Book Reviews For Category: Waldorf-Aligned These books are aligned with Waldorf Education curriculum and principles. For more information on what I mean by that, please visit this page: What is Waldorf-Aligned?
Published: 2017
Theme: Wildlife
Best for: 10 and up
“I’m a coward. There, I’ve said said it now. I’m a coward. It’s true. Dad never actually said it out loud but it was always in his eyes.” This is a wonderful children’s book, that combines growing up with standing up for your own values.
Published: 2018
Theme: Courage, Overcoming Differences
Best for: 11 and up
“Her father had a phrase for the way the sun catches things out against the darkness of a coming storm: the clear light of trouble, he called it.” This excellent historical fiction is a timely addition to educating children about the dangers of xenophobism…
Published: 2016
Theme: Community Activism
Best for: 7 to 9
“I know, I know. I’m giving away the ending. But here’s the thing. The point of a story is not the ending. The point is, What does it mean?” It’s time to educate the young people about the power of community activism, in a gentle way. This book does that…
Published: 2017
Theme: Cats and Kindness
Best for: 7 and up
“Edith sat back on her hind legs and licked her front left paw as she continued to speak. She stopped to examine the placement of each strand of fur every now and then.” A hilarious and profound look at cats, personalities, patience, and courage.
Published: 1997
Theme: Reality Check and Humor
Best for: Boys 9 to 11
“Now running away from home in the fourteenth century was by no means an easy thing to do. Everyone in the village would know exactly who you were… Nobody would be sitting inside watching television.” A funny book with a serious message- maybe knights are not all they appear to be on the surface, and war is war, never nice.
Published: 1977
Theme: Creating Home
Best for: 6 and up
“The cave was full of chattering animals who’d been lucky enough to find this haven. There were several mice that Abel and Amanda knew, and a family of toads they had once met at a carnival.” In this classic Steig children’s book, we meet a mouse who learns the value of home while being stranded on an island, and surviving very well.
Published: 2018
Theme: Bravery
Best for: 10 and up
“I’m terrified to see my mother being taken away. I want to pull her out of there, and hold her hand as we run back to our apartment. I don’t do any of that. I’m sacred and angry and sad.” From beginning to end, this adventure in New York City brings us to see the immense courage of immigrant families under threat.
Published: 2015
Theme: Fantasy, Inner Strengths
Best for: 9 to 11
“Many times we carry our magic within us, an inner magic that takes many forms, such as love, friendship, courage, and tolerance.” . In this lovely children’s book, fantasy has been crafted to suit younger children, without the violence and scare factors.
Published: 2107
Theme: Japanese Culture
Best for: 5 to 10
“I just had to be able to help make mochi! I need to think of a way to convince my parents. Good think I had the perfect thinking spot…” Breaking the gender barrier- again, and this time, against the cultural grain.
Published: 2000
Theme: Women Heroines
Best for: 5 to 10
“In the dark time of the year, when the days are short and a cold wind blows from the north, a serpent came to live in an old cave on the mountain of Yung Ling…” From time to time, it’s great to read about a young girl who takes on the challenge of slaying the perennial serpent. This children’s book is a lovely collection of such stories.
Published: 2017
Theme: Multicultural Stories
Best for: 9 – 12
“You plead with the guys standing on the sidelines. “You gotta let me play, man. I can ball. I swear.” But these outbursts of self-promotion will fall on deaf ears.” This collection of short stories is part of the mission for Diversity.org, where every child can see themselves in the pages of a book. A great mission…
Published: 2017
Theme: Holding Loss
Best for: 9 and up
” I closed my eyes, feeling a point of infinite love and infinite grief, and comfort in knowing, for the first time, that I have infinite space inside for both.” This well-written and creative book takes on the grieving process with skill and courage, and shows the beauty of a life can include both joy and sorrow.
Published: 2016
Theme: Defending the Truth
Best for: 12 and up
“The year I turned twelve, I learned that what I said and what I did mattered. So much, sometimes, that I wasn’t sure I wanted such a burden. But I took it anyway…” A worthy piece of literature for young readers, somewhat a milder version of Kill a Mockingbird, but with less brutality and perhaps more heart.
Published: 2017
Theme: Speaking up
Best for: 8 and up
“All through math I sucked on my braids and imagined all the awful things that would happen if I was caught with all those books in my locker. Every parent…would like up to sue me.” This is a not-to-be-missed book about helping children understand how to speak up against injustices, small and large.
Published: 2017
Theme: Content with Life
Best for: 7 to 9
“I remembered a large, fancy poster with a picture of my mother and James, looking happy and famous. How could she leave that behind to live on a farm in the middle of the prairie?” The magic of Patricia MacLachlan comes through again, this time with a young girl wondering how one can give up fame and still be happy!
Published: 2017
Theme: Girls and Science
Best for: 9 to 12
” ‘That’s all it took for you to cave in? You’re some kind of lousy negotiator. That’s what we get for sending a dumb girl to do a man’s job. …’ It was so unfair I could have smacked him.” This sequel continues to explore the theme of loving science and holding to one’s own truth…
Published: 1999
Theme: The Natural World
Best for: 9 and up
“Frightful awoke as the morning sun brought color to the ops of the trees. Still ravenously hunger, and growing weak from lack of food, she left the pine and circled above an alfalfa field.” This children’s book is written so deftly that we feel like we are hearing about the habits of a dear friend, rather than some dry science about falcons…
Published: 2017
Theme: Imagination
Best for: 5 to 7
“Roxy prides herself on making the best grape jelly sandwiches of anyone in the family, and for this reason, she’s in charge of the sandwich assembly line…” A delightful short collection of three imaginative stories, perfect for reading aloud…
Published: 2017
Theme: Kindness
Best for: 8 and up
“The five kids started exchanging ideas for winning over the man on the third floor. Operation Beiderman had officially begun.” Each of the five siblings in this story have to dig deep to find out how to be kind to someone they don’t know…
Published: 2002-2017
Theme: Math
Best for: 4th to 8th grade
Each illustrated children’s book in this large collection focuses on one math principal, develops it, ends with a witty comment, and helps illustrate and explain something mathematically important…
Published: 2017
Theme: Values, Humor, Science
Best for: 9 and up
“Now that I have proved that Earth does exist,” said Sputnik, “I have to prove that it should exist. Every planet has to have a reason…Useless planets are being shrunk all over the sky…” This book has a wonderful mix of good science, deep thought (Why are we here?) and sensitivity to the difficulty of aging…
Published: 2016
Theme: Science and Heart
Best for: 9 and up
“You’d think that going to your mum’s funeral on Tuesday would get you the rest of the week off, but not according to my dad. “We need to get back to normal,” he says when I try to protest.” This children’s book is a terrific merging of heart and mind, sincere feelings and contemporary science…
Published: 1960
Theme: Imaginative Play
Best for: 5 to 7
“There was a sign on Rosie’s door. It read, ‘If you want to know a secret, knock three times.'” Pure delight is the best description for this classic, and not-well-known children’s book by beloved writer and illustrator, Maurice Sendak.
Published: 2012
Theme: Kindness and Friendship
Best for: 7 to 9
“The little girl peered out of the carriage and saw two bears lumbering quickly ahead, pulling the carriage through patches of twisting trees and over hills dotted with early blooms.” This book weaves the magical and unreality together in a way that you begin to feel you are reading an old-fashioned fairy tale, which in some ways it is.
Published: 2003
Theme: Survival
Best for: 9 and up
“Until now, except for occasional gut-wrenching pangs of homesickness and loneliness, I had by and large managed to keep my spirits up. But not anymore. My beacon stayed obstinately damp.” I was immediately struck with the clarity, simplicity, and beauty of the writing, and wondered how the tale would unfold…
Published: 2009
Theme: Norse Myth
Best for: 9 to 10
“He clambered onto the bear’s back, holding his crutch with his left hand and clutching the bear’s fur with his right. The bear stood up slowly, making sure the boy was on, then set off at a fast lope…” It’s wonderful to see contemporary authors make good use of imagination and the wealth of possibilities from the Norse stories…
Published: 1955, republished 1960
Theme: Fairy and Other Tales
Best for: 7 to 12
“The Goldfish stopped jumping, because his joy had been damped by doubt. “How can the world be more than I can see?’ he asked the Ship. ‘If I am really in the world, I ought to be able to see it all…'” Each tale in this children’s book is a literary work, complete with sometimes difficult language, almost always a moral, and something to think about…
Published: 2017
Theme: Illustrated Book
Best for: 2 to 5
In this very unique children’s book, the author has placed images of her exquisite needle-felted scenes that really invite the children to live into the pictures, as they listen to the words.
Published: 2012
Theme: Healing Relationships
Best for: 10 and up
“I felt like I was speaking a part in some out-of-date play. Who in the world calls their grandmother “Grandmother?” But “Grandma” didn’t seem to fit.” This children’s book is about relationships – between parents, children, grandparents, and friends, showing the way that misunderstandings can create distance, and communication can create love and warmth.
Published: 2006
Theme: Adventure
Best for: 11 and up
“This adventure really began on early spring morning when I was fourteen years old. I remember it all so clearly, from the moment I stepped out into the still dark yard and went to unlock the stable door.” Written like a page out of the Celtic past, the adventures of two young lads searching for their dad on a lost island is exquisitely crafted…
