I have to admit as a child I read only when I had to. So nothing I can recall that stands out as captivating then.Other then I did read and like Dr Seuss

I didnt get into reading till late teens, everything before that was for a book report.

Of course now as an adult I love fairy tales and fantasy that most would associate with childhood books.

>James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Stuart Little, Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass

I loved all of these.

The very first book I found intriguing and which I remember actually reading (when I was four or five) was "Hop on Pop". It had a few disturbing plots points, though.

First, there was dad being very, very sad. I never knew my dad to be sad, just MAD. Never morose, like this dad. There was something very unsettling about that.

Later, I was confused by the relationships involving Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown and Mr. Black. First, Mr. Brown and Mrs. Brown go out of town. Later, Mr. Brown returns, not with Mrs. Brown, but with Mr. Black! What happened to Mrs. Brown? Did Mr. Brown kill Mrs. Brown? Or was Seuss promoting alternative lifestyles?

I learned to read early on, sitting on my dad's lap. He was an avid Sci-Fi reader, so thats what i like to read. I was reading paperbacks in first grade, albeit slowly. And teacher most definitely didn't approve of kids reading Heinlein at that age. SO most of my kid style reading was school assigned. But Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn truly struck a chord...