The First Books I Fell In Love With

I asked my followers on Instagram what type of content they’d like to see from me. Ariel Benda of Little Mermaid Lashes in Cochrane wanted to know the first novel I remember reading and the impact it had on me. So here are the first books I fell in love with as a childhood reader. I might do another post later of the book series I read when I was a little bit older.

(Full disclosure: Ariel and I are related.)

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The First Books I Fell In Love With

“Animal Ark” by Ben M. Baglio

The Animal Ark series by a collection of authors under the pseudonym Ben M. Baglio was one of the very first series I became obsessed with in Elementary School. When my class would do Scholastic book orders, I always wanted Animal Arc. I loved animals (still do). Books with animals? A-MAZ-ING.

Animal Ark is about Mandy Hope and her best friend James. Mandy’s parents run a veterinary clinic, so Mandy meets many of the animals in their town – and gets to hear their owners’ problems. From abandoned puppies to stolen hamsters, Mandy and James solve a bunch of pet-related problems. There is also a spin-off series called Animal Ark: Hauntings about ghost animals, which was just creepy enough to delight me when I was in about grade 2 or 3.

These are fun little chapter books aimed for kids aged 8 and up. They didn’t have a huge emotional impact on me, but I remember that I loved reading about all the different types of animals and little things about how to take care of them. I actually still have a portion of my collection! So it should be obvious that I really fell in love with these books.

“Dolphin Diaries” By Ben M. Baglio

Much like Animal Ark, Dolphin Diaries is a series by a collection of authors under the pseudonym Ben M. Baglio. The books are written for a similar age and reading level, but instead of stories about a bunch of different animal, Dolphin Diaries is almost exclusively about dolphins. The series’ protagonist, Jody McGrath, travels around the world with her parents on a boat, researching dolphins. I remember that her cousin came along, and Jody didn’t understand why the cousin was upset about being trapped on a boat instead of at school.

I was a lot like Jody in that respect as a kid. Who cares about school? We get to swim with dolphins!

Of course, now that I’m older, I know that being trapped on a boat with your parents, aunt and uncle, and younger cousin away from your friends and with a spotty internet connection is HELL for an extrovert. So I’m much more sympathetic to the poor girl now.

These are fun, light-hearted stories for the reader who is just gaining confidence. I loved learning dolphin facts and imagining going on a long research journey by boat.

“Santa Paws” by Nicholas Edwards and Kris Edwards

Listen, little kid me was obsessed with animals. That is to say, this is yet another book series about animals. Specifically, a German Shepherd dog named Santa Paws with the supernatural ability to sense when people are in trouble, and the intense need to go rescue them.

Fittingly, the Santa Paws books usually take place around Christmas time. They are aimed at about the same age range as the Animal Ark and Dolphin Diaries books, however, this series has higher stakes. The characters often get into real danger. For example, I learned about carbon monoxide when Santa Paws rescued a family with carbon monoxide poisoning by pulling them out of their house and barking for help. Other dangers that Santa Paws and his owners, the Callaghan’s, encounter are things like car crashes, plane crashes, bus crashes, downed power lines, neighbours falling off ladders, and one boy who fell into a well (which is apparently a Lassie reference.)

“Pony Pals” by Jeanne Betancourt

I feel like The Saddle Club books are more well known, but I never liked them. They were filled with petty “mean girls” drama that seems prevalent in media aimed toward girls. (Seriously. I could write a whole ‘nother blog post about “why can’t girls in children’s media just be friends?”) Even as a kid, I wasn’t into that.

But I wanted to read about horses.

Enter the Pony Pals series by Jeanne Betancourt. There are 44 books in the series, which centers around three female protagonists. Lucinda “Lulu” Sanders, Anna Harley, and Pam Crandal live in the fictitious town of Wiggins. They call themselves the Pony Pals because each of them has a pony, and they all go on trail rides together.

What I loved about these books are that the girls are genuinely friends. Yes, they have their conflicts and arguments. Feelings get hurt. They’re human. But they were always friends. They always had good intentions. And I liked that so much better than catty drama where you’re not sure why the characters are even friends.

In each book, the trio encounters a “Pony Pal Problem” that they have to solve. They solve it democratically, with each of them writing down what they think the best solution is, and then they decide together what approach to take. I guess the impact these books had on me is that I learned what style of friendship appealed to me, and what didn’t.

“Nate the Great” by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

I’ll admit that I don’t remember this series super well. However, I do remember that they were illustrated stories about the child detective “Nate the Great.” I wish I could remember more because I worked my way through the series at my elementary school’s library. What I do remember is that they were fun and silly.

“Amelia Bedelia” by Peggy Parish and Herman Parish

I was into the Amelia Bedelia books at the same time I was reading Nate the Great, but I remember them much better. Amelia Bedelia is silly. They’re short, cute, illustrated novels about the title character Amelia Bedelia, who works as a maid/housekeeper for her employers. The series relies heavily on puns and double meanings for humour, with Amelia Bedelia mistaking instructions like “dress the chicken for dinner” as putting the chicken in formal clothes rather than preparing it for cooking.

I actually probably should have put Amelia Bedelia higher on the list, since I remember it being one of the very first series of books I fell in love with in early elementary school. But we never bought these books, so I didn’t reread them as much as I did the previous books (some of which I still have on my shelf today). I guess it doesn’t matter.

Despite the humorous nature of the books, they really made me think. I was an extremely literal child, much like Amelia. While it was used for comedic effect, I remember realizing while reading these books that not everyone interprets the same thing from the same words. Words have connotative meanings (their colloquial use) along with their denotative meanings (dictionary definition). It wasn’t a huge breakthrough, but it definitely helped me understand interpersonal relationships a little better.

In Conclusion

So there you have it! All the books that I fell in love with in my early grades of elementary school. I’m sure my mother could argue this list as she probably remembers better than me. After all, she was the one I’d beg for books. However, these are the ones I remember reading and enjoying, and I’d argue that books that I don’t remember reading probably didn’t make that much of an impact on me anyway.

What were your favourite books when you were in grades 1-3? What age did you start reading chapter books? Let me know in the comments! There’s no judgment here – we all hit different reading levels at different times.

If you haven’t yet, read Friday’s post. It’s all about the importance of breaking out of your comfort zone. It’s written for creatives, but I think it’s relevant to other people too.