Childhood Favorites...Rosamond duJardin

Childhood favorites. Everyone has a favorite book or author from childhood. A book that touched them or changed them. A book that perhaps initiated their love of reading and put them on the path of libraries and learning.

Books: Childhood Favorites is a monthly series focusing on beloved books from the past. 

Donald Zolan, Quiet Time.

This week was Beverly Cleary's 100th birthday and I adored her books when I was a teenager. I read Fifteen, The Luckiest Girl and Sister of the Bride so often I wore my copies out. I still remember them.

When it comes to books, we all have our childhood favorites. I have so many, it would take years of blog posts to cover them. Maybe I'll start a series.

There was one series that I absolutely adored as I was growing up. To share this will completely date me and give you hints as to how old I really am.

I used to check these books out of the library. So often that I probably could have claimed a frequent reader card or something.


Rosamond duJardin wrote a series about twin sisters in the mid-1950s. So the books were about 20 + years old when I discovered them. I was just entering junior high school and I remember wandering into main part of the public library, not wanting to be in the children's section anymore. I saw Double Date sitting there on the shelf and checked it out. I was instantly captivated. I wanted to be Penny and meet a boy like Mike. I wanted to go to dances wearing 50s formals. I loved watching Pam go from flirty and shallow to mature and in love with Jeff.

I loved these books. I devoured them and suddenly they disappeared from the library shelves. I think they were deemed too old or too old fashioned. I haunted used bookstores, but never found them.


Because the Internet can be awesome, I went searching one day and discovered a website called Image Cascade Books where I could purchase reprints of "old" books. And Pam and Penny were there! The Doctor insisted I get them and they arrived this week. I am giddy. Literally giddy at the thought of re-reading them.

What about you? What is one of your childhood favorites?

This post has been shared at The Pin Junkie, Beautifully Creative, Lovely Little Link Party, Pin Me Linky, Simple & Sweet Fridays, No Rules

Comments