Storybooks that we grew up with!

Bookworm Club series

Every Singaporean has a Bookworm Club book stashed away on an old bookshelf. Remember the Bookworm gang: Sam Seng, Mimi, Simone, Fat Ani, Smarty and others? Bet some of you can name all the characters! Why was it so popular? Because it’s super Singaporean and most kids can relate to the scenes in the book about recess time, playing beneath the void deck and buying ice cream from the mama shop.

Enid Blyton books

British children’s writer Enid Blyton’s books were simply classics. You can get lost for hours in a faraway land drifting away in imaginary places. She has sold over 600 million copies of her books all over the world. Some popular favourites are: ‘The Wishing Chair series’, the ‘Famous Five Series’, ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ series, ‘The Noddy Books’ and many more. Most of her stories were about ordinary children in extraordinary situations, which is always an intriguing read.

Goosebumps galore

Kids love horror fiction (kid-friendly horror that is PG-13), after they reach a certain age of course because it makes them feel grown up. Goosebumps, written by RL Stine, was a collection of stories about children stuck in scary situations exploring horror, humour and supernatural experiences. These books have been translated into 35 languages and appeared in bestseller lists. You can watch it on TV too—what a trill for kids to see their books come to life!

Ladybird books

When you learn to read, these were the first books you were introduced to—the Ladybird series. Who can forget the cheery duo Peter and Jane plus their doggie Spot? There are Ladybird books for almost every age and stage. Of course there were vintage classics that we were exposed to and now there is a whole new range including ‘Hello Kitty’s Bike Ride’ and ‘LEGO Friends Showtime’.

Roald Dahl

It’s a staple for every kid’s bookshelf (during our days)! Roald Dahl’s books were amazing. Popular books include ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, ‘Witches’, ‘The BFG’, ‘James and the Giant Peach’ and more. However a recent survey of 300,000 British school children aged 5-16 shows that Roald Dahl books are no longer in the top 10 most popular choices—replaced by wizards and vampires of the Harry Potter and Twilight series.

Choose Your Own Adventure

This was as interactive as we could get in those days—‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ series was a hit in the 80s and 90s because the reader had the power to decide what the main character should do and what path to follow. The best thing is that the plot outcome was not written in stone. These books were originally created for kids 10-14 years of age. These days, there are so many distractions and devices, choosing your own adventure on a book just does not make the cut.

The Hardy Boys

The Hardy Boys series first appeared in 1927, a mystery series for children and teens. After many revisions to follow the changes in society, The original Hardy Boys Mystery stories ended in 2005 but a new series ‘Undercover Brothers’ came out within that same year with updated versions of the characters. Why have they been popular for so long? The characters represent the American ideals of masculinity and good overcoming evil -- these are themes that resonate with the readers. These books have been translated into 25 languages and the characters are known worldwide.

Nancy Drew mysteries

Nancy Drew is a character in a mystery fiction series that first appeared in the 1930s but has kept its popularity and would be regarded as a cultural icon--with 80 million copies sold and translated into 45 languages. That’s not all, Nancy Drew had been featured in five films, two TV shows and even computer games.

Sweet Valley Twins

Following the adventures of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, the Sweet Valley series was an enjoyable read as it followed the lives of young preteen girls and their daily adventures, letting the reader in on their lives and interactions at home and at school. The story was fore grounded by the pair of twins, allowing the plot to be engaging and entertaining as it depicted the fun and company of having a twin sister. Having double the trouble also made for a more exciting read as we see how the vastly different twins deal with each situation differently.

The Teenage Textbook

Uniquely Singaporean, ‘The Teenage Textbook’, is a novel by Adrian Tan and followed the life of a student Mui Ee. It made it on the bestseller list in Singapore and was followed by a sequel ‘The Teenage Workbook’. It gained so much popularity that it was made into a film, starring Melody Chen and Caleb Goh. Fictitious as the characters are, they resonated with many Singaporean teens, teaching them what to expect at Junior College and boy-girl relationships.

Written by

Felicia Chin

Reading and Writingbookschildhood books from our past