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: 2013 Theme: Coming of age FairyTale Best for: Girls 12 and up "So her days and nights passed and rolled into weeks and months, and she lived in the enchanted palace with the bear. Each afternoon she would turn from whatever she was doing to see the bear standing, watching her..." With beautiful descriptive language of the landscape and the characters, this retelling of the classic fairy tale has a surprising ending...
Published: 2007 Theme: Freedom and Slavery Best for: 12 and up "I'd started with ten fish and now I was down to six, and even though I ain't particular worthy at my schooling, it'd take a whole lot of doggone humbug algebra and trickaration geometry to make ten percent of ten come out to four." In this skillfully written historical fiction children's book, we see the world through the eyes of a freeborn child, whose parents had been slaves.
Published: 2011 Theme: Value Yourself Best for: 5 and up "The horse already had a question prepared. He shuffled his feet on the ground and said, 'What is the reason I was made a horse and not some other animal?" The light said, 'Because we needed another horse." In this exquisitely painted and carefully crafted children's book, the essential question of life is asked and answered.
Published: 2003 Theme: Protecting the Environment Best for: 11 and up "Mrs. Stark's classroom was an unlikely place to meet a rebel. So when we opened our literature books to a new chapter on Monday I was shocked to see a person who actually looked interesting. Henry David Thoreau was standing at the bottom of the page..." For anyone who loves the transcendentalists, and especially teaching children about them, this children's book is a treasure.
Published: 1954 Theme: Wonder and Hope Best for: 8 to 12 "We can't think much when we don't know much. But we can wonder!..For sometimes, when we wonder, we can make things begin to happen." With a wise teacher at their helm, five young children in the Netherlands begin to wonder, and act. And through that, the town changes, all for the better.
Published: 1948, republished 1998 Theme: Imagination, Kindness Best for: 5 to 8 "He's got a long tail and yellow and blue stripes. His horn and eyes and the bottoms of his feet are bright red, and he has gold-colored wings." This children's book is all about imagination, with a capital I. Just trying to picture the vividly-colored dragon takes all of my imaginative skills! There's nothing scary about this book...
Published: 2001 Theme: Queen of England Best for: 12 to 14 "So my sister was now queen. And because she had triumphed, I was next! This was the moment, standing in the knot garden, when I realized that someday I, too, would become queen of England..." In this historical fiction children's book, we get a very good look at the way power can corrupt even the best of people...
Published: 2012 Theme: Forgiveness Best for: 9 to 12 "It is better to light a lantern than to bemoan the darkness," Madame Change said softly to herself, as if in a dream. "Can't we light more lanterns, then?" Peiyi said eagerly, "to make up for the light of the moon?" In another lovely children's book, Grace Lin deftly weaves a dramatic story of forgiveness around the retelling of classic Chinese tales.
Published: 1949 Theme: Dragons Best for: ages 9 and up "The next day the dragon moved to the neighboring village of Quercetum... He ate not only sheep and cows and one or two persons of tender age, but he ate the parson too. Rather rashly the parson had sought to dissuade him from his evil ways." I was delighted to come across a 50th anniversary edition of this short and funny children's book by Tolkien. It's a terrific and funny dragon tale...
Published: 1958 Theme: Early Reader Best for: 5 to 8 "If you can count," said the big, hungry alligator, "maybe you will count my teeth. I have always wanted someone to count my teeth. I will open my mouth wide. Then you two can get in and count all my teeth. All the way to the back of my mouth." In this easy reader, a young girl has the ideal way to deal with her two young cousins who are pinching, and fighting, and biting. Tell a tale about crocodiles...
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