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: 1942 Theme: Imagination Best for: 5 to 8 "Why not use what you already have: your own i-ma-gi-na-tion? It can do any kind of magic - anywhere-at any time. All you have to do is use it." From the very opening, where the author kindly addresses the reader, I knew I was in the hands of a master writer...
Published: 2013 Theme: Acceptance, Transformation Best for: 11 and up "I've got some toddler memories, but my first sequence recall is kindergarten... My parents said the place was going to be all kinds of fun. It wasn't. It was here that I first committed the crime of questioning the system." A fabulous children's book, told through the first person character of a genius who also may have autism. Her very presence brings out kindness in others.
Published: 1975 Theme: Value of Life Best for: 12 and up "I"m not exactly sure what I'd do, you know, but something interesting- something that's all mine. Something that would make some kind of difference in the world." This book leads the reader to a fairly sophisticated understanding of moral choices, set in a magical story.
Published: 1997 Theme: Imagination Best for: 5 to 8 "Wolfgang Amadeus Mouse was the youngest of thirteen children. He was also the smallest. His mother had given the other twelve mouse pups quite ordinary names, like Bill or Jane." A talented singing mouse is the hero of this small children's book, written by the author of Babe. It's a nice read-aloud book for young children..
Published: 2014 Theme: Bravery Best for: 6 to 10 "Before they took off, Emma quickly wrote a note to her parents: "Don't worry. I'm off with a pretty big genie to find his nose ring. And I have Tristan with me..." The "pretty big" was of course an exaggeration..." In this small children's book, Emma helps a genie regain his power. Great for young readers who are ready for easy chapter books, or as a read-aloud.
Published: 1959 Theme: Magic of Goodness Best for: ages 9 and up "Just 'cause magic never happened to you, it doesn't meant it isn't lurking around still, waiting to turn up when you least expect it!" With an unusual turn from Eager's other magic books, like Half Magic, this children's book puts magic squarely in the realm of human activity...
Published: 2004 Theme: Fantasy Best for: 8 and up "The Rim of Heaven." Slatebeard closed his eyelids. "Its mountains are so tall that they touch the sky. Moonstone caves lie hidden among its slopes, and the floor of the valley is covered with blue flowers." Imagine in one children's book: brownies, dwarfs, dragons, sea serpents, a giant Roc, and even a homunculi. Add the magic of the Himalayas and a Tibetan monastery, and adventure soars to another level.
Published: 2010 Theme: Bravery Best for: ages 11 and up "Mattie felt a sudden dizziness. Just for a second or two, it was almost as if she herself were tumbling through the air. And once again the boundaries that separated human beings from birds seemed to dissolve." A wonderful creative look at the early life of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, with lots of equality for women thrown in...
Published: 1982 Theme: Beauty in Simplicity Best for: ages 5 to 8 "There is still one more thing I have to do," she said, "I have to do something to make the world more beautiful. But what?" How wonderful to find an illustrated children's book where the story itself is as important as the pictures...
Published: 1999 Theme: Inner Worth Best for: girls 8 and up "Once upon a time, in the village of Snettering-on-Snoakes in the Kingdom of Biddle, a blacksmith's wife named Gussie gave birth to a baby girl. Gussie and her husband, Sam, named the baby Lorelei, and they loved her dearly." If your young (girl) reader is a fan of 'fractured fairy tales,' this children's book offers a wonderful comical version of the classic Princess and the Pea.
Litkidz 