"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
So Glad To See Congress Has Its Priorities In Order
All hail to our elected legislators, hard at at their appointed tasks to preserve truth, justice and the American way. Today the busy little bees are holding an investigation of something sure to effect the lives of every American, from sea to shining sea:
Steroids in baseball.
Not really surprising, considering that the elected officials of the city wherin our noble Congress works have spent most of the last few years not dealing with poverty, homelessness, drugs or any of the other crises plaguing Washington, DC. They have preferred to spend their time courting major league baseball to bring a team here so that the rich white baseball fans of this area will no longer have to travel up I95 to root for the Baltimore Orioles. They attempt to excuse this by claiming that said team will create a prosperity that will bring a house with a white picket fence (and a chicken in every pot in every said house, I'm sure) to the wretched teeming masses now yearning to breathe free in the slums of D.C. Baseball will solve the city's economic woes.
Yeah, right. I'm from the Bronx. Ever seen the prosperity surrounding Yankee Stadium?
And yeah, I know the South Bronx has improved vastly over the past 20-30 years. But it's just urban renewal. The urban blight has just been moved toward the North Bronx (where my family lives) as the "urban homesteaders" take over in the affordable South. Old story in New York..................
I dream of the day when Americans wake up and remember that it's a GAME. When sports heros no longer make a salary in a year equal to what most of us will never make in 40 years in the working world. When we start teaching our kids that your brain has as much value as your brawn, and that you can work your way out of poverty by ways other than being an NBA star. When we start paying our teachers, child care professionals and (ahem)librarians what they're worth and treat them as what they are:the caretakers of our most precious resource-- the next generation.
Meanwhile we can all watch those fine Congressmen "investigating" baseball. No doubt there are long autograph lines forming for of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. And how many junkets to Washington Nationals games do you think will be included in their work?
Funny how baseball (something the government doesn't regulate) requires open, highly publicized hearings. I guess it's more important in the scheme of things, than say, investigating Halliburton.....
