"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
Tuesday at the Ref Desk...
...was pretty boring. Aside from helping a guy with Consumer Reports and the copy machine, signing way too many people onto the Internet and being fed-up with the number of folks we have that use us as an Internet service and nothing more.
And being especially fed up with the young couple with the adorable toddler who allowed her to sit hot and uncomfortable in a snowsuit doing NOTHING while they used the computer for important things such as visiting their chat rooms. Don't they have toys for her? Couldn't they have (DUH)stopped in the children's room and gotten her a BOOK?
Ooops, forgot. They don't read themselves except for the Internet. And besides, I don't have any Dora, or Barney or Arthur board books......
Do I sound bitter? Yup, I am. This is the sort of kid who desperately NEEDS the public library to get her ahead in this world. Her parents will spend money on designer shoes even though she can't walk, but start her education? Hell no!
But the reason for this post is what happened AFTER I left the desk and came back downstairs. One of our library assistants who'd been shelving upstairs came down to report to us that there was a guy in a sleeping bag in the back of the adult section.
The ref manager and I went up there, and sure enough, there in the back, under a study carrel, was one of our homeless guys, stretched out in his sleeping bag!
The ref manager told him he couldn't do that--in fact he warned the assembled residents (they're here daily until the shelter opens in the evening)that they couldn't sleep here, be it on the floor or in the chairs.
I am damned immature. Because as we walked away, I couldn't help cracking up, because the guy being there on the floor WAS a funny situation.
But when you think about a guy sleeping on the library floor, and all those others there because they've got nowhere to go and no support system, it's not funny at all.
Thank you again, Ronald Reagan and the rest of you "compassionate conservatives".
