Guest Post - Top Ten by Pete Johnson

Please welcome Pete Johnson to Books for Company!

Thank you Pete for sharing your favourite top ten children books. You have included some great books =)

My Ten Favourite Children's Books

Starting from a short list of nearly forty books and after several lengthy arguments with myself, I have picked the ten children’s books which mean the most to me. In fact, just looking at their names bring back my childhood so vividly. You will notice how many comedies are in the list – and these have certainly influenced my own humorous books such as. ‘How To Train Your Parents,’ and the Vampire trilogy.
The books are roughly in the order in which I read them. So let’s go through the round window and back to my childhood favourites, starting with …
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‘THE SECRET GARDEN’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
The first time I discovered this book I sat reading it until about half past one in the morning. The characters especially fascinated me. They were so unexpected in children’s books, especially Mary Lennox with her ‘thin, little face and a sour expression.’ She hears Colin crying at night. He’s as unlikeable as her, being miserable, ill-tempered and self-centred. Yet their transformation through the magic of the Secret Garden is one of the most moving in all literature. Many years later, in my comedy, ‘How to Get Famous,’ I have Harvey perform ‘The Secret Garden rap’ as a modern day tribute!
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‘THE 101 DALMATIANS’ by Dodie Smith.
‘You’re not reading it again, are you?’ friends would exclaim. Yet this story of Pongo and Missus setting off to rescue their pups from one of the great villains, Cruella de Vil captivated me every single time. I especially loved the idea of dogs passing on messages via the Starlight Barking. When I was eight I wrote a fan letter to the book’s author, Dodie Smith. To my friends (though not mine) amazement, she wrote back, and we went on corresponding for the rest of her life. (She lived to be ninety-four) She was the first person who suggested that I try and become a writer
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‘THE MYSTERY OF THE VANISHED PRINCE’ by Enid Blyton
I read so many Enid Blyton books – the Faraway Tree stories, all twenty- one. Famous Five Books; the Barney books – but my favourites were certainly the Mystery books, as these were undoubtedly the funniest stories Enid Blyton ever wrote. What with all Fatty’s disguises and the out-witting of pompous policeman Mr Goon. As Duncan McLaren wrote. ‘Joy runs through the mystery books like a river,’ but especially in The Mystery of the Vanished Prince, which is just full of the sparky humour I loved. A good mystery too, full of clues and surprises.’
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‘EMIL AND THE DETECTIVES’ by Eric Kastner
While travelling by train to Berlin to stay with his grandmother, Emil is robbed of all his money. But Emil and a gang of boys his own age decided to track down the thief. Exciting, funny and full of great characters – not least Emil himself. This cracking book fuelled my love of detective books, which has lasted up to today.
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‘WILLIAM THE PIRATE’ by Richmal Crompton
They are quite simply the funniest children’s books ever written, even though Richmal Crompton herself (and for years I thought the author was a man) regarded these books as her ‘pot-boilers. But William Brown – scruffy, opinionated, ever optimistic and in his own way well meaning – lives on triumphantly eighty years after his first appearance. The most famous William book is the first: ‘Just William.’ But I think some of the later books are even better, especially ‘William the Pirate.’ This contains some brilliant farces including, ‘William and the Princess Goldilocks,’ my nomination for the best ever William story.
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‘SUSAN INTERFERES’ by Jane Shaw
One of the great advantages of having a sister is you get to swap books. So while Linda, my sister, read all my Jennings and William books – I read the Susan books. These too are wonderfully funny. Susan is an interfering but well-meaning character who likes to help people. Here, with her cousins (including a beautifully observed boy character, Bill, who when I first read this book I identified with strongly) Susan becomes caught up in a crazy mystery in Switzerland – which towards the end becomes very tense and extremely exciting.
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‘DR DOLITTLE’S ZOO by Hugh Lofting
Rather neglected now, these most bewitching and charming books are surely due for a revival. In this one Dr Dolittle says a ‘zoo should be an animal home, not an animal prison.’ So he sets up the most wonderful zoo ever – really a complete Animal town with a Squirrel Hotel and a Mouse and Rat Club and a Home for Cross-Breed dogs. Well worth searching out.
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‘HOLIDAY AT THE DEW DROP IN’ by Eve Garnett
In 1937 Eve Garnett won the Carnegie Medal for ‘The Family at One End Street,’ which I quite enjoyed. I thought the sequel ‘Further Adventures of the One End Street Family,’ was much better though – looser and funnier, especially when Kate stays at the Dew Drop Inn in the countryside. Then came the sequel to the sequel, the aforementioned book, which is not only the best of the three, ‘One End Street’ books, but in my opinion one of the best children’s books ever written. This tale, about Kate returning to The Dew Drop Inn has a wonderful humanity about it, and is full of shrewd observations and beautifully realised characters. If you’ve never read this book before – you’re in for a treat.
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‘THE WITCHES’ by Roald Dahl
I vividly remember being part of the audience when Roald Dahl read aloud from this book for the very first time. I was in a packed audience at The National Theatre. An immensely tall man stomped in – authoritative, brisk, but with a definite twinkle in his eye – and started waving a tatty notebook about. This contained a story Dahl said he was still correcting. He read aloud the opening chapters. It sounded totally brilliant to me already – exuberant, funny and scary. It’s been my favourite Dahl ever since.
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A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L’Engle
I’m by no means a fantasy fan. Begin a tale with a map and a note that the wizard lives here and you’ve lost me already. But this book – celebrating its 50th anniversary this year – is a rare exception. It begins on a ‘dark and stormy night,’ as Meg speeds through the universe to find her dad. The story fizzes with warmth and energy and even managed to hook a fantasy sceptic like me.

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