This is topic My Teacher is An Alien and Other Childrens Books You Used to Love in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
 
So* I was having a discussion with a friend the other night and we started thinking about our favorite children's and young adult's books that we'd read as kids. The usuals came up, such as Where the Wild Things Are, There's a Nightmare in My Closet, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for little kids and The Boxcar Children and (for me) The Secret Garden.

One series I remembered in particular very fondly was Bruce Coville's My Teacher Is an Alien. I was just reread the wikipedia summary, I'd forgotten what it was about, and holy cow! It's actually decently serious Sci-Fi (in a kiddy kinda way). It's like a child's introduction to Science Fiction. I'd always remembered it fondly, but I'd forgotten that it was about a galactic society of aliens trying to decide whether or not Earth was worth saving or to just destroy it to prevent humans from breaking an intergalactic peace!

Another Bruce Coville series I remember really fondly is the series that starts with Aliens Ate My Homework.

Thinking about these really makes me want to go back and reread all of them. Boxcar Children, the Bruce Coville, The Secret Garden. Clearly it's been too long if I don't remember their plots, just that they were fun.

So what children's/Young Adult books do you remember fondly? Any you'd consider rereading?
 

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Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
 
I really want an excuse to go out and buy all the Bruce Coville books from back in the day, because apparently more came out after I had stopped reading them and continued the story.

The Boxcar children, on the other hand, I'll be glad to never read again.
 

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Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
 
Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I bought the box set a few years back because it's just that awesome.

--ApostleRadio
 

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Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
 
I was a big Laura Ingalls Wilder fan. I'm sure I read all of the books and dozens of times each.

Then when I was in junior high, I went absolutely crazy for Christopher Pike, especially the "Remember Me" and "The Last Vampire" series. The "Midnight Club" is another one that stayed with me a long time. Probably because the characters were teenagers living in a hospice with terminal cancer.

I did find myself flipping through a "Little House on the Prairie" book the other day at work. And now I'm curious to see if we carry any Christopher Pike. I still remember getting busted by my mom who one day flipped to a page with an "age-inappropriate" scene though I'm sure its safer than alot of what I seen in the teen fiction aisles these days.
 

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Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
 
I loved Corville's Alien and Magic Shop books. L'Engle's Time series was pretty awesome. I also inhaled The Hardy Boys, T3I, and Tom Swift far longer than I should probably admit. But hey, they were fun.

And then there was this one really cool book about the government training little kids to save the world. Can't seem to remember what it was called, though...
 

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Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
 
The books I remember from when I was really young are Castle in the Attic, Half Magic, Magic in the Park. Then a bit later I vividly recall The Westing Game and How a Weirdo and a Ghost Can Change Your Life. I remember all the classic childrens books as well, but these are the ones that stick out from that time.

Also the Prydain Chronicles and A Wrinkle in Time were particularly important to me. I think those were each my first introduction to what would become a deep love of fantasy and sci-fi.
 

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Posted by Philosofickle (Member # 10993) on :
 
Oh my gosh, I'd completely forgotten about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, that was my favorite book ever when I was like 5. Thank you for reminding me of it.

I also remember the teacher is an aliens series, but are you saying that there is a continuation of Aliens ate my homework? I have an insane urge to go try and find it now.

I inhaled the hardy boys. I'd read two a week at my peak, (fifth grade.)

And I'll also admit to really liking the animorphs series.
 

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Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
 
Yeah, I liked the Animorphs series too back when I was in like 4th through 6th grade. At some point it just got ridiculously emo and depressing and I stopped reading it. I used to really wish I had the ability to morph. I remember reading the first Animorph was one of the first times when I really experienced a book I was reading. The scene where Jake morphs into his dog for the first time, I could practically feel being a dog, smell what was described, see what he saw. I had a really vivid imagination as a kid, and reading really fed it I still have a pretty vivid imagination, but less so.

And yes, Aliens Ate My Homework is a four book series, and it's awesome! It's Aliens Ate My Homework, I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X, The Search for Snout (or in the UK: Aliens Stole my Dad) and then Aliens Stole My Body.
 

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Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
 
Hah! I just realized I also read the Aliens Ate My Homework books. I guess I needed the rest of the titles to jog my memory. They were pretty awesome, too.
 

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Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
 

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Originally posted by Alcon:

And yes, Aliens Ate My Homework is a four book series, and it's awesome! It's Aliens Ate My Homework, I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X, The Search for Snout (or in the UK: Aliens Stole my Dad) and then Aliens Stole My Body.

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Originally posted by theCrowsWife:
Hey, Lisa, have you ever read The Shades? It's by the same author as No Flying in the House, and I think it's even better. It's about a special garden where the shadows of people live their own lives when they don't have to follow people around. Unfortunatly it's out of print, but your library may still have a copy (mine does).

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Daniel Pinkwater, especially The Hoboken Chicken Emergency.

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Originally posted by plaid:
Lisa -- do the Kerby "trick" books hold up well for adult reading? I loved them as a kid, but remember looking at one as an adult and finding it kinda bland.

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Um... that's a scary thought. I haven't looked at one of them for decades. Just pleasant memories.
 

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Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
 
My Side of the Mountain! I was just thinking about that again. That was another one of my favorites when I was a kid that I'd forgotten to mention. I think mention of Hatchet reminded me of it. I need to find that book and reread it, it's been way too long
 

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Posted by Starsnuffer (Member # 8116) on :
 
I can't believe nobody mentioned this, but Redwall.
Other things I inhaled
-Boxcar children
-Animorphs
-Goosebumps(I would stay up until 2 am during second grade a few times and read an entire goosebumps book in one sitting)
-William Sleator through middle school
-Gordan Korman
-I also read any number of things that were "too advanced" probably for my age. Those including brave new world, LOTR, H. G. Wells books
 

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Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
 
I just remembered a series that I had forgotten for years! I loved The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken, and the rest of the books in that series.

--Mel
 

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Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
 

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Originally posted by Alcon:
My Side of the Mountain! I was just thinking about that again. That was another one of my favorites when I was a kid that I'd forgotten to mention. I think mention of Hatchet reminded me of it. I need to find that book and reread it, it's been way too long

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You know there were sequels, right?

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There are sequels?!
 

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Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
 
Yep. Well, there's one direct sequel anyway. It's called On the Far Side of the Mountain. Then there are some more recent books that I think are written from Frightful's point of view, but I never read those.
 

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Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
 
The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books... Loved them and actually checked them out of the library last year to reread. STILL great books. How annoying, though, that my parents were obviously trying to subtly teach me lessons... ; )
 

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Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :
 
Shortly after reading the "My Teacher is..." series, I got into novels by William Sleator. Those were also very enjoyable at the time, and I wonder what I would think of them were I to read them again.

There's still an aspect of the "My Teacher" series that I remember. It was a description of the music the alien teacher listened to as sounding "like a cat in a blender". I often use it when I describe how my beginner's sound when they first play on clarinet...
 

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Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :
 
I reread the sleater books

I still like Beasties and still kinda liked Marcos Millions and Boxes i reccomend you try too

Great fun!
 

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Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
 

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Originally posted by rollainm:
Yep. Well, there's one direct sequel anyway. It's called On the Far Side of the Mountain. Then there are some more recent books that I think are written from Frightful's point of view, but I never read those.

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Originally posted by The Rabbit:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factor

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this just made me laugh, even though i know it was only a typo.

I adored Where the Red Fern Grows, and the Boxcar Children.
 

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Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
 
I enjoyed Jim Kjelgaard's *Red books.

L'Engle stands out, head and shoulders, for me. No other books affected me as much as hers.
 

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Posted by Vamp96 (Member # 9030) on :
 
Does anybody remember reading the pen pals series by Sharon Dennis Wyeth? It wasn't high art, but it was entertaining for a 12 year old girl. I remember it because I used a form in the back of the book to sign-up for a pen pal.
 

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Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
 
I read Hatchet for the first time thanks to this thread and liked it a lot.

I saw that there's some sequels to it. Are they any good?
 

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Posted by Liz B (Member # 8238) on :
 
Not as good as Hatchet. Brian's Winter is pretty good; the rest I thought were only OK.
 

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Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
 
The others are worth reading, IMO. Brian's Winter is definitely the best of the sequels, but I enjoyed them all.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
I think the first sci-fi book I read was The Girl with the Silver Eyes.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
(And I hated Hatchet. I had to read it in fifth grade and at one point I threw up.
 

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Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
 
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm was one of my favorite books for a long time, and is one of the few YA books I've moved with me.
 

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Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
 
I remember wishing that Swiss Family Robinson would go on forever. Half Magic has been mentioned, Ojibwoy Drums was printed as a set by the same publisher. There was a whole series of kids books that were written as WPA projects. Dad got us hard bound library copies. They were great. Hundreds of Cats, Bad Mousy, Little Fat Policeman, Tawney Scrawny Lion and the Magic Bus come to mind. Tawney Scrawney and Magic Bus were condensed and reprinted as Golden books several years later.
I do books on tape a lot now to cross the Great American Desert. Lots of times I grab something off the Juvenile shelf. Remember, I passed that point before they even invented Juveniles! Beverly Cleary is a genus. So is Roald Dahl. And, I have done two of the Redwall books. That's all they have here. I've also gotten to know "Soup","Fudge" Fried Worms, Captain Underpants, and Sideways School. All were good for one trip to Ogden.
 

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Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
 
Anything by E.B. White, especially "The Trumpet of the Swan".
 

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Posted by Chastity (Member # 11666) on :
 
Since the subject has been opened, I was thinking back at the books I had checked out of my junior high school library. These included The Celestial Steam Locomotive and Time of Darkness. I also enjoyed The Forbidden Door, which I got from RIF in elementary school. My first fantasy book was The Elfstones of Shannara, which is still a favorite of mine.
I don't really remember reading a lot prior to that, other than Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. About 6th grade, my sister and I joined the Zebra romance book club.It never ceases to amaze me that our mother paid for us to read those and no teacher ever said a word about them.
And with this captive audience, I recall a book that I found in the card catalog under 'Psi'. The only things I can recall about that book is that there were kids with different psionic abilities. They worked together, I think for the government, maybe. I seem to remember a scene where their instructor puts a candle in the center of a circle of these kids and they all try to douse it with their particular skill. Or maybe just try to wrest control of it. Lord above, if only someone could clue me in as to what book that was, I'd totally put it on my Amazon wishlist.^^
 

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Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
 
Artemis Fowl. hands down.
 

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Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
 

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Originally posted by ketchupqueen:
(And I hated Hatchet. I had to read it in fifth grade and at one point I threw up.

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