Oh heck - confession time!
For me it was Enid Blyton....in one of her books (dunno the title) some kiddies run away from wicked step parent to live on an island in a lake. They build a hut from green willow and it continues to grow, so they weave the new shoots into the walls for extra strength. The grass is full of wild thyme, food abounds - rabbit, fish etc. - and is easy to catch! The alfa male hunts, uses knife and axe and the girls clean cook and make things from rabbit skins.
I was hooked!
I quickly developed a knife fetish, plyed at being a "Hunter Gatherer" in the fields and lanes of Herefordshire, with an Elder shafted spear, and learned to shoot with a mates .177 - how come it never rained in those days but blackberries, apples and elderberries were allways full and juicy?
Then, many years later, I found "Survival for Young People" by Anthony Greenbank and there was no going back.......
Oh innocence of youth! Who watched TV in the summer?
Who is this RM whippersnapper, bring back Enid, the true Bushcraft Guru!
John