"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
Why April 23 Is Special
Yes, I know, it's Shirley Temple's birthday. And that of the Bard of Avon, Master William Shakespeare.
But what makes today significant to me is that it's my dad's 84th birthday today.
It's also the third anniversary of his quadruple bypass surgery. Probably the most expensive birthday gift anyone ever got!
My dad served in the Army Air Force during WWII teaching pilots how to fly. He spent more than 40 years working as an optometrist, not in a big commercial eye center, but in a small private practice, where his patients got the sort of old fashioned, thorough care that is now the stuff of nostalgia.
He's barely traveled--except for his Air Force time, trips to Cape Cod and a 40th anniversary trip to Canada--his first time out of the country.
He's been married to my mom 45 years this June and he's still crazy about her. I can't tease him about anything of the things she does that I KNOW drive him wild, because he always flies to her defense.
We never had a lot of money, but he and my mother gave my brother and myself all the things that matter. Their time and their love. Not fancy toys or vacations to Disney World.They didn't worry about our "self-esteem" or try to put us into endless enrichment programs.
And while they did NOT raise us with religion, they gave us what I think are a fine set of values. I will never forget my father's comment when my brother started teasing me about my work--pointing out that if I was a librarian in the private sector, I'd make a lot more money.
My father's comment--"That's never what mattered in THIS family!"
He's 84 today. His name will never be written in a history book. He will never have his picture on the cover of People magazine. Television will never document his "fabulous life".
But he's rich in the thing that matters most--the love of his family. He's got a wife that still adores him after all this time, a son and a daughter who know how lucky they are to have such a man as their father, and 4 loving grandchildren, who adore their grandpa.
I hope my daughters and my nephews will grow up to be as kind, as smart, and as loving as he is.
And I hope that my brother and I can be good enough parents to give them the sense of love and security that we will always carry from our own childhoods.
Happy Birthday, Daddy. You're not reading this, but no matter how seldom I get the chance to see you and say it, you know how much I love you........................................
