"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
Oh, My GOODNESS!
The Man has a (deserved) reputation of being a rotten gift giver. His imagination doesn't run too far beyond books, CDs and DVDs,all of which are nice, but unneeded in our house. Even when he does give me jewelry or some such, it's seldom to my taste.
So when I saw the big box in JR's room wrapped in "festive" paper (read, recycled paper of the sort the kids use for artwork), my heart sank.
Nice as it was to get an anniversary gift, I fully expected it to be something I neither wanted nor needed.
"It's awfully big for a vibrator," I deadpanned.
"The box has to be big because of the attachments," he returned with an equally straight face.
Finally, I pulled off the paper to reveal:
A KitchenAid Artisan Mixer. The incredibly expensive mixer I have lusted for, especially since we got an over the stove microwave and now have enough space for a mixer on the counter!
To some people this may seem an unromantic gift. But if you've read this blog for any length of time, you know how into cooking I am. This mixer will make my cookie baking binges far easier. I won't have to worry about burning out my food processor's motor on a batch of ruggelach. I won't have to deal with our puny hand mixer when I'm whipping egg whites for a pavlova. Heaven!!
(And everyone at work agrees this is not what one staffer described as a "spatula" gift. The response from everyone has been "cool!")
The Man has won several contests for logo designs for the county where he works. There's always been a prize--one being a gift certificate for a large local mall, and he used that towards buying this for me.
My only complaint is I would have liked it in cobalt blue--one of my favorite colors, but he wasn't able to get it that way. Oh, well, the silver tones will look great in our blue and white kitchen with the silver handles on the cabinets.
My mouth is still hanging open today over this. The Man is feeling very pleased with himself, as well he should.
And SC said "Oh, so that's why we kept going over to the mixers at Sears!"
That's why, SC. And I hope that if and when you and JR have men in their lives, they're as cool as the Man.
I mean, he's STILL a pain in my ass and exasperates me every day of our lives.
But he really does know me, doesn't he?
