This Day Has Great Potential: FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK(s) -- July BlogChallenge #bloggingthroughJuly #summerchallenge

I fell in love with books at a very early age. The written word took me to far off places and sent me on adventures galore. Through the pages of my favorite books, I was able to dream, and learn, and explore. Truly, I've enjoyed books as long as I can remember.

In elementary school, we made a weekly trip to the public library. You could only check out a few books at a time then, but I still remember the day that the librarian changed the policy for me -- and let me check out 10 at a time. It was a glorious day!

I quickly read through all of the books in the Children's Literature section and moved up to Young Adult Literature. I vaguely remember my mom having to give approval for me to read books in that section.

One of my very favorite books was Charlotte's Web by E.B. Stuart. The sweet story of Wilbur fostered my love of pigs and began a magnificent collection. I had hundreds of pigs from glass to stuffed animals, and still keep a few of my treasures in my hope chest and a small curio.

I enjoyed S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's me, Margaret., Blubber, and Deenie. I climbed mountains with Heidi and escaped an orphanage through the pages of Daddy-Long-Legs.

I've read all of the Little House books, thought The Littles were the cutest family ever, and enjoyed the antics of Pippi Longstocking. But my favorite book of all time was a pink hardback book simply titled Little Girls. It is a beautifully illustrated book from the early 60s that shows all the things that little girls love. There are pictures of tea parties and dolls and picnics with friends. I still have my copy and it still makes me smile. What a happy book of calming beauty.

What are your favorite books from your childhood? I'd love to read them.