed at quite young children, but even though I can't actually remember the books themselves, I can remember loving them.
Funnybones ~ Janet and Allen Ahlberg
In the dark, dark town, there was a dark, dark street. I must have read this book about five hundred million times and can still remember how it goes (but that's in my head, how accurate it would be if I said it from memory and someone was reading the book at the same time is another matter). I'm also pretty sure this is another book that pretty much every child growing up in the noughties read at some point during their childhood. I did find it kind of freaky as they were skeletons, but it was just a very fun book that I don't think gets enough credit in this day and age.
Meg and Mog ~ Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski
I won't lie, I can't even remember what goes on in this book. But as soon as I saw the cover of it I can remember reading it at school. Bit weird that I can remember absolutely loving this book but now don't actually have a clue what happens in it. But I guess I was five at the time so that explains it.
Animal Ark books
The final set of books I can remember reading in my childhood is the Animal Ark books. The Tabby in the Tub is the only book of the ones I have seen when searching for books for this post that I can actually remember reading, but I know I read many other books in this series. But like Meg and Mog, I can't actually remember what happens in this, or any of the other Animal Ark books. However, I can remember always worrying about what was going to happen to the animals in these books, but they always got through it in the end.
So there are some of the books I can remember (at least, somewhat remember) reading during the noughties. I am interested to know if any of you can remember reading any of these books or if there are any other books you read in the noughties (children's books) that you can remember reading. I would also be interested to know if in any of the book series I have mentioned on here you can remember reading any of those books that I haven't included in this post. Please comment any you can remember in the comments below.
As always, if you have any suggestions of topics I can include in my nostalgia Sunday series, or if you have any suggestions for any general topics you want me to talk about on this blog, then please let me know in the comments below. And if there is absolutely anything you want to talk to me about, whether that's your mental health, about school/college/sixth form/university work, or absolutely anything else, then please get in contact with me. The links to my Instagram and Twitter pages are in the two icons at the top of the page, or you can find my email or get directly in contact with me by going to the contacts tab at the top of the page.
I hope you all have a lovely week and I look forward to seeing you (not literally) next week.
Love Beth xx