"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
After Reading Harry Potter 6
Okay, I guess I don't know squat. I'm only a fricking children's librarian who has spent 20 years working with kids and reading basically every piece of fiction that comes into my library.
And I guess I'm just an overprotective, overanxious mother who wants to wrap her little girls in bubble wrap until they're 18 and out the door.
Actually, I'm not, and such parents tend to drive me up the wall. Especially when it seems that they do so until about the age of 16, at which time they give them the keys to an SUV, let them out the door and wail "but he/she is SO responsible!" to the reporters after the kid has smashed up the car while DUI.........
But it is my firm opinion that anyone who is handing this book to a kid younger than 10 or 11 isn't reading them themselves. Or is the sort of parent who lets their kids watch R rated movies, has no problem with anything they watch on TV and doesn't screen their video games!
The first few books had a good deal of fun in them. There were always funny bits with the Dursleys, with Hagrid's magical creatures, with Neville Longbottom muffing up again, or with the Weasley's pranks.
But this is a DARK, DARK, DARK book. It is not full of laughs and fun. The first chapter is set in the Prime Minister's office and is as dark and gloomy and political as a lot of the blogs that depress me. Rowling's magical wizard world is an eerie reflection of the world we are living in right now. Obviously, she could not have anticipated the horror of 7/11 at King's Cross Station, yet the annual magical departure of the Hogwarts Express could easily be happening on Platform 9 or 10 of the Muggle world. It is that joyless and fearful.
Even the Quidditch games tend to end with disasters. There is next to no comic relief!
And the boy-girl story lines (no spoilers here) seem pretty pointless and flat.
For that matter has anyone but me noticed how Victorian Harry Potter is? I mean the movies definitely caught the impression from the text as if time had stopped sometime around 1880 in terms of furniture, decor, etc in the Wizard world.
But the characters all seem quite Victorian too. I mean, here we are in the 6th book dealing with 16-17 year olds who should be raging with hormones. All together in a co-ed boarding school and the only thing that appears to be going on is mild "snogging"!
Hey, is that what makes Harry P. okay to read to your 5 year old? I mean there's killings, violence, evil lurking everywhere, monsters in every closet, but there's NO SEX!
Fine and dandy then. Read away. Enjoy.
Like I said, what the hell do I know? I'm just a children's librarian. What would I know about BOOKS?
