"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
Hurricane Isabel Soup
It's ironic that I made this soup this week, what with Hurricane Bonnie and Hurricane Charley dumping rain on us, but I first made this soup during the storm last year.
It's adapted from a recipe in Deborah Madison's fabulous book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, which is truly worth buying--I really use my copy. But this is NOT a vegetarian soup.
JR had a friend over the day of the hurricane, and I made the girls pancakes and turkey bacon for lunch. I cooked more than I needed, so I just crumbled the leftover bacon into the soup and found that the smokey flavor goes perfectly with this soup.
I also omitted a number of ingredients from Madison's recipe and sped up the cooking in a few spots. But it's wonderful soup, and the perfect thing to do during corn season.
If you have sweet corn and eat it on the cob, save and freeze the cobs! Then you can make this in winter--just use frozen corn.
Anyway, try this and enjoy it!
HURRICANE ISABELLE CORN CHOWDER
These foods will be used both in the stock and the soup:
6 ears of CORN: Husk and hull. Set the corn aside for the soup—cobs are for the stock
1 lb of POTATOES (red or white) Peel, but save the peels for the stock. Cut in small pieces and set aside
Whole BASIL: If you can get whole basil with stems, remove most of the leaves and save the stems for the stock.
1 large ONION: Peel and chop. Save the peels for the stock.
MAKING THE STOCK:
Saute the chopped onion in a small amount of olive oil until soft.
Add the corn cobs, potato and onion peels and basil stems.
Add 2 BAY LEAVES, Sprigs of THYME (or about 1t dried) 4 peeled, smashed cloves of GARLIC (or a big spoonful of the chopped kind), Sprigs of PARSLEY (a big spoonful of the dried) and freshly ground black pepper.
Stir and cook for 5-10 minutes.
Add 2 quarts of CHICKEN STOCK (any will do—I use prepared base that you add water to)
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 25-30 minutes. Strain.
MAKING THE SOUP
Saute 1 chopped onion, 1 bay leaf and ¼ t thyme in a small amount of olive oil until the onion is soft.
Add 1 quart of strained SOUP STOCK, and the peeled, chopped POTATOES.
Bring to a boil, simmer for 20 minutes.
Add CORN, 2 cups of MILK and 3-4 strips of TURKEY BACON (cooked and crumbled)
Simmer 5-10 minutes until everything is heated.
Garnish with basil and black pepper to taste and serve!
