By Edward Eager, first published 1956 "Their father always said how could he be sure there was magic, and besides, even if there weren't any such thing as magic, wasn't it pleasant to think that there might be?" It's always interesting to a children's book, one in a series, by a particular author that you…
first published 1957 "When he was about two years old, and had been a Cat About Town for some time, glorious in conquests, but rather too thin for comfort, the Fur Person decided that it was time he settled down."When a friend loaned me this book by May Sarton, my first reaction was "I didn't know Sarton wrote children's books." After reading it, my first thought was, "Is this really just for children?" as I loved it as an adult, especially a cat-loving adult. However, there is no doubt that it does meet the needs of children...
by Arthur Ransome, first published 1931. No author of children's books gives children's imagination the place of honor in the same way that Arthur Ransome does. Throughout the entire book, we live within the imaginative world that the four children (and their two friends) have created for themselves...
by Edward Eager, published 1954 "This summer, the children had found some books by a writer named E. Nesbit, surely the most wonderful books in the world. They read every one that the library had, right away..." If the children in Half Magic hadn't discovered the children's books by E. Nesbit, neither would I, and…
Published: 1942 Theme: Country Life Best for: 9 to 12 "Wasn't it a miracle to live in the country in spring? And to have a wonderful family that she was crazy about, and a house with a secrect room and a cupola...?" The second of four books about the Melendys, these four very street-savvy children are now quite at home roaming the forest...
Published: 1957 Theme: Imagination Best for: 8 to 10 "After a while, when he saw that nothing was going to pounce on him and that he probably wasn't going to be struck by lightning, he allowed his sobs to die down and turn into hiccups." The first of several books about three children and their summer adventures, is an unusual children's book, delighting in flights of fancy...
by Jeanne Birdsall, published 2005 "This is what made a book great, she thought, that you could read it over and over and never get tired of it." The Penderwicks is another children's book recommended by my young friend Meera. It reminded me somewhat of her other recommendation, The Saturdays, because it too has a family…
by E. Nesbit, first published 1906. "Very wonderful and beautiful things do happen, don't they? And we live most of our lives in the hope of them." While the brilliant author Edith Nesbit may be best known for her liberal use of magic and fantasy, not all her books include magic. In this very likeable book, The Railway Children, we discover something even more important than magic...We discover that even in difficult situations, there is magic to be found right in daily life, if we only have eyes to see it...
Published: 1941 Theme: Growing Up in the City Best for: 6 to 12 "The room in which they were sitting might have been called a playroom, schoolroom or nursery to most people. But to the Melendys, it was known as the Office." In The Saturdays, the first children's book in the series known as The Melendy Quartet, we are introduced to the four Melendy children, ranging in ages from six to thirteen...
by E. Nesbit, first published 1907 "There is a curtain, thin as gossamer, clear as glass, strong as iron, that hangs forever between the world of magic and the world that seems to us to be real." The quote for this children's book says it all. Edith Nesbit is a master of leading children from…
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