This was a beautiful book about the love for reading and literature. Lucy is definitely a kindred spirit; I saw so much of myself in her words. We liked a lot of the same books in our childhood and I was especially delighted with the part about Maurice Sendak. These were favourites of mine as a child and it was interesting to read about the origin of them and where Maurice got the ideas. Lucy's love of Ramona Quimby was also touching as I adored Ramona when I was a kid and I'm now inspired to revisit them. This book really made me appreciate my childhood and the fact that my mom always put books in my hands when I wanted them and I now how to instil the same love in my own child.

thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC.

Loved this book. The author had the same childhood book memories as me and it was a great trip down memory lane. Would highly recommend.

Let me first start off by saying that a book written about books is absolutely my normal cup of tea. I'm a super bookworm of course and so books is one of my favourite subjects to read about! And I was really drawn to the synopsis of this because t promised to be a nostalgia-filled trip of some of my favourite childhood reads, as well as perhaps having some good recommendations!

I was disappointed then that this book and I just did not click. For the most part, it was a SLOW read. Though the subject matter was interesting, I still found myself for the most part BORED. I'm a bit of a completionist when it comes to reading and so felt obliged to. finish it even though I wasn't particularly enjoying myself. I can't quite put my finger on what the problem was - I think I just wasn't the biggest fan of Mangan's 'voice', one that I had hoped would be relatable and simply wasn't. There was far too much awkward humour, petulant showing off and complaints about minuscule, unimportant things that impeded my ability to like it. Also - no diversity in these reads? I know this was a look back on her childhood more than anything but it made the whole thing feel very white-centric. The Enid Blyton chapter was a little uncomfortable too because I felt that she was more annoyed about Blyton's unimaginative formula than her problematic views (I did read and love Blyton's books growing up but looking back I don't think I would be pushing them on children now).

I will say that it lived up to it's promise in terms of highlighting reads from my own childhood and there are a LOT of recommendations here for those interested in finding some good children's books. So there's that.

A nostalgic trip through some of the best children's books, it made me think about all the important books from my childhood that made me into the person that I am.

Take a nostalgia trip through your favourite children's books with Guardian columnist (we forgive you) Lucy Mangan.

This is a love letter to all your childhood favourites. A lovely nostalgic read. I recommend it to book lovers everywhere

If you've ever secretly wanted a book club buddy to discuss all your favourite chilldhood reads with then this is the book for you.

Thank you - we featured A Spark of Light on Caboodle (website and newsletter) in 2018! We look forward to working with you in 2020.

This is the book to read to relive your childhood ! Even non-readers now will have read some of these books at school. It really brings back memories !

I enjoy Lucy Mangan's writing in the Guardian, and was keen to read this. I wasn't disappointed. It felt like reading about my childhood experiences, the feeling of being lost in a book, re-reading favourites, having crushes on characters, the anticipation of another book in a beloved series. I was a child who read voraciously, a bit of a loner who found companionship between the pages of a favourite book. Lucy Mangan captures that wonder of reading as a youngster, and this book is a joy.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance ARC of this book.

It took me about 100 years to finish this as my NetGalley copy expired, then it was in hot demand at the library. The author did make a few generalisations about bookworms-as-introverts which I disagreed with, being a non-introverted bookworm, but I really enjoyed it. I feel inspired to track down and read all the books she loved that I haven’t read.

[This is a mini-review, full review is in the video]

I really enjoyed the nostalgia aspect of this book, so many times I found myself thinking ‘I remember that’ or ‘I loved that book!’. Even when I disagreed with Lucy’s opinion it was still nice to be able to relive these childhood moments and remember some books which were long forgotten, or fall in love again through the eyes of another. Definitely one for the true bookworms out there.

Definitely a nostalgic walk down memory lane for any bookworm. An overview of the best of UK and US children's literature from the 19th century to the author's childhood. It brought back memories of my favourite books, discussed the importance of illustrations, teachers, parents and other adults in reading, buying, suggesting books.

A must for anyone interested in the best of children's literature.

This book perfectly captures the importance of reading in a child's life and the way in which a love affair with books can blossom if the right book is found by the right child. As an avid reader from a very young age, I was able to share Lucy's thoughts on many of the books she included in her collection.

A lovely nostalgic read that makes me want to collate a collection of books for my young daughter.

A fantastic view of children's literature, I was delighted to realise that Lucy Mangan had very similar reading tastes as a child to my own.
A real trip down memory lane, beautifully written and evoked many happy memories.

This should be a book I loved, a book about books, but strangely I was left feeling a little let down. The author's tone failed to grab me so I ended up prioritising other reads.

It was like reading about my own childhood although I was a bit less literary and she missed out the 'Babysitters' Club'. But from Enid Blyton up to Sweet Valley High, I loved it. I also learned a lot about children's books which I didn't know about. If you are a Bookworm this book is for you - obvs! It's like a hug from your childhood.

I found this a really nostalgic and pleasant book to read. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of every single book mentioned it didn’t actually matter because the author’s passion for reading shone through! I would definitely recommend it.

I tend to always love books about books but unfortunately this was an exception to the rule. Even though Lucy Mangan talks vividly about books I recognised and read as a child, I found it quite tedious and slow. It takes a lot for me to not finish a title and I rarely feel like I just cannot manage to get to end but that did happen here. Books are subjective though so i'm sure i'm in the minority with this view. I do feel that most bookworms would love this especially if they grew up in the same times as Mangan. So, if you do like the sound of the synopsis do give it a go!

Many thanks to Square Peg for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This is an absolutely wonderful memoir of childhood reading. I'm afraid I couldn't wait for my request to be approved, and so went out to buy myself a hardback copy. I'm so glad that I did, except now I have a "to-read" list as long as my arm from Mangan's recommendations! Go out any buy this wonderful book if you haven't already, it's worth it at twice the price!