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📚 Stories I’ve Carried In My Book Bag Over the Years

8 items

Crystal Trudell

Some books fade the moment you close them. Others quietly stay with you. This list is a collection of books I read growing up—mostly discovered on my own, a few assigned in school—that still live rent-free in my head decades later. These stories sha...

Sections

Forever Bookmarked by My Soul

These are the books that lingered in my mind long after I turned the last page. Whether comforting, challenging, or quietly heavy, they left lasting impressions at a formative age. These stories made me slow down, feel deeply, and begin to realize ju...

My mom introduced me to the works of Shel Silverstein. I loved the poems, the drawings, the weirdness of it all. They felt funny, a little dark, and completely unlike anything else I was reading at the time. Looking back, they were probably my first ...

Where the Sidewalk Ends — Shel Silverstein

These books were an absolute hit for my elementary-school soul. Maybe it was the independence. Maybe the adventure. Or maybe it was subconsciously because the author shared a name with someone I loved. Either way, I devoured these and still associate...

The Boxcar Children (Book Set) — Gertrude Chandler Warner

I remember being in 4th grade—it was a simpler time, when playing Oregon Trail on the classroom computer between assignments was the norm—when I first noticed this book. That simple blue-framed cover and the title just called to me. I’m not sure why....

‎ Skylark — Patricia MacLachlan

Before I ever read Skylark, I had to search out this book. Something about this quiet, simple story pulled me in completely as a kid. It was gentle, emotional, and grounded in a way that felt very grown-up to my younger self. These became some of my ...

Sarah, Plain and Tall — Patricia MacLachlan

I read this in my middle-school years, and it stuck with me far longer than I expected. It was emotional, funny, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at once. Fun fact: it was published the year I was born—which somehow makes it feel even more personal whe...

Freak the Mighty — Rodman Philbrick

I absolutely loved the way this book was written. The screenplay format, the inner thoughts, the tension—it felt immersive in a way that made me slow down and really think. The dynamic between Steve and his legal team, especially Miss O’Brien, stayed...

‎ Monster — Walter Dean Myers

I read this either in middle school or early high school, and I still remember how sick it made me feel. I couldn’t put it down, even though it was incredibly hard to read. At that age, I couldn’t wrap my head around how it could possibly be a true s...

A Child Called “It” — Dave Pelzer

Like Where the Sidewalk Ends, this wasn’t originally my book—it was my mom’s. I loved the poems, the illustrations, and the way it felt playful while still being a little strange and thoughtful. These poems taught me early on that reading could be si...

A Light in the Attic — Shel Silverstein