Classic children’s books written prior to 1975, particularly those which appear timeless, and not outdated due to language and culture.
Published: 1963 Theme: Imagination Best for: 4 and over "Dolls are not like us; we are alive as soon as we are born, but dolls are not really alive until they are played with. 'I want to be played with,' said Holly... 'I wish! I wish!'" It is utterly entrancing in each story to be inside the heart and mind of a doll, or the little girl or boy who is taking care of the doll. Each story is unique, each doll is different, and yet ...
Published: 1977 Theme: Friendship, Courage Best for: ages 11 and up "He was angry, too, because it would soon be Christmas and he had nothing to give Leslie. It was not that she would expect something expensive; it was that he needed to give her something as much as he needed to eat when he was hungry." When I put this children's book down, my shirt was dampened with teardrops, and I couldn't do anything but sit quietly for a while. I felt like I had just lost my best friend, as Jess had. The impact was astounding...
Published: 1898 Theme: Co-operation Best for: ages 5 and up "Look here, father, you know we've each of us got our line. You know about sheep, and weather , and things; I know about dragons...Now, please, just leave this all to me...I'll go up and have a talk with him, and you'll find it'll be all right." Kenneth Grahame is best known for Wind in the Willows, and this children's book has the same touch of brilliance. Everything is just on the edge of believable, even though it is surely make-believe.
Published: 1959 Theme: Respecting Differences Best for: ages 10-12 "He used to live up on Hessian Hill, Onion John did, in a house he built out of piled up stone and four bathtubs and no running water. Once a month he'd get up in the middle of the night, according to the way the moon was, to cook up a stew...It was a stew to get gold out of the moon..." I read this children's book with some trepidation, turning each page expecting something bad to happen. Yet, in fact, it turned out to be a rather heartwarming turn of events that I enjoyed...
Published: 1966 Theme: The Power of Kindness Best for: Boys age 9 and older "As with all good magic, there is a bit of skill involved, so proceed with caution, particularly right at first. And above all, use discretion. Remember, there must be absolutely no public notice." Who would imagine that doing good deeds, without really planning them, could have terrific results? This imaginative children's book has a subtle way of bring the interconnectedness of life to children, without ever saying so.
Published: 1935 Theme: Simple Living Best for: ages 6 to 10 "I have everything here. I am happy. Look, the sky gives me sunshine and rain. The ground gives me food. The spring gives me water. The sheep gives me shelter and clothes..." Here's a really unusual children's book, written about experiences in rural Budapest, quite a while ago. The setting is so far removed from our fast-paced contemporary life that the book almost becomes a meditation for the mind.
Published: 1965 Theme: Finding Real Values Best for: age 10 and up "From that first glimpse, from that first minute, it was more than a room--more than even the most beautiful room Robin had ever seen. Her hands shook on the door knob..." This is a most unusual and unique children's book. It is certainly a look at the experience of migrant workers in old California, but it doesn't feel like the purpose of the book...
Published: 2000 Theme: Heroines Best for: ages 8 and up "Burd Janet threw the green mantle around him to shade him from fairy sight. Then she .. took out the earth from her garden. She spread it around the two of them in a great circle of protection against the Fair Folk." This book is a collection of folk tales where the hero is female. However, this book is for boys as well, since they too need to know that women can be heroes.
Published: 1967 Theme: Overcoming Fear Best for: 8 and older "Mafatu lay there under his lean-to, relaxed in every nerve. He had fire, food, shelter. He had faced Moana, the Sea God...There was a new-found confidence in his heart. He had found a new belief in himself." This tale is told as if on one long breath, an exhalation that ends in exultation. There is not a moment where you can rest until the tale is told, which of course, is what makes a great tale, and a great children's book.
Published: 1938 Theme: Dream Big Best for: all ages "Mr. Popper soon found it was not so easy to take a penguin for a stroll. He tied one end of the clothesline to the penguin's fat throat, and the other to his own wrist." Here's a delightful, simple, amusing book with nothing possibly true in it. Purely entertaining, with some sweet morals at the end..
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