World Book Day - Vivienne DaCosta

Vivienne DaCosta, writer and book blogger shares her favourite children's books with us to celebrate World Book Day.

Thank you, Vivienne for taking part and sharing your childhood favourites

I was so pleased when Carol asked me if I would like to take part in her blog celebration of World Book Day.  I have followed her lovely blog for quite some time and really enjoy reading the wonderful posts she puts together.

So when Carol asked me to come up with five books that I loved as a child, I thought it would be easy. What I didn’t realise was that it would be hard to choose from the many books I loved. So after many hours of deliberation, I came up with the following five books.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. If I’m honest, this book was the first one to get me into writing. We read this at school first as part of our English lessons and I fell in love with Harriet and her note books. She spied on everyone around her and made notes about everything going on in their lives. Some would say she was nosy, I just think she was preparing for a career in publishing.

The Borrowers by Mary Norton. I’ve lost count of how many times I have read this book. I loved the miniature characters and the way they lived under floor boards, making use of the things they found in the house of the human beings. Arrietty is one of my favourite all time female characters.

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. The first time I read this, was when I got my first library card. I remember my Nan taking me to choose three books and this was one of them. I loved it so much, my parents eventually had to buy me a copy. Over the years my original copy got lost along the way, however I recently managed to get hold of the book with the cover above which was originally published in 1967. I wanted to live in the town of Moonacre, it always seemed so magical to me.

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster was probably more appealing to me as a child than as an adult, as I didn’t even notice the hidden political views that are so blatantly obvious to me now. Judy was a rather modern character for her time and wrote long letters to her mysterious guardian she had nicknamed Dear Daddy-Long-Legs from her very exciting boarding school, which of course, I wanted to go to.

My final book is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I can remember my parents buying me a lovely hard backed copy one Christmas and I spent the whole Christmas holidays reading it, while it snowed heavily outside. I loved spending time with Ratty and Mole and their adventures.

About me:

I am the editor of the UK book blog, Serendipity Reviews, which features reviews, author interviews and guest posts as well as news straight from the world of publishing. I am presently editing two novels; a children’s contemporary one and a New Adult paranormal novel, which I hope to have both finished by the summer and on their way to agents. I was recently shortlisted for the Festival of Romance New Talent Award for my New Adult novel which I am really excited about.

You can find me on Twitter as @Serendipity_Viv.