Published 1967 Theme: Adventure in New York City Best for: Girls age 10-12 Here's a very funny, easy to read, yet somewhat profound children's book that I stumbled across in my local bookstore. Obviously others found it before me, as it is a Newberry Medal book.
Published 1973 Best for: 12 years and up Theme: Fantasy Five stars After reading A Wind in the Door, I understand why the fantasy genre in a children's book is so addicting. With skillful writing, such as L'Engle brings, you lose all sense of what is possible and what is not possible, or, as the teacher says in this book, What is real?...
First published 1931 Best for: Ages 8-12 Theme: Compassion Five Stars This story is so delicately written, with little poems prefacing each chapter, that your heart just opens more and more. The theme of sacrifice is presented in a very careful and thoughtful manner...
Published; 1995 Theme: Women's Historical Fiction Best for: Girls, age 12 and up A wonderful book to use as class reading for bringing history, especially women's history, alive. Set in fourteenth century England, the story of an impoverished orphan and her role in the society of the day is compelling...
by Arthur Ransome first published 1930. Imagine reading an exciting children's book where perhaps many of the terms don't make any sense, but it doesn't matter in the least. As I follow the children's adventures on their sailboats on a lake, I'm right there, even if I don't know starboard from -- what is the opposite? The adventures, and the well developed characters of the children and others is so entrancing, that details don't really get in the way...
Published 1988 Theme: Animal Intelligence Best for: ages 6 and up Five Stars "Mrs. Jane Tabby could not explain why all four of her children had wings."In four small children's books, Ursula Le Guin has created a very endearing set of cat characters with personality, adventure, and wisdom. This set of stories...
by E. B. White, published 1945. "Very good advice, Albert, but advice and law are not the same. Law is much more solemn than advice. Law is extremely solemn. Anybody else thing of a law for the world?"It's not hard to believe that E. B. White started as a contributor of humor to the New Yorker. His writing style even in his children's books is filled with that New Yorker sly humor that makes you chuckle. That's for the adults. For the children, he's just downright silly and gets away with it in great style. Stuart Little is a smiling, chuckling book all the way to the unexpected end. A great piece of writing by an iconic writer...
Published 1955 Theme: Imagination Best for: Under 11 The series of five children's books by Norton, beginning with The Borrowers, and continuing with the Borrowers Afield, Aloft, Afloat, Avenged..., are in a group by themselves. The imagination that Norton brings to the tales of these little people that live in houses, off the the lost items of humans, is so creative, that it seems like it must be true...
by E. B. White, published 1970. What could be more fantastical than a swan who can't make his trumpeting sounds and so carries a trumpet. This wonderful image seems to real because E. B. White makes it so. The wonderful descriptions of nature, the lovely relationship between the boy Sam and the swan, and the feeling of life in the wild all create such a vivid experience that one forgets that perhaps a swan carrying a trumpet is make-believe..
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published 1905. "Perhaps there is a language which is not made of words and everything in the world understands it." A Little Princess is one the best children's books I've read so far. It turns out I'm not alone in my assessment, as it continually rates in the top 100 lists among teachers, education associations, and others. Illustrating through example the power of kindness and good thoughts, this book is a masterpiece...
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