"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
Saturday At the Reference Desk:
I had to deal with our dotty part-time librarian who for some reason decided to be helpful to a young patron and log him onto a computer. I still don't get this. Normally she doesn't want to go near the computers, let alone help anyone with them!
Anyway, the patron who was scheduled to be next on the computers took exception to her logging on someone who wasn't even here and words were exchanged. So the guy came down to the desk asking for the manager--which today was ME--and I had to take care of this. I got him onto the computer, but Dotty got upset and flounced off, slamming the office door. Meanwhile I apologized to the guy--he'd been upset, but not as much as Dotty!
Next, one of our regular homeless guys, who I have had some interesting exchanges with (!) came up saying that he'd have to wait a half hour for a computer, so couldn't I just look up this address on Mapquest for him? "This address" proved to be that on a driver's license on a wallet he was holding out to me--not his own. I told him that I couldn't do that, and that if he'd found the wallet, he could give it to us and we'd put it in the lost and found. He shook this off and said he'd just have to wait. I don't know whether he'd found the wallet or been given it by someone else who had "found" the wallet, but my guess is that he was planning on taking it to the house and trying to get a reward!
Several minutes later the security guard came up to tell me that a little boy's father said he'd seen a naked man in the men's bathroom. (Note to parents--don't send kids into public bathrooms alone!). We went with the father to investigate, opened the bathroom door, and reeled at the smell! By then the guy had apparently scuttled into one of the stalls, and when he eventually came out, our guard identified him as one of the homeless guys who falls asleep regularly upstairs.
For those of you who aren't familiar with homeless in libraries, odds were that the guy was trying to take a bath. We get this a lot, especially during the warm weather. From the smell, he needed one. But he also had no bag and hence no change of clothes to put on.....
Homeless Guy with the wallet came over and reported he'd found the address and that it was a "very nice neighborhood". I hope he took the bus down there and found no one home!
All of this took place in less than half an hour.
And I'm gonna get the reference manager come Monday. He left early and said everything was quiet upstairs!!!!!
