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: 2002 Theme: Nature Adventure and Adoption Best for: 9 to 12 "I felt unbound. I was free as the wind. And I wasn't in just any old canoe, but one I had made myself. She floated, she sped, she was unreal." A great book by a classic children's book author, about adoption, and self-sufficiency in nature.
Published: 2002 Theme: Storytelling Best for: 6 to 9 "The class stared at the new girl with admiration. They had never met anyone like Gooney Bird Greene...Her clothes were unusual. Her hairstyles were unusual. Even her lunches were very unusual." This fun first-chapter book explores how easy it is to tell a good story, with imagination.
Published: 2018 Theme: Thomas Edison Best for: 5 to 8 "Behind the shelves lay the University of Mice. Here any inquisitive mouse could learn everything there was to know about the history of mice: mice who had traveled the world, mice who had made great discoveries..." A beautifully illustrated, large-size children's book with a fanciful story about Edison's invention.
Published: 2007 Theme: Historical Fiction; French Revolution Best for: 11 and up "I know how to make needle lace and sew and hem and build a fire and tend it and clean the ashes out. I can make tea and toast and cook a chicken if I have to. I can empty chamber post and scrub floors..." This very well-written historical fiction about the French Revolution is based on a true incident...
Published: 2009 Theme: Community Best for: 4 to 7 "Night after night/Fox walked alone,/came home to a bed made of feathers and stone/" A very sweet and simple illustrated children's book, blending independence with sharing with others. Nicely told in rhyme.
Published: 2018 Theme: Breaking Stereotypes Best for: 8 to 11 "Ellie hated it when her friends got in trouble in front of her, especially when she had something to do with it. She thought about what her dad said - that engineering was supposed to help people- and her stomach went squiggly." . Let's hear it for books that let girls be engineers, boys like dolls, and old people doing more than just drinking tea...
Published: 2018 Theme: Saving the World Best for: 8 to 11 "Max didn't have a mother or father to tell her when it was time to wake up, go to bed, do her homework, eat her vegetables, turn off the TV, or hurry because she'd miss the subway. Max was completely on her own." An odd and quirky book that tries to have children solve the mess of the world, with a bit of adventure thrown in.
Published: 2018 Theme: Healing through books Best for: 9 and up "It's better to read in the library. Sitting at my favorite table... reading and listening to the sound of other folks turning pages makes me feel I'm in a house full of company I don't have to talk to." A beautiful and lyrical small book set in 1946, exploring the loneliness that comes from being uprooted from South to North.
Published: English: 2018 (original: 1945) Theme: Imaginative Tale Best for: 6 to 9 "At first Moominmamma was frightened too, but then she said soothingly: "It's really a very little creature. Wait, and I'll shine a light on it. Everything looks worse in the dark, you know." This is wonderful way to be introduced to the family of Moomintrolls, since it is the story where they first came to life...
Published: 2013 Theme: Biography Best for: 10 and up "We must melt the hearts of the Government with love... Remember, we can only win the opponent over by love, never by hate. Hate is the subtlest form of violence. Hatred injures the hater, never the hated." This very thorough biography of Gandhi in graphic novel form is a pleasure to read.
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