"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
Thursday Thirteen #25: Why I Rant About the Workfront
It's National Library Week, so I probably should be doing something uplifting about books and reading.
But I'm not.
Between the nasty mom on the phone this morning (I stopped her nanny from coming twice to my program this week), the tacky basket of treats from Costco that is our administration's way of celebrating "National Library Worker Day", and the mishegosse from this recent "US News and World Report" piece touting librarianship as a "hot career" and telling people to "Forget about that image of librarian as a mousy bookworm", I am ready to rant about my job. So here are:
Important Disclaimer: Most of our patrons are wonderful
and DON'T do most of these things.
Though too damn many of them do #13!
1) They leave the stuffed animals all over the floor under the sign that says "please help your child clean up the toys"
2)They bring in food even though the signs say "no food", and then leave Cheerio crumbs all over the place for the ants.
3)They bitch and whine at me because the program is on the same day their child has preschool, or Kindermusik or Gymboree. Why-in-heck do you need my program then?
4)They bitch and whine at me because we don't have infant programs. Sigh....
5)They bitch and whine at me because they can't send the nanny in more than once a week. Especially, when the nanny is one of those who doesn't do anything while she's in the program with the child and leaves early!
This morning's phone call was about one such nanny. Little does the mom know that the first month the nanny came, she and her fellow nanny didn't even come into the program--just sat outside, yakked, and got the kids a rubber stamp on their hands.
6)They bitch and whine at me because their child is a 6 month old genius, but I won't let them come to the program for 12-24 month olds. Or because their child is a 16 month old genius, but I won't let them come to the 2 year old program.Etcetera, etcetera.....
I am firmly convinced that every child in Northern Virginia is (gag) "gifted and talented".
Except for my two of course....
7)They allow their children to:
A)...stand on chairs, especially the rocking chairs, jump on chairs and push them around the room.
B)...climb onto and crawl under bookcases, even though they're made of sharp metal, and the shelves can tumble, fully loaded with books on top of their children.
C)...run through the aisles between said bookcases. See (B) above for why this isn't so good an idea.
And since when is it acceptable to allow your children to run in a library?
D)...wander unattended in a library where we have a steady population of the homeless, the chemically addicted and the just plain crazy.
8)They don't take books home even though they come to programs weekly.
Hel-lo-oh! We're a LIBRARY, remember!
9)Or they take books home and allow their children to rip, tear or otherwise mutilate them.
10)They shove damaged books in the drop rather than fessing up to it. Or just as bad, they "mend" them at home badly and with scotch tape.
On the other hand, I had a mother bring in her adorable blond two year old with his Thomas the Tank Engine piggy bank to confess that he had cut up the edges of a book (very neatly) with scissors, and to offer me money for his heinous crime. I returned the money behind his back, his mom is buying us a replacement copy, and we all can live happily ever after.
11) They sometimes don't bring books, or DVDs back at all.
12) (Say it with me, fellow sufferers) When asked (very nicely) to stop THEIR children from doing something, they turn to their child and say "The LIBRARIAN doesn't want you to do that"
Hey, lady, discipline YOUR child and take the responsibility for it. Don't make me make you come to my house and be the heavy for SC and JR!
13)Worst of all: they come to my library for programs for years (or send the nanny in with the kid), allow me to get to care about them and their children, then disappear the minute the kid goes off to preschool and they no longer need entertainment in the mornings. And generally they don't even come back occasionally for library books.
I hate this more than anything else they do.
Because as crazy as some of the parents and caregivers make me, I love these kids......
