Top Ten Tuesday – Book Series I Wish Had Existed When I was a Kid

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is actually Books I Wish I Had Read As a Child.  I tweaked it a bit because I honestly couldn’t think of many titles that I wish I had read as a child but didn’t get around to.  What I decided to share today instead are book series I wish had been around when I was growing up.  I know I’m totally dating myself with this list, but none of these gems had been written yet when I was a child.  The oldest on my list is the Magic Tree House series and I was already in college when that was first published.  Now that’s not to say I didn’t have many fabulous series to choose from when I was younger – The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, etc., but man, so many great series have come out since I started adulting.  I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to read them with my son, but I really wish I had had the opportunity to read them for the first time when I was his age.

 

via GIPHY

 

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Book Series I Wish Had Existed When I was a Kid

(in no particular order)

 

HARRY POTTER by J.K. Rowling

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS by Rick Riordan

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by Cressida Cowell

HIS DARK MATERIALS by Philip Pullman

ARTEMIS FOWL by Erin Colfer

THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES by Suzanne Collins

SERAPHINA by Rachel Hartman

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS by Lemony Snicket

THE MAGIC TREE HOUSE by Mary Pope Osborne

 

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Do you have any series you wish had been around when you were growing up?

28 replies
  1. Angela
    Angela says:

    My list made me feel old at times, too, haha! Definitely Harry Potter for sure, I think I was 13 when the first book came out, and I don’t remember it getting real big until I was maybe in college? Percy Jackson is one I know I would have loved when I was younger!

  2. RS
    RS says:

    Ah, so many fond memories…of blithely ignoring things. Though admittedly, I was 15+ before most of these started. Except for Harry Potter and The Magic Tree House; my brother and I both loved those.

    But you pose an interesting question. There are quite a few newer animal-centric series I suspect I would have loved, like Vet Volunteers, Horse/Dog Diaries…and while trying to remember the name of that one, I stumbled into “Pony Camp Diaries” and my inner 8-year-old is bursting with heart eyes. And now I REALLY have to stop looking up unnecessary series books, no good can come of — oh cool, what’s this “The Guardian Herd” you’ve got there…NO. *slaps own wrist* Stopping!

  3. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books says:

    I’m sure I would have loved HP had it been around when I was a kid/teenager. The first book came out when I was almost 30 I think so I enjoyed them but I don’t have that same sense of connection/nostalgia that people have who consider them part of their childhood.

  4. Sam@wlabb
    Sam@wlabb says:

    My daughter read the Magic Treehouse books obsessively. I think another kid’s aide gave her one to try, and she loved them. Percy has appeal for all ages, if you ask me. I love that Percy aged with Riordan’s son too.

  5. Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy
    Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy says:

    Oh wow, I could have written this post, Suzanne! Lol. I was just commenting on another blog that every book that was listed had been published when I was already an adult! This is a great spin on the topic. Totally agree with Harry Potter and His Dark Materials😁

  6. Jo
    Jo says:

    I had How To Train Your Dragon and The Golden Compass on my list this week too. I’m so glad that Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson were all around when I was growing up as I loved those series.

  7. ShootingStarsMag
    ShootingStarsMag says:

    Some of these series came out when I was a bit older, so I never got into them. However, I DID grow up with Harry Potter and I’m really glad that I had that opportunity.

    -lauren

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      That’s so great that you grew up with HP. As much as I love the story, I think I would have loved it even more if I had been a kid when I first experienced it.

  8. Greg
    Greg says:

    “so many great series have come out since I started adulting” so true haha! The Spiderwick Chronicles is a series I would have loved as a kid I think! The Magic Tree House books too. Love how imaginative those are!

  9. Susan (Bloggin' 'bout Books)
    Susan (Bloggin' 'bout Books) says:

    You may be old, but I’m even older! The first Magic Treehouse book came out when I was in high school 🙂 I agree with all the series you’ve listed just because I wish there had been more variety of books for children when I was a kid. I would have loved to have more to choose from back then. I especially wish the HP books had been around them. I would have ADORED them and I think they would have helped more kids become readers.

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I agree about how HP has helped so many kids become readers. It’s amazing the influence it has had over the years.

  10. Dini @ dinipandareads
    Dini @ dinipandareads says:

    I think if anything I wish I had known these books existed when I was younger! I mean, obviously I knew HP but Spiderwick Chronicles, Series of Unfortunate Events, Golden Compass! I think I would’ve loved reading all these books when I was a kid. I still have Seraphina on my TBR but I’m excited for it 😀 Great take on the prompt!

  11. Olivia Roach
    Olivia Roach says:

    Okay, this post definitely makes me feel young because when I was a child I definitely read and loved A Series of Unfortunate Events, Percy Jackson and also The Spiderwick Chronicles.

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