"Classic" Children's Novels I Recommend To Patrons and Friends
All of A Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor
First in a series about 5 little girls growing up at the turn of the century on the Lower East Side of New York. I learned a lot about Jewish culture from these books, but above all they're great family stories.
Anne of Green Gables
and all other books by L.M. Montgomery
They are aimed at children, but the picture of life in turn of the century Prince Edward Island is a delight for adults!
Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfield
Very English and very charming.
Betsy-Tacy
First of the series, by Maud Hart Lovelace
My older daughter(10) loves these too.
The Story of Doctor Dolittle
First in the series by Hugh Lofting.
Don't settle for the movie messes made of these wonderful books!
Heidi
by Johanna Sypri
This is not that easy for a kid to read--and some may find it saccharine. But it's always enchanted me...
Little House in the Big Woods
first in the series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Another series my daughter loves as much as I do!
A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
There's only been one good version of this on film--a BBC mini series. If you haven't seen that one, you don't know this story!
Little Women
and all other books by Louisa May Alcott.
I read this first in 6th grade, but I didn't understand a lot of it until college..
The Moffats
by Eleanor Estes
A family you'd love to belong to.
Pinky Pye
also by Eleanor Estes
You don't have to be a cat lover to love this, and if you're not, Pinky just might convert you!
Mr Popper's Penguins
by Florence Atwater
The tone is deadpan but the humor is pure slapstick.
A well loved read aloud.
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
There have been good films of this, but nothing beats the book, especially with the delicate Tasha Tudor illustrations!
The Trumpet of the Swan
by E.B. White
I love Charlotte's Web , but kids should also meet Louis the mute swan who gains a voice and a love. And if you liked Make Way For Ducklings (another favorite of mine) you'll recognize one of the settings......
The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
Not a young child's book at all,but a beautifully written book about friendship, greed, self centeredness and love.
The best illustrations are by Ernest Shepherd. He was also the first (and only REAL!) illustrator of Winnie the Pooh!
Blueberries For Sal (& One Morning In Maine)
and other books by Robert McCloskey
The Nutshell Library
4 book set by Maurice Sendak
The music to go with the books is on:
Really Rosie by Carole King
Where the Wild Things Are
also by Maurice Sendak!
The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
by Hildegarde Swift
(A beloved NY landmark!)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
and every other book by Eric Carle
Caps For Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans
Beloved by little girls long before the toys or the movies!
Yes, I Read "Grownup" Books Too--When They're Worth It!
And These Are:
Silver Pigs
(1st of the Marcus Didius Falco mysteries) by Lindsey Davis
Welcome To Temptation
(and all other books) by Jennifer Crusie
Breakup
(Kate Shugak mysteries)by Dana Stabenow
And Ladies of the Club
by Helen Hooven Santmyer
The Cazalet Chronicles
(4 books) by Elizabeth Howard
Poldark
(the whole series)by Winston Graham
The Mitford Years
(series) by Jan Karon
Stranger In A Strange Land
(& just about any other book) by Robert Heinlein
Motherhood and the Flag, Or: Patriotism Is More Than Blind Love
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.....It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else"
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President
I love my country the way I love my children.
I don't love my daughters blindly. I don't see them as perfect. I don't close my eyes to their faults, their flaws, the things I see in them that I wish I could change. When they do wrong, I try to see it, to get them to acknowledge it, and to learn something from it so that they will do the right thing the next time.
That's how I feel about the United States.
It's a wonderful place. But it's not a perfect place. It has its faults and its problems.
I can't say,"my country, right or wrong". And I find people who do so in the same category I put parents who refuse to admit the wrongdoings of their children. Pathetic.
If this is, as said, "the greatest country on earth", part of that greatness should be the ability to look at ourselves unflinchingly and ADMIT when things are not as they should be. When we do something wrong, it needs to be said, not covered up with excuses. Wrong is wrong, period.
We need to stand up and admit our faults and try to correct them, not to wrap ourselves in jingoisitic cant that is falsely labelled as "patriotism". We HAVE to criticize our government when we see things happening that we know in our hearts are wrong, just as we have to correct our childrens' misbehavior even when it gets them mad at us for doing so. There's just too much at risk in the long run!
I want my children to grow up to be the best possible women they can, to use their gifts and talents to the fullest. And I want my country to be the best country it can be.
I can't do anything for my children just by wishing it would happen.
And we can't help this country to get better every day merely by wrapping ourselves in red, white and blue and mouthing a lot of slogans.
It's not easy to be a parent. It's not easy to be "patriotic" in the truest sense of the word.
But the rewards of both jobs are endless..............................................................
