Books That Take Us Back

We are taking a trip down memory lane, as we look through some books that take us back to a specific moment in our lives.

Laura: So let's start with the book that brought us together and ignited our love for reading. The Three Bold Pixies by Enid Blyton. Way back in primary school Nat and I discovered this book during one of our weekly trips to the school library. It had everything a little girl could dream of. It was lilac (our shared favourite colour) had pixies on the front and beautiful illustrations. I think we both took a copy home that day didn't we?

Nat: Oh yes we did! Even though we were only 6 years old, I can remember sitting on the library floor, all crossed legged, opening up the book and looking through the pictures together. It’s been over 19 years and whenever I see that book, I’m right back to sitting cross legged on the carpet, with you!

Laura: OMG we've been friends for 22 years???? (Excuse us, we just had a moment of shock and appreciation for the strength of our long lasting friendship.)

Nat: That has actually actually just blown me away. See how a book can just transport you?

Laura: Right so let's move onto the next stage of our friendship told through the author Gwyneth Rees.

Nat: The long distance stage. Sadly, Laura moved away when we were 7, which meant our friendship became a series of long phone calls, letters and - if we were lucky - family trips!

Laura: On a one of trip in the Lake District with both our families, we were both reading Fairy Dust by Gwyneth Rees. I specifically remember you reading this to me in our shared bedroom.

Nat: We were obsessed with everything fairy. We read Fairy Dust, Rainbow Magic, Felicity Wishes and anything else we could get our hands on!

Laura: Do you think that's why we believed in the tooth fairy for so long? Remember when I tried to convince you that I had seen a real fairy? I think our love for books at this stage gave us a wild imagination.

Nat: I’m thankful everyday that we were allowed to have such crazy imaginations. I feel like we both chose the careers we did as a result of our imagination.

Laura: Couldn't agree more. Shortly after the fairy stage came the mermaid phase. With the collection of books by Helen Dunmore. What a series!

Nat: And after that came the dystopian phase! I don’t know about you guys, but my teenage years were FILLED with one dystopian series after another. The Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Crossed, Delirium, The Declaration… I could go on and on.

Laura: I feel like The Declaration was the first time I got seriously invested in a book, I remember being so intrigued by the concept. It was a real ‘couldn't put it down’ kind of book.Wouldn't it be so interesting if we read it again?

Nat: Oh I would love to see what I thought of it now. Hopefully we still love it! If you want to see us re-reading The Declaration then leave us a comment down below and we’ll do it! Maybe...we’ll even film the journey...

Laura: On that note, we hope you enjoyed reading about the journey of our friendship through the books we used to love. We would also be intrigued to hear if any of the books we mentioned had an impact on your childhood.