"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
What They Call "Security" Will Make Us All LESS Secure
These students get it:
Unfortunately, a lot of other Americans don't seem to get the meaning of this quote.
I hear a lot of people willing to swallow the tripe the White House is now peddling about their wiretapping being necessary to combat terrorism.
What the hell is going on in this country?
This is the United States, folks. The same people who wave the flag on all occasions and regard themselves as the direct heirs of the founding fathers, somehow seem to forget everything that flag stands for whenever the word "terrorism" is inserted into a speech from the DC spin doctors and mouthed by Georgie B!
This country fought in WWII against nations where the citizens traded in their civil rights in exchange for what they thought would be "security."
Our soldiers fought and died in two more wars, supposedly in the name of our "democratic freedoms".
Did all those soldiers die so that now people could cower in their McMansions in the hinterlands, watch Fox News, and nod their heads while things that could effect EVERYONE'S civil liberties are done in the name of "the war on terrorism"?
Sorry for those of you who have heard this part before, but I live within just about walking distance to the Pentagon. And I'm a born and raised New Yorker, with most of my family still living there. As a result, terrorism is something that DOES worry me. Because basically, I live where it's likely to happen.
And it strikes me that the people nodding their heads at the "wiretapping to prevent terrorism" bit are people who live in places far, far, away from the places likely to be in Al Quaeda's strike zone.And they also figure that the trifling with our civil liberties that is being attempted could NEVER effect them or their loved ones.
I hate to burst your smug little bubble. But trampling on the rights of ANY American citizen in the name of "the war on terror, opens the door for more of the same. The power will be used and abused, if it's permitted to do so.
Martin Niemoller, Lutheran pastor and survivor of the Nazi concentration camps had this warning for us:
“First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by then there was no one left to speak up for me.”
It may not be you and yours today, this year. But it could be.
Are you willing to pay for "security" today with the knowledge of the price you and your children and grandchildren might pay for it in the future?
That's not security. It's fear.
And if we give into it, the terrorists have already won..............................................
