by Brooke Smith

Remember those books you loved as a kid? You know, the ones you forced your mom to read to you every night? Here’s a few of the most beloved.

1. Harold and the Purple Crayon – This book was about a creative little boy who was able to draw his own adventures. There were more books made after this one, but this one is the original and best.

2. The Black Lagoon books – This series described a young students first encounter with different people you might find around a school (ex. a teacher, a principal, a custodian, etc.). Each one seemed scary at first, but after he met them, he realized they weren’t so bad after all and only wanted to help him.

3. A Bad Case of Stripes – This book focused on a girl who didn’t want to eat lima beans because her friends didn’t like them. As a result, she stared changing colors and shapes and nobody knew what to do. Everything went back to normal when she finally ate lima beans. It taught us not to give in to peer pressure and always eat our vegetables.

4. Rainbow Fish – This book was about a little fish who had beautiful multicolored scales, but as a result he became vain. He lost all his friends because of it, until he learned to share his scales with his friends. It warned us about selfishness and taught us how to be good friends.

5. The Berenstain Bears – This series was about a family of bears, and in each book the family tackled a different issue. It was a good way to teach kids important morals, such as sharing, responsibility, and good sportsmanship.

6. Love You Forever – This short story was about a mother and her son through the years. No matter how much trouble he gave her, she still told him she loved him every night. And when he grew up and she got very old, he started doing the same thing for her. It was an endearing story that taught us to respect our parents and that nothing we could do could ever make them stop loving us.