Underrated Children's Books // guest post

Hello, lovely people of the blogiverse!! My name is Hannah, from Plottinger Twist! (But if you read my blog, you might also know me by my pen-name, H.M. Wilson.) I am indeed a different Hannah than you normally hear from, but your Hannah is incredibly sweet and she asked me to guest post on her beautiful blog! How could I resist? Being an aspiring author, I’m a sucker for any chance I can get to write or discuss bookish ideas.

I primarily write about anything that is book-related in some manner or form, so naturally that angle sparked the inspiration for this post. And in that frame of mind, Hannah emailed me an awesome idea: to make a list about my favorite books from my childhood that tend to be forgotten by pop-culture or just overlooked by large fan groups. (*mind-bomb*) As I said before, how could I resist?

It was difficult to pick which books I wanted to discuss today, but I finally narrowed it down to five, and here they are…

1.) The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

This book was a childhood favorite of mine! And, besides that, this little gem was one of the first books that connected me and Hannah through our blogs. I think we both agree that this book never gets enough recognition, so I’m going to rectify that right now.

I think I adored this book partly because of the breath-taking imagery and descriptives, but I also loved the dainty, magical feel that is weaved throughout the entirety of the tale. The air of mystery grasped my attention, making me unable to put the book down.

Growing up, I was always searching for the “perfect” fairytale to read. (Not too much romance, but just enough. Some magic, but not an overload of it. Pretty mental pictures. Secrets. Hidden doors. Cottages and castles. Word usage that made me feel like I was there…) I read numerous stories, none ever quite coming close to The Little White Horse, which became the book closest to “perfect” in my young mind. Thanks, Goudge, you did good…

2.) A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle

I cannot count the number of times I have read and re-read this book. Primarily a mixture of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, I was instantly hooked on it when my dad handed me a copy when I was about eight or nine years old. Now, at nearly 18 years old, I’m still grabbing at any copy I can find just so I can experience the story one more time. 

The characters felt so real, the journey made me think, and the way L’Engle explained difficult concepts (like a tesseract or socialism) in a way a child could start to comprehend is amazing to me.

There was a Disney-made movie of this book from around 2001, (which didn’t do the story justice, but is still a fun one to watch,) but other than that, it doesn’t seem like there is a big fan group for this book. This was one of those books that sparked my imagination and truly nurtured the flame of my love for literature. Thank you, L’Engle…

3.) Tuck Everlasting by NatalieBabbitt 

One of my all-time favorite books & films, Tuck Everlasting is a ‘timeless’ classic in my family and should be for everyone who appreciates good stories! This one is a little more popular than the other ones on this list, but I still think it deserves more credit than it gets. 

To make a long explanation short, the tale makes you think—long and hard. (It deals with the difference between unchanging eternal life and living out natural life to the fullest. Pretty deep stuff, huh…?) I fell in love with the book & film the first time I experienced their magic, and I fall in love with them all over again ever time I re-watch and re-read. Do yourself a favor and go buy both… Thank you, Babbitt.

4.) Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix 

It has been years since I’ve read this one, but there was something about the ideas behind the story that caught my attention & began me on the long road of succumbing to a reading addiction. Uncovering the secret conspiracy along with the protagonist blew my mind in ways that a book had never done to me before. I remember getting it from the library and reading for an entire day without any breaks, learning what a painful inconvenience eye-strain is, and hearing my mother tell me for the first time, “You need to put that book down and rest.” (Which we still joke about to this day…)

After I read it, Running Out of Time had to go back to the Library, where I never found it again... (*insert dramatic music*) Sadly, my little human brain found it necessary to delete the file that had the title and author’s name, making it impossible for me to find it in the Library’s database. But strangely enough, on Goodreads a little while back, I was checking the recommendations list for me & there was the book, in all of it’s nostalgic glory!! Practically no one I have talked books with knows about this book. Granted, I was very young when I read it, but I feel like it might have had a bit more recognition…

5.) Beyond the Deepwoods by Chris Riddell & Paul Stewart

If you like whimsical-Sci-Fi-Fantasy-steampunk-adventures, then this series might be for you. I have only read the first 8, but every one of them was fantastic! With each page, there was always something new and exciting about to happen & I couldn’t put them down. (I mean, come on… I read 8 of them!) But besides the writing, the illustrations in these books are phenomenal! There is a huge mixture of the twisted-whimsy with the swashbuckling-adventure, and I found it extremely interesting and fun to read.

There were rumors of a movie back when my family first discovered how amazing the books were, so we were thrilled to see that a movie was going to be made. But we soon found out that the making of the movie was canceled because the general fanbase for the books was too small to spark any outside interest. (*sniffle-sniffle*) Oh, well… The books are no less fabulous for lack of a film or big fanbase. I personally think they deserve a bigger group of fans, so go find a copy & try it out!! Thanks, Riddell & Stewart.

And there you have it! These books all, in my mind, deserve awards for being brave under the neglect of large groups, and at the same time being good enough to make a lasting impression on me. I hope you guys enjoyed this little post. Thanks again to Hannah for allowing me to guest post today! Love you, lovely people…

Also, everyone be sure to leave a comment mentioning a book that may not have a lot of fans, but you feel that it deserves recognition. We will all have a huge book-award-fest down below & blow up Hannah’s email! Haha! <3

H.M. Wilson {Plottinger Twist}

Hi guys, it's Hannah here (like, the regular one)! Thank you soooo much to Hannah for posting here on The Daisy Tree. Isn't her post amazing? Make sure you check out that lovely blog of hers, too.

Also, Super quick update: We made it safely to America, and I'm now at my grandma's house in Arkansas. I've been enjoying Chick-Fil-A and warm weather :) I'll talk to you again soon!