Which middle grade character did you wish lived next door?

[wanderer]

Rebecca wrote: "ooh, Laura Ingalls would be a good choice, too, as long as I didn't have to live in De Smet, ND to do it! Pippi next door would be best when one was a child.

You know who I would REALLY have li..."

Hee-hee! Yeah, the ND setting would be a drawback to that one! I like the Little House on the Prairie setting best, and the Plum Creek house best.

[Julie]

I think I would pick Meg Murry and her brother Charles Wallace from A Wrinkle in Time. Then, I could possibly also meet Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which!

[Catherine]

I would have loved to have had Nancy Drew on one side of the house and the Boxcar Children on the other side, with Pippi across the street. The book I would have stepped right into was Little house on Plum Creek.

[Rebecca]

I think I'd like your neighborhood, Catherine!

[M.G.]

So fun to read everyone's response. All these characters really do feel a little like old friends from my childhood : )

[wanderer]

Catherine wrote: "I would have loved to have had Nancy Drew on one side of the house and the Boxcar Children on the other side, with Pippi across the street. The book I would have stepped right into was Little house..."

Yes! And me at the corner, because that sounds soo fun.

[Dixie]

You know those old books, Betsy Tacy and Tib? i wanted to move into them when I was in High school. Gathering in a home where they had a piano and a Dad who made onion sandwiches sounded so much better than a TV and a stereo

[Cheryl]

Dixie, I agree. Betsy's community seemed so close, cheerful, and healthy. I did miss Tacy when she became less of a presence. But I'm glad I found a copy of Emily of Deep Valley so I could learn more about the rest of the town.

[Suzanne]

M.G. wrote: "I always wished Pippi Longstocking lived next door, with her horse who slept in the house. How about you?"

Funny, MG, as soon as I saw the title of the thread I thought of Pippi, before event clicking in. What a memorable character.

[Andy]

I grew up reading Enid Blyton. Her books are among the the first ones that I remember reading independently on my own. I rode my bike to the bookstore to buy her books, I loved reading them so much. And Julie Campbell's Trixie Belden. Living next to Trixie would have been exciting.

[M.G.]

Andy wrote: "I grew up reading Enid Blyton. Her books are among the the first ones that I remember reading independently on my own. I rode my bike to the bookstore to buy her books, I loved reading them so much..."

I'd forgotten about Trixie Belden! Is she still around?

[M.G.]

Suzanne wrote: "M.G. wrote: "I always wished Pippi Longstocking lived next door, with her horse who slept in the house. How about you?"

Funny, MG, as soon as I saw the title of the thread I thought of Pippi, befo..."

I agree, Suzanne. She always got to do all the stuff kids WISH they could get by with -- like having a horse in the house, a suitcase filled with gold, and to be strong enough to get rid of the bad guys.

[Dixie]

M.G. wrote: "Andy wrote: "I grew up reading Enid Blyton. Her books are among the the first ones that I remember reading independently on my own. I rode my bike to the bookstore to buy her books, I loved reading..."

Yes, Trixie was reprinted a few years ago, I saw the volumes lining the shelf in Barnes and Noble and felt like relocating the Bob Whites of the Glen was reason to smile for the week.

[Andy]

Dixie wrote: Yes, Trixie was reprinted a few years ago, I saw the volumes lining the shelf in Barnes and Noble and felt like relocating the Bob Whites of the Glen was reason to smile for the week ..."

That is awesome. I'll plan in a stop at B&N this weekend just so I can have a look at them :) and browse books.

[Madoc]

Oh, I loved Enid Blyton. I think I got through practically every single one of the famous five books. My favourite though was a different group of kids in a book called The secret island (I think that's what it was called, where the kids ran away and lived on an island and were completely self sufficient - they even made a cow swim out there). So rather than have them live next door i'd choose to live there...

[Emma]

Yes! I also loved The Secret Island: they ran away from their horrible aunt and uncle, and made a house out of willows, kept hens and - as you say - even had a cow which hid in a cave when grown-ups came looking for them. Apparently Enid Blyton's daughter thought it was the best of all her mother's books. I think I'd agree, though I haven't read all of them (she wrote A LOT of books).

[Rebecca]

Now I have to go hunt that one up--I was a fan of the Famous Five, though our library only had a few of the books, so I had to read the same ones over :)

[J.J.]

Who wouldn't want to live next to Pippi Longstocking? Imagine peering out your window to watch the goings-on at Villa Villekulla-the monkey, Mr. Nilsson and even a horse. Pippi was one of the first "naughty" and unconventional characters in children's literature, authored on the same lines as Madeline, and perhaps the prototype of Max-like characters (Where the Wild Things Are). Curiously, Pippi was the inspiration for Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, who Stieg Larsson described in an interview as a grown-up version of Pippi Longstocking.

[Catherine]

I am enjoying this thread so much that I'm going to us a version of this as a writing prompt for my 4th graders soon. Can't wait to read what they have to say.

[Rebecca]

Catherine wrote: "I am enjoying this thread so much that I'm going to us a version of this as a writing prompt for my 4th graders soon. Can't wait to read what they have to say."

Oh, I like that idea!

[Sarah]

Although technically a classic, the more books I read of Mary Poppins, the more I want her to like live next door and not be a final chapter.:P

[Rebecca]

My favorite character growing up was Cam Jansen. I would have loved to solve mysteries with her. I just finished Penelope Crumb who would also be a fun choice to pal around with.