# The First Novel You Ever Read . . .



## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

Hello all, 
    By now you should know that I've entered into the habit of starting a non-promotional discussion every now and again just to mix things up.  Well, this time I was wondering what was the very first novel (or chapter book) you've ever read?  Not picture book, because if that were the case I could list several, including "Goodnight Moon" and "Where The Wild Things Are" to name a few.  The very first chapter book I remember reading is "Snot Stew" by Bill Wallace.  It's a small book, I think under 100 pages and only ten chapters long, but I was in third or fourth grade when I read it.  Anyways, it's stuck with me all these years, especially the title  and I even read it to the kids at the school where I work.  I just thought it would be neat to see what people remember from their younger years, so please, if you can recall your first chapter book, feel free to list it here.  
-Jenna


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## NAmbrose (Sep 1, 2009)

Okay, this is easy... Not like some of the other ones you've put up that make my brain ache.

The first novel I ever read was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. When I was 10 years old or so, I found that when I was sick enough to stay home from school I could curl up in bed, eat chicken soup, and read this book. By the time I finished it, I was miraculously cured.

The first novel that I read, in the genre that I've come to love, was _Macroscope_ by Piers Anthony. This book was DEEP. Soon after, I found the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. (Which I still carry around as e-books.) And finally, at around the same time, I found the other Piers Anthony books--Split Infinity, Blue Adept (why I was so pleased to see the name RedAdept on the boards), and Juxtaposition. I know; I over-answered the question, but what can I say? I LOVE to read!


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## BP Myers (Jun 7, 2009)

Great question.

I can't say they were the first ever, but the two earliest ones that have stayed with me were _Johnny Tremain_ and _My Side of the Mountain_.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

I can't answer for the very first one, but my favorite young reading memory is reading the _The Boxcar Children_ series.

I loved those books!


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## lkcampbell (Jun 25, 2009)

I was several years younger than my brother and sister, so there were a lot of "kids" books or "kids editions" of books around our house. I remember reading Treasure Island when I was about 7 or 8. The first novel(s) I was really interested in were the Trixie Beldon Mysteries. Now, that's telling you my age, so I'll quit now.


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## MrTsMom (Jun 13, 2009)

When I was 4, my family realized that I hadn't merely memorized all my books, I had actually taught myself to read somehow. In 1st grade I had a wonderful teacher who realized my love of reading and gave me the most amazing gift. She took me to the school library, and showed me books she thought I might like! The first chapter books I remember remember reading were the Childhood of Famous Americans (I read all of these at least twice) and Misty of Chincoteague. 

By the time I was in high school, the librarian was my favorite person in the school. When she got new books in, she'd pull out those she thought I might like and put them aside for me so I didn't have to spend time searching the shelves. She also drove 2 hours to come to my wedding 4 years after I graduated!

I guess my obsession with reading has been going on for a long time. I'm so grateful to my Kindle for reigniting that passion!


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

The first one?  My, that was a looooong time ago!  

I'm guessing that it was probably one of the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, or something along those lines, around first or second grade.


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

"Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume. I was in second grade and Peter Hatchell seemed old and wise.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

MrTsMom said:


> When I was 4, my family realized that I hadn't merely memorized all my books, I had actually taught myself to read somehow. In 1st grade I had a wonderful teacher who realized my love of reading and gave me the most amazing gift. She took me to the school library, and showed me books she thought I might like! The first chapter books I remember remember reading were the Childhood of Famous Americans (I read all of these at least twice) and Misty of Chincoteague.
> 
> By the time I was in high school, the librarian was my favorite person in the school. When she got new books in, she'd pull out those she thought I might like and put them aside for me so I didn't have to spend time searching the shelves. She also drove 2 hours to come to my wedding 4 years after I graduated!
> 
> I guess my obsession with reading has been going on for a long time. I'm so grateful to my Kindle for reigniting that passion!


I love this story!

I can't remember the first book I read. After putting aside my Archie comics, I think it MIGHT have been "How to Eat Fried Worms." Or maybe "Ramona." Wow. I really have no idea.


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## RavenclawPrefect (May 4, 2009)

I was in first grade, I think...maybe still Kindergarten when I read this. I still have a paperback version of it from when I was younger









Casey, the Utterly Impossible Horse


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## GaryOwhere (Aug 9, 2009)

The first novel I remember reading was "The World of Pooh", by A.A. Milne.  I can still recall this vividly and fondly, checking this out during my first trip to the library. What a wonderful place full of treasures!  Thus began a life-long joy of books and libraries.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

Oh wow. I'm not sure I can remember back that far, but I'm pretty sure whatever it was it was etched onto stone tablets...

I can remember reading books by Joseph Krumgold in 3rd grade ("...and Now, Miguel," "Henry 3") and John Christopher's Tripod series in 4th, but I'm sure I read a novel or two before 3rd grade. 

BTW, I don't suggest a 10 year old read "The Godfather." Why my parents left that where I could get my hands on it, I still don't know...


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Thumper said:


> BTW, I don't suggest a 10 year old read "The Godfather." Why my parents left that where I could get my hands on it, I still don't know...


LOL!

I remember being in my brother's room and turning the pages of a book so that he would think I could read. Before I could read, of course. 
The first chapter book for me? The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley. I was in the first grade.


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## Heather Parker (Sep 3, 2009)

The first one I remember loving was The Valley of Adventure by Enid Blyton.  It was full of adventure and excitement - real escapist stuff!  I've read since that Enid Blyton was incredibly middle-class and I understand why this has been criticised in her books - but  I wasn't really aware of that at junior school.  And it started my love of reading which has gone on for many, many years so I'm grateful for that!


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## KathyluvsKindle (Apr 13, 2009)

"The Swiss Family Robinson" is the first novel I remember reading. It was very impactful on my life and the time.


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## cheeki (Nov 29, 2008)

I was 6 yo.  The book was SQUANTO, FRIEND OF WHITE MAN by Clyde Robert Bulla.  I actually found a copy of it at a random yard sale..... I felt like I had found a pot of gold.............


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

the first book I remember reading on my own was a book by Bill Peet,  I quickly went to  and then on to all of his books. I was 4 or 5... He had done a reading at our local library and my mom had taken me to it.. I was captivated. My mom bought, and he signed 3 of the books for me.
The first chapter book I read? Encyclopedia Brown.. truly loved that series.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I don't remember the first novel I read, but I remember the first non-fiction book.  That was a biography of Helen Keller and I taught myself the manual alphabet.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

The first real novel I ever read (the original, not a children's book) was Black Beauty. I was 7 years old and my teacher brought the book to school and let me read it during free time when my other work was done. I consider this teacher to be the one who helped instill in me a love of reading.


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## jrector (May 24, 2009)

I think mine was The Sword of Shannarah when I was twelve or thirteen.  Before that, I loved the 'choose your own adventure' books, but those aren't really "novels."


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## Mollyb52 (Jan 4, 2009)

The first I can remember is "The Little Princess".  I was very young and was surprised it was the same as the Shirley Temple movie....but better!  My love of books has never dimmed.


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## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

The first book I actually remember reading was Bram Stoker's Dracula. I was about eleven and hadn't seen or heard anything like it anywhere.

I know I read old Alfred Hitchcock Presents monthly anthologies and a little Hardy Boys before then.

I owe novel reading to comic books, however. If my parents weren't smart enough to let me at the 10cent bin with two dollars every week (I actually couldn't say "comics" when that started, instead I called them "aumis"), I wouldn't have learned to read well before kindergarten. 

Still, Dracula changed everything. It demonstrated how varied story telling styles could really be and put me in a completely different setting that was very challenging.


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## NessaBug (Jan 5, 2009)

My first novel was "The Wizard of Oz" in first grade. Yeah, it had a few prints in it, but it was complete. I remember having to get permission to read a chapter book when I was "only" 6. I had been reading quite well on my own for at least a year at that point.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I don't recall.  It was so, so long ago.  It may have been one of the Nancy Drew books.  We had a Wizard of Oz, but I think my mother read that to me.

I learned to read in school with the Alice and Jerry stories.  We had small reading groups.  Some of the others had Dick and Jane.


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

Too many cobwebs in my head to remember exactly what the first novel I ever read was. But I do think it's a toss up between a retelling of the Norse myths, The Black Stallion, and The Adventures of Luke Skywalker.  How the mists of time clouds the mind!


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

I believe it was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Oh, my, I think it may have been written on papyrus    but I'm sure it was about a horse.

Betsy


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## mamiller (Apr 28, 2009)

I read Wuthering Heights and was way too young to 'get it'.  All I knew was there was this scary ghost who banged on the window and said "Heathcliffe" all the time.  So when I was older I read it again, twice.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Tom Sawyer at age 6 (and at age 10, 14, 45 and I believe 53).  

Ed Patterson


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## russr19 (Feb 13, 2009)

I think it was the Scarlet Letter when i was in school.


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## J Dean (Feb 9, 2009)

Wow.. that's a while back for me.  Kidwise, I was reading Sugar Creek Gang series.  Also read some Hardy Boys.

My first real Adult novel was probably THE BLACK HOLE, then I read JAWS, then ALIEN, 

My first novel that made me want to write was Stephen King's SALEM'S LOT.  

True story: when I was reading SALEM'S LOT, I was home alone.  Dead silent.  Was in a very creepy part.  The phone rang, and I jumped probably ten feet in the air with a scream!


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## mfstewart (Jun 23, 2009)

Grade One - Elfstones of Shannara - don't know why I started out of order, but to this day I like it way more than the first.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

You may have given me the secret of cracking open Terry Brooks, because I've never been able to get past the first 20 pages of Book I, and I bought the whole collection.      

Edward C. Patterson


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## mfstewart (Jun 23, 2009)

I don't think the Shannara series was meant to be YA, but I wouldn't go back and read it today. I know I'd be disappointed. Some books I can reread and reread - Fantasy, even epic fantasy, has moved way beyond Terry Brooks. More fun to read George RR Martin for a fantasy fix. IMO


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I picked the Shannara series up (those ten dismal pages) at age 62. I don;t think it was meant for seniors, either. Now Geroge R R Matin - there's a read until you hit the great dung heap of the 1/2 of the last book and the last book that he hasn't finished and has promised, but is off endoresing chocalate bars in Lyon.   But I'll still read it.

Ed Patterson


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

It was such a long time ago that I am not sure which of the following was the first novel I read: _Heidi_ by Johanna Spyri, _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_ by L. Frank Baum, _The Story of Doctor Dolittle_ by Hugh Lofting, or _Understood Betsy_ by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. I know that I read _Heidi_ when I was home sick during in the first grade but I think I may have read a couple of the others then also.


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## evpseeker (May 29, 2009)

I know my fist book was something about an animal. LOL I loved animals as a child and still do to this day. I want to say my first book was "Black Beauty" but at the same time I remember reading "White Fang" when I was very young too.


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> You may have given me the secret of cracking open Terry Brooks, because I've never been able to get past the first 20 pages of Book I, and I bought the whole collection.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


I started reading The Sword of Shannara about a year ago and had to fight to get through the first hundred or so pages before I gave up on it. Brooks fans have been bragging about how great he is, so I figure I'll give it another try. But I think this may be one of those cases where different books appeal to different people.


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## MikeD (Nov 5, 2008)

I've been thinking about this since the OP started this thread and I just can't remember. I know that I read real novels as early as first grade. Can't remember specifics, though. it was a very long time ago, after all. 

I suspect that it was a novel that my Dad had around the house which would have meant it was something by Max Brand or Louis L'Amour. Or perhaps it was one of The Hardy Boys or Tom Swift series. Maybe something by Mark Twain. I just can't remember that far back.

We moved around an awful lot to various countries where books in English were not common, so I just read what was available...


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I am almost certain that the first full-length book I read was Runaway Ralph, which I won in the first grade for being the first student to finish reading a bunch of short story books.


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## Wunderkind (Jan 14, 2009)

pidgeon92 said:


> I am almost certain that the first full-length book I read was Runaway Ralph, which I won in the first grade for being the first student to finish reading a bunch of short story books.


OMG I loved Ralph! I'm not sure if that was my first book, but I sure read it many times in school! What a great memory!


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm trying to remember a series I read when I was young. The main character was a boy at a Catholic boarding school (I think) who was always getting in trouble. I seem to remember he had a bunch of scams going on where he made money selling things to his classmates... I know this isn't much to go on, but does it ring a bell with anyone?


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## GreenThumb (Mar 29, 2009)

MrTsMom said:


> When I was 4, my family realized that I hadn't merely memorized all my books, I had actually taught myself to read somehow.


Wow, is that familiar! My family thought I had memorized my books as well, and realized that I had taught myself to read when I started reading the Christmas cards, fresh out of the envelopes. I think I was 5, though. Isn't it amazing that kids can teach themselves to read sometimes?

I think my first novels were Nancy Drew. I had them all. The first grown-up book I read was "Of Mice and Men", which was from my 6th grade teacher's personal library. I had already gone through the whole school library by then!


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