"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
Road Trip 2008
For the past few years, every June we have done a road trip as soon as the girls got out of school. We've visited our dear friend Beth and her family in upstate New York, plus explored someplace new. We've visited Philadelphia, Cape Cod and Boston.
This year we had planned to even go into Canada. But then came the events of May. We ended up on a road trip to New York City that was NOT a happy trip.
So we are back in a hotel room tonight, halfway to upstate NY. Tomorrow we will go and spend the weekend with our friends. They are our more than friends. They are the sort of folks De (the Sober Briquette) was talking about recently. People who are not your family by blood, but people who you were lucky enough to find who became your family.
And then we'll head south, through my beautiful beloved Hudson Valley to New York City. The Man and SC will spend some time with my father-in-law and cousin. Hopefully my brother-in-law will tend to our computers--they're ALL ailing. And JR and I will spend some time with my parents, and I'll put up with my mom's nattering and relentlessly healthy cooking.
We're going to take the girls on the Circle Line. I'm going to show them Central Park--the Carousel and the Delacourte Clock and the Children's Zoo. And they want to see the statue of "Balto".
We're hopefully going to eat REAL New York pizza and maybe even some Chinatown fare. And perhaps if it's really hot we will venture out to Jones Beach, the beautiful Atlantic beach park on Long Island where I first learned to love the ocean.
It's all going to be good.
And yet, somehow, it all seems unreal. We're not feeling festive, any of us.
It doesn't feel like summer. It doesn't feel as if school is out and we're on vacation.
I'm hoping that it will tomorrow................
