When I was a kid, I loved to read. I would choose to spend my weekends sitting in my backyard devouring any book I could get my hands on. Books have the power to transport you to a totally different world; a world with magic and dragons and talking mice. Books allow you to live out the crazy adventures of the protagonist without leaving the safety of your bed.  Here is my tribute to all the novel series I loved when I was a kid; hopefully you will recognize a few. 

"Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling
My childhood would not be the same without the companionship of Harry, Ron and Hermione. "The Sorcerers Stone" was the first book I ever loved. It taught me the magical power of reading. Between first and twelfth grade, I probably each book three times or more. Part of me still hopes that I will one day receive a Hogwarts letter on doorstep.

"Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Does anyone else remember Redwall? Those stories about the mice and gerbils and foxes that lived in the middle ages in an abbey. They were constantly going to war, but instead of fighting like animals, they fought with swords, cannons and full body armor. And somehow the mice were always winning against much larger animals.

"The Bailey School Kids" by Marcia T. Jones and Debbie Dadey
The Bailey School Kids follows a group of elementary school kids who continuous encounter innocuous figures who they come to believe are mythical creatures. Each book ends without telling you if he/she was a mythical creature or not. As a child I was quite frustrating by the ambiguity of it all. I think I only kept reading in hopes that I would one day get a real answer.

"Among the Hidden" by Margret Peterson Haddix
I am not sure if I am alone in this one, but some of my all time favorite books were the Among the Hidden Series. These books took place in a dystopian world in which Americans were only allowed to have two children. The stories follow third children as they try to survive and escape from the “population police.” I was always amazed by the courage that these fictional children had as they fought the corrupt government.

"Artemis Fowl" by Eion Colfe
Artemis Fowl was a young criminal mastermind who captures a fairy in order to gain secrets about the magical underworld.  Of course, as the series progresses Artemis becomes friends with the fairies and slowly transforms from a heartless criminal to a carry loving person. I think half of the reason I read the books was because I was in love with Artemis.