"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
Things That Have Irked Me This Week
1)Our next door neighbors (nice enough, just no one we really wanted to be pals with) moving out and not following condo policy by getting a few parking spaces reserved for their moving van in our half circle lot. Instead, the van just pulled into the lot and I had to run down there this morning and get the movers to unblock my car so I could get the girls to school!
2)The dopey lady I bought a wonderful horse puppet from on Ebay not sending the package to my office as asked, but to the house.
3)The said package disappearing off our doorstep between last night and this morning because I left it outside to take to work this morning!
I suspect the movers had something to do with this. We've lived here 10 years, always left stuff outside and never had a theft. They may have done it innocently and if so my horse is now on a moving truck headed for (spelling intentional) Tex-ass!
4)The idiot computer guy at Comcast who wasted most of my lunch hour trying to solve my connection problem before FINALLY referring me to the Home Network department, who solved my problem in 5 minutes flat!
Come to think of it, that's happened before. And the Home Network guy said I could directly ask for them next time I need something fixed. And I will.............
5)The "Desperate Housewives" contingent at work, rejoicing in how Whole Foods is opening a new store in our area and closing another one further out. And when I said that was ridiculous, one of them chirped "But it's not a very nice area out there--it's full of immigrants"
Said Desperate Housewife is herself the daughter of an immigrant and her husband is not a WASP. The other one is no more than first generation American on at least one side of the family. And they are both "liberal" in their politics.
At least they are liberals in theory. But apparently in everyday life they are just as NIMBY as any right wing nutjob blogger I''ve ever read!
6) Trying to do inventory with our wonderful new computer system where the paper inventory tells one story, the scanner doesn't seem to do what we need it to do, and all the cataloging quirks of the past 20 years are finally coming home to roost.
7)And last, but not least, the nasty gray weather. But that's getting a blog entry of its own........................
