"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
Recipe For A Wonderful Thursday Morning Program
THIS IS A NON-RANTING ENTRY BECAUSE THIS MORNING WAS PURE FUN!
I did a story hour for 3-5 year olds this morning. Usually we end such programs with a craft, but today I built the program AROUND the craft--making soft pretzels:
Open 3 packages of active yeast. Pour it into a large bowl. Let the kids smell it--yeast has a strong, beerlike smell that some will like and some won't!
Add 4 Tbs of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Let everyone take a turn stirring. Wait about 5 minutes (I sent the kids off to wash their hands), and you will see that the yeast has become foamy.
Add 3 3/4 cups of flour.(We put in half a cup at a time so all the kids could have a turn adding and stirring it in). A wet dough will form. Add a little extra flour and knead the dough. Even the kids who normally DON'T like to get their hands dirty liked doing this!
Send the kids off to wash their hands again. Add a little corn oil to the bowl and turn the dough to coat it lightly. Cover the dough, wash your own hands, and head into story hour for about 20 minutes.
Two books, a telling of "Stone Soup" with the kids dropping prop veggies into a big pot and a film of "In the Night Kitchen" later, bring the kids out to check the dough and marvel at how it has risen!
Divide the dough into zip-lock bags (it will make enough for about 12 kids to go home and make 2-3 small pretzels each). Send the kids home with baking instructions:
Heat oven to 475 degrees F
Pinch off bits of dough, roll into long "snakes", then shape any way you like.
Place on a greased/parchment covered baking sheet. Brush with a little butter, sprinkle with salt or sugar if desired.
Bake for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
This program was a BLAST to do! I just wish the library had an oven as I had years ago in NY. Then we would be baking cookies, muffins and other such stuff!
Bake with your kids--the ones you work with or the ones at home. It's fun, it's NOT hard and they will be VERY proud of what they make!
In fact, when I go home tonight, JR is going to help me make challah rolls-- some of the dough we'll bake tonight, and some will go in the fridge for later in the week.
Yummmmmmm!
