Enthralling Books and stories

When I was young,I used to sit with a favourite book and pretend I was someone else.The first person I wanted to be was Milly-Molly-Mandy.I could imagine living in a nice white cottage and playing with the little friens Susan and Billy Blunt ,with my dog Toby at my side.My choice would reflect my mood .Longing for comapny ,I found a friend in Katy Carr and shared her dreams of freedom.Feeling momentarily despondent ,I withdrew from my own life and slipped into that of Anne of Green Gables,an orphan whose resilience and outspokeness often led to trouble.Then ,ready for excitement ,I was drawn to Dorotgy and her fabulous adventures along the Yellow Brick Road in the Land of Oz.Growing some older, a fascination for mystery stories was developed into me by the intriguing character of Nancy Drew and the interest in mystery is still fresh is still present.How I longed to be a mystery solver!

I realize many characters I especially enjoyed were girls .I also read book about boys -plenty of them!But I felt a special closeness to the girl character, recognising myself in them ,taking comfort from discovering that other girls could be unhappy and misunderstood ,or bold and rebellious.

Several of the stories were written many years ago,but their popularity is timeless.Each generation delights in their discovery.Others are much more recent, but they too touch the readers in a way that earns them a status of contemporary classics.It is the undefinable mix of the familiarity and unexpected character behaviour that  singles out a book from many and give them a special place in our hearts.Some stories about the interesting, spirited girls who grow in imagination and become close friends are

1. Milly Molly Many by Joyce Lankester Brisley
2. Ramona the Pest by Tony Ross
3. Little Women by Lousa May Alcott
4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
5. Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baun
6. What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge
7. Matilda by Roald Dahl
8. Nany Drew by Carolyn Keene

Maybe someone will read these stories aloud to you or maybe like me you will hide away by yourself ,meeting new friends in stories and perhaps even pretending for a little while to be them.