Which Kid's Books Kick Ass? [Archive] - Straight Dope Message Board

Derleth

09-01-2001, 11:45 PM

Anything by Asmiov. I'm serious. Asmiov is a very easy-to-comprehend author, has a wide variety of work available (he wrote science fiction, fantasy, poetry (some of it even clean :D), nonfiction, and who knows what else), and is intelligent enough to hold the interest of the bright kids. He also avoids the Major Sin in Dealing With People: He isn't patronizing. I always hated being talked down to. Still do, in fact.
Lizard Music (This one is a 'favorite from left field', so to speak. Pinkwater has created a very funny, very good, very odd world in this novel. It's worth a read even if you have children (or grandchildren) of your own.)
Fudge, Superfudge, etc. (I forget the rest of the series.) (About a rather insane little kid, told from his older brother's perspective. Reminded me of home. :))
Bumper Tubbs (Definitely a great book for early elementary school kids. Simple without being patronizing, funny without being too absurd, and it has some very good illustrations.)
The Pigman (Zindel is great for the middle school crowd.)

Many of the books I was going to list already have been listed. Kudos to the well-read Dopers!

Drastic

09-01-2001, 11:47 PM

Daniel Pinkwater is God. I read The Big Orange Splot when I was seven and it changed my life. I've read lots of Pinkwater since then. I didn't read Yobgorgle until I was 27, but I still enjoyed it. That was the one that had the guy whose car was perfectly aligned with Vedic principles, right?

The very same; the terms of sale mandated that a chicken suit be worn while driving it. It also featured a character who hunted cars, and the Flying Dutchman's tragic quest for a good corned beef hash sandwich.

beegirl13

09-01-2001, 11:57 PM

I loved most of the books that have already been mentioned as a child. But the best new children's book is The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka. It is a hilarious collection of warped fairy tales. I bought a copy before I came to college so I could enjoy it whenever I want.

Chronos

09-02-2001, 12:31 AM

Let's see... What hasn't been mentioned yet? The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis, the Chronicles of Prydain (starts with The Book of Three), by Lloyd Alexander, The Hobbit (how did that get left off of everyone's lists?), and the Harry Potter books. Can you tell I'm a big fantasy fan?

In other genres: The Rats of NIMH, The Danny Dunn books (can't remember the author, alas), the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Magic Schoolbus books (who wrote those?), Pickles, the Fire Cat, The Hungry, Hungry Catapillar, the Sweet Pickles books, the Serendipity books, and various Sesame Street books, most notably Big Bird's Busy Book and The Monster at the End of This Book.

mblackwell

09-02-2001, 12:37 AM

Beverly Cleary and Willow Davis Roberts were my favorite authors as a kid. The Bunnicula series, the Fudge series, and Encyclopedia Brown were also great. Uncle Robert's Secret and some other books by Wylly Folk St. John. Killing Mr Griffin by Louis Duncan.

Anyone else remember Willow Davis Robets? I read almost all of her books when I was 10-12 years old. Some of the titles I remember: The Girl with Silver Eyes, Megan's Island, The Minden Curse, More Minden Curses, What Could Go Wrong?, and Babysitting is a Dangerous Job.

The only kid's books I have read as a non-kid are the Harry Potter books. I liked them a lot and I am looking forward to the next one and hoping the movies don't suck.

DynoSaur

09-02-2001, 12:38 AM

hmm...the only one I can think of off the top of my head that I don't see above is

The Phantom Tollbooth by...umm...someone.

AwSnappity

09-02-2001, 12:40 AM

Originally posted by DynoSaur
The Phantom Tollbooth by...umm...someone. Norton Juster.

Lionors

09-02-2001, 01:26 AM

The Magic School Bus series was written by Joanna Cole, I believe.

A couple of others while I'm thinking of it (although the selections above are wonderful)

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Redwall by Brian Jacques (and his others as well)

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books - Betty MacDonald

The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare (This was one of the ones that got me interested in early American history, btw. The Bronze Bow is excellent, too.)

Pippi Longstocking was fun, too. :)

Gartog

09-02-2001, 07:51 AM

Most of the above plus,

Any of Dick King Smiths' books. He wrote Babe, (That the film is based on) but not Babe II (which was bad)

Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven books.

Agrippina

09-02-2001, 08:07 AM

Harry Potter

I LOVED Beverly Cleary when I was little. I still have all of her children books, from the entire Henry Huggins series to the Ramona series and more. I also like Ottis Spofford and Muggy Maggie. Didn't Beverly Cleary write a new Ramona sequel with Ramona a bit older with her little sister, Roberta? I would love to see Roberta acting like the same little terror that Ramona was when she was five and terrorizing Beezus. Ramona Forever was the best in the series, although Ramona Quimby, Age 8 was very good as well.

The Babysitter Club (although is this a children's book or young adult?). I still have all the books that I managedt to college. I think I stopped near #100, where Kristy closes BSC for a little while. My favorite character was always Kristy, but I also liked Claudia because of her uniqueness and all the candy she had stashed in her room.

Goosebumps: For me they were a short read, but I still loved them. My favorite was Say Cheese and Die.

ruadh

09-02-2001, 08:13 AM

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. Just read it. Trust me.

jcgmoi

09-02-2001, 09:12 AM

Eleanor Cameron’s series on Mr. Bass and the Mushroom planet. "WANTED (read the small notice, printed - oddly - in green): A small space ship, about eight feet long,built by a boy, or by two boys, between the ages of eight and eleven...."

Walter R. Brooks and his books on Freddy the pig and his friends. The paragon of porkers.

John R. Tunis's sports novels. "The best I had today was my outfield, and that kid from Tompkinsville."

tsarina

09-02-2001, 09:59 AM

(I never thought I would be using "Laura Ingalls Wilder" and "kick ass!" in the same sentence, but...)

Laura Ingalls Wilder books kick ass! I reread "Little House in the Big Woods" and "Little House on the Prairie" a few weeks ago when I was laid up after getting my wisdom teeth pulled, and I still enjoy the hell out of them.

I love the "Ramona" books and everything else by Beverly Cleary. "Socks" is particularly special to me because we named our old cat after the one in the book.

Let's see... I was also into "Harriet the Spy" (raise your hands, people who read this book and then started a spy notebook of their own!), "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler", "Number the Stars", Nancy Drew books, "Where the Red Fern Grows" (it made me sob too, Atreyu), Roald Dahl books, "The Cay" and the "Teetoncey" series by Theodore Taylor...

Persephone

09-02-2001, 11:32 AM

My kids are toddlers, so I've been reading a lot of toddler books lately. For kids that age, nothing beats Dr. Seuss.

I've also discovered the joys of Sandra Boynton's board books. Dinosaur's Binkit and Barnyard Dance! are the current faves here.

As a young girl, I myself devoured Nancy Drew, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Judy Blume. Two other favorites, and I cannot remember the author, were Summer of my German Soldier and it's sequel Morning is a Long Time Coming.

Sir Rhosis

09-02-2001, 11:42 AM

The Hardy Boys, but the earlier unabridged editions before they were mercilessly rewritten and hacked to pieces in the 60s.

Tom Swift, Jr

The Alvin Fernald books by Clifford B Hicks

The Three Invesigators

Brains Benton

Sir Rhosis

Infovore

09-02-2001, 01:18 PM

The Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald

The Three Investigators series by various authors

the Trixie Belden series by various authors

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary

Jenny and the Cat Club (can't remember author)

Harry Potter series (of course!)

Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobol

I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier

King of the Dollhouse (can't remember author)

Agrippina

09-02-2001, 02:23 PM

Originally posted by tsarina
Let's see... I was also into "Harriet the Spy" (raise your hands, people who read this book and then started a spy notebook of their own

I did. It never took off and I only wrote a few things, but I did start one.

Eutychus

09-02-2001, 03:25 PM

Another vote for Daniel M. Pinkwater .,.. my own personal favorite being Young Adult Novel. Possibly the only Dadaist book written for young people.

Yankee Blue

09-02-2001, 03:37 PM

I ran out and bought copies of these while my kid was still in utero: Make Room for Ducklings
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel
Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden Of Verses
The Velveteen Rabbit
Where the Wild Things Are

The only one I really want that I can't find is Ogdan Nash's Custard the Dragon.

Lsura

09-02-2001, 03:42 PM

Drummer Hoff and Arrow to the Sun are fantastic for younger kids. Another one, The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye was great-geared toward the 6-8 year old girl.

For older kids(girls mainly), Tamora Pierce's Lioness, Wild Magic, and Protector of the Small quartets are fantastic-there are some strong women in those books, doing what they want to do, rather than what's expected of them.

(had to head over to the AFPL website to search for a particular book series) Crystal Thrasher's books about a girl during the Depression: The Dark Didn't Catch Me, Between Dark and Daylight, A Taste of Daylight, and End of a Dark Road snagged my attention and wouldn't let go. They can be depressing, and a bit dark, but I read them over and over again when I was in about 8th grade.

I'm sure I will think of many more-but that's what I know of right now. I love kids' books. :)

sjc

09-02-2001, 08:17 PM

Wow, you all have managed to come up with many of my favorite children's books (as well as some I haven't read but perhaps will someday.)

Does anyone remember an illustrated book called (I think) "Best Friends"? It had bright drawings (watercolor, I think) and it was about a pig, a mouse (or rat?) and a rooster. They had a bicycle they rode together. I thiink the pig and the Rooster did the peddles while the mouse steered. It was some combination like that. Do you know where I can find it? And perhaps purchase it. It was my sister's favorite book.

burundi

09-02-2001, 08:32 PM

Oh, I loved the Great Brain books, too! Lloyd Alexander is also an absolutely magical, marvelous children's writer. He's most famous for The Prydain Chronicles, but my favorite of his is The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastion.

TheLoadedDog

09-02-2001, 10:02 PM

How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen and A Near Thing for Captain Najork by Russell Hoban (with fantastic watercolour illustrations by Quentin Blake). Actually, anything by Russell Hoban is good: adults, check out his Riddley Walker.

As far as classics go, I'd recommend The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Legomancer

09-02-2001, 10:10 PM

One of my all-time favorite books is 'Monster at the End of this Book' by lovable furry old Grover. It's a good way to introduce small children to the wonders of post-modernism.

rowrrbazzle

09-03-2001, 12:51 AM

Classic: The Wind in the Willows.

Modern: Pish Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch, by Nancy Willard, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Great for just introducing the name to kids. The illustrations are really good kid-level versions of Bosch. They've also done a version of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with a girl in the title role. The Dillons did a couple of book covers for Harlan Ellison, such as the first paperback version of "The Essential Ellison", where the cover is a surreal portrait composed of landscape elements and miniature people.

Dijon Warlock

09-03-2001, 12:53 AM

On my list of books to buy if I happen to think of them when in a bookstore is "Dominic" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374418268/qid=999496026/sr=8-8/102-8561386-1938554) by William Steig. I read it when I was 10, and cried when I finished it. Not because the ending was sad, but because the book was over. No-one has yet mentioned the "Dark is Rising" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0020425651/qid=999496278/sr=2-1/102-8561386-1938554) sequence by Susan Cooper. Truly some of the freakiest books I've ever read. Really jump-started my interest in fantasy subjects.

SwimmingRiddles

09-03-2001, 01:17 AM

My all time favorite, no question in my mind is ELOISE by Kat Thompson. "I am ELOISE. And I am 6." My mom loved that book and passed it on to my sisters and I. We are rabidly loyal to it as the greatest children's book ever written.

However, mad props go out to Where the Wild Things Are. Ever notice that the pictures get progressively larger until the Wild Rumpus, then then get smaller again until "And it was still hot." ? I had a psych professor who was very into archetypal symbols and used Wild Things [id vs. superego] and Harold and the Purple crayon [moon=mother, the story is representative of a toddler becoming independant of thier mother...] pretty wild stuff.

SwimmingRiddles

09-03-2001, 01:19 AM

::don't post late at night:: KAY Thompson.

RickJay

09-03-2001, 01:24 AM

Originally posted by Legomancer
One of my all-time favorite books is 'Monster at the End of this Book' by lovable furry old Grover. It's a good way to introduce small children to the wonders of post-modernism.

Absolutely and wothout question the best children's book ever written. For a little kid, it's a fascinating book.

Kyomara

09-03-2001, 05:00 AM

"What the Wind Told"...a really amazing and slightly unnerving book (I don't know by who) about a little girl who is sick in bed and asks the wind to tell her about who lives in the apartments across the way...includes the stories of the dog who sits and invents words all day and the apartment where dark goes to stay during the day.

Harry Potter kicks ass. Madeline L'Engle was awesome when I was younger...I had totally forgotten I read the entire series until I read this thread.

ELOISE...I hated this when I was little, but I realize now it was because it was too well written. I wasn't much older than Eloise, and I couldn't stand this annoying little trouble-making girl who "simply has to" do all these things she obviously doesn't. Drove this 7-year old up a wall.

Agrippina

09-03-2001, 07:21 AM

Forgot something else: Anastasia Krupnik by Louis Lowery, I believe.

The adventures of Peter and his brother Fudge (and their little sister Tootsy) I loved, starting with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (who was the author??). Sheila had her own book, with her family goes to Terrytown.

I forgot the author (first name was Bruce, though, I think), but my favorite books from him were Jermey Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher (hell, I must have read that book fifteen times during fifth grade alone) and Jennifer Murdley's Toad.

Then there was this one book that I loved but cannot remember the author or name, maybe someone can help: It was about this boy who loved little action figures, real tiny ones. Somehow he gets shrunk to the size of his action figures and his brother takes them to school and they have adventures. Does anyone know this? I'd love to read it again. Please!

Agrippina

09-03-2001, 07:24 AM

Originally posted by bean_shadow
Forgot something else: Anastasia Krupnik by Louis Lowery, I believe.

My mistake. Lois Lowery. Not Louis.

Louis Sacher, I believe, with Sideway Stories from Wayside School and Wayside School is Falling Down. I particulary love the chapter in the latter one about Calvin wanting a tatoo and everyone gives him these cool suggestions. Finally he comes back with a tatoo of a potato. When someone asks for suggestions for tatoos, I always say potato. He also wrote Sixth Grade Secrets, I think it was called, and I loved that one too.

Man, this thread makes me want to A) Go to the basement and pull up all my young adult books and B) Go to the library and browse through the children section!

Lionors

09-03-2001, 07:53 AM

Summer of My German Soldier and Morning is a Long Time Coming were both written by Bette Greene, and I loved them both. (And absolutely hated, hated, hated, hated Patty's parents. What nimwads.) Liked Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher too -- wasn't that by Bruce Coville? He's great. (Thought I'd stick that in just in case anyone was running around with that annoying 'try to remember' tickle in the back of their mind.) Both Lois Duncan AND Lois Lowry are terrific, too. I also seem to remember...Marilyn Sachs? Did I get the name right?

Dijon, I really truly thought I'd put the Dark is Rising sequence on there...bleh...senility rules.

John D. Fitzgerald of The Great Brain fame (I loved those books!) also wrote a couple of novels for adults. I haven't had any luck finding them library-wise and I hope they're not out of print. Anyone managed to find/read them?

M.E. Kerr wrote several that were rather thought provoking that I liked. And did anyone else read the book When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit? There was a sequel to it, too, the title of which I don't remember at the moment. I thought a Kerr wrote that but I don't remember who. Ack...I almost forgot to mention Jane Yolen!

Oh, and anything by or illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg for very young children. Or Eric Carle.

Great book recommendations, everyone. You're making me want to make another trip to the children's section of the library and read 'em all over again.

Question. Is anyone able to read Love You Forever by Robert Munsch out loud without getting a serious case of the snivels? (Okay, I bawl. I'll admit it. :o)

Spider Woman

09-03-2001, 08:17 AM

Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak, The Adventures of Frog and Toad, and all the other books about Frog and Toad, by Arnold Lobel, The Once and Future King, by T.H. White (not really a children's book, but "The Sword in the Stone" is the first book-within-a-book), The Stupids, by Harry Allard, and most of the books in that series, Baba Yaga, by Margaret Yatsevitch Phinney.There are many more from my childhood and from my readings to my children, but I am too old and groggy to remember them.

Manda JO

09-03-2001, 10:07 AM

I can't believe no one has mentioned Robin McKinley or Diana Wynne Jones. Fantatic authors, both of them.

The Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher has also been looked over, and was fantastic.

IMHO, Lloyd Alexander's best work was The Westmark trilogy. I'd go so far as to call it the most accessible work of moral philosophy ever writen. It deals with some very grey issues in a totally accesible way wihtout condescending. Truly a masterpeace.

sjc

09-03-2001, 02:35 PM

The Rutabaga Stories by Carl Sandburg are worth a read.

Ukulele Ike

09-03-2001, 02:46 PM

Originally posted by Yankee Blue
The only one I really want that I can't find is Ogdan Nash's Custard the Dragon.

This poem, as well as most others dear to the child in all our hearts, can be found in Donald Hall's The Oxford Book of Children's Verse in America.

..and all the ones that are missing because they're, y'know, British, would be in Iona and Peter Opie's [i]The Oxford Book of Children's Verse.

xanadu

09-03-2001, 06:29 PM

1. Any of the Wayside School books by Louis Sachar
2. Mary Poppins - PL Travers
3. Manaic Magee - Jerry Spinelli
4. The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Doom - Daniel Pinkwater
5. The Little Prince
6. Any Dr. Seuss book

Agrippina

09-03-2001, 06:30 PM

Two more:

By Ann M. Martin (the Babysitters Club books), Ten Kids, No Pets and Eleven Kids, One Summer. I've currently dug up these two and am re-reading them for the millionith time.

xanadu

09-03-2001, 06:42 PM

Originally posted by Lionors
(<snip)
Is anyone able to read Love You Forever by Robert Munsch out loud without getting a serious case of the snivels? (Okay, I bawl. I'll admit it. :o) [/B]

This book doesn't make me cry! It gives me the creeps!! It's about a woman who has a son, cares for him, loves him - blah, blah, blah, but when the kid grows up and becomes a man, she can't let go. So, she climbs into his window, picks him up as he's sleeping, and rocks him. Keep in mind that the guy's still sleeping, not to mention the fact that he's sbout 30 at this time and may or may not have his wife sleeping next to him. If this isn't a little sick and twisted, I don't know what is. Then the mother gets really old, and she is no longer able to creep in the night and break into her son's house, so the son, now about 40 or 50, sneaks into his mom's house and rocks her asleep. I first read this story when I was seventeen, and it scared the crap out of me. Still does, actually

Lionors

09-03-2001, 09:37 PM

Heh, that may help. I never really picked up the 'breaking and entering' part. I took it more as the mother telling the kid that she loved him and would always be there for him until she was no longer able to do so...and then the son gives her the reassurance she gave him.

But then, come to think about it, I never read it after I was grown and after I'd lost my own mother, so maybe that's why I make an idiot out of myself sniveling. :)

Lionors

09-03-2001, 10:02 PM

Make that "until after I was grown..." etc. Wouldn't have bothered with the correction except it sounded a bit confusing (and yes, unfortunately, I did proof. Makes one a bit scared to think what I might pull off if I didn't proof at all, eh?)

xanadu

09-03-2001, 11:24 PM

I didn't mean for my reply to sound as though I was trashing one of your favorite books, though it did end up sounding that way. I agree that her intentions were honorable and that she did love her son very much, but the ways in whick she showed it were....well....rather strange.

Lionors

09-03-2001, 11:31 PM

Oh, no, no, I didn't take it as a slam at all. Nor is it one of my favorites, actually, primarily because I always snivel like a weenie and get the kids I'm reading to all alarmed. ;) (Bridge to Terabithia and Charlotte's Web do the same thing to me, too.) Anyway, you've given me something else to focus on while reading it, so I owe you thanks!

xanadu

09-03-2001, 11:46 PM

Well, okay. You're welcome! I had never actually thought of the book as a mother loving a son until I read your post, though, so thanks for that insight. Most people, on the other hand notice this first, and only later do they think her behavior is a little strange.

Lil Lurker

09-04-2001, 10:36 AM

Yeah, Love You Forever, is perhaps the world's most make-Gramma-cry book but Robert Munsch's other books are pure hilarity. My particular favorite is The Paper Bag Princess

I also loved the Mrs Piggle Wiggle books.

And remember when passing around a Judy Blume book was considered risky? I believe a copy of Forever was so worn out in junior high the cover got ripped off.

Beadalin

09-04-2001, 10:52 AM

I read and loved almost all of those!

My additions are:
The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek by Evelyn Sibley Lampman
Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
East of the Sun and West of the Moon, an old story, but this one illustrated by Michael Hague
Another Beverly Cleary one: The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Agrippina

09-04-2001, 11:00 AM

Originally posted by Beadalin
Another Beverly Cleary one: The Mouse and the Motorcycle

I can't believe I forgot to mention this one! My absolute favorite Cleary book. It was the first one I read, in second grade, and the first chapter book I ever read. I love the other two in the series as well, Runaway Ralph and Ralph S. Mouse, although I like the latter one a bit better. Ever see the hour movies made out of them? Only one I've seen is Runaway Ralph with Fred Savage and Ray Waltson.

Globe-trotter

09-04-2001, 11:02 AM

Most of my favourites have already appeared in this thread, so I'll just add Mr. Popper's Penguins (Richard and Florence Atwater). I don't know how often I read that book as a youngster.

celestina

09-04-2001, 12:54 PM

I'll second Lloyd Alexander's _Westmark Trilogy_.

_The Mid-Wife's Apprentice_ by Catherine Cushman

Anything by Virginia Hamilton

_Working Cotton_ by Sherley Anne Williams--This work is outstanding! :-)

Anything by Dr. Seuss

_The Hero and the Crown_ and _The Blue Sword_ by Robin McKinley

The Alanna series by Tamora Pierce

_Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ by J K Rowling

This is all I can think of right now.

Finagle

09-04-2001, 01:26 PM

There was a great book from my youth called "Sinbad and Me" by Kin Platt. Boy hero and his dog -- he solves mysteries by his knowledge of architecture. This book has everything, pirate treasure, bad guys, people with secrets, smart kids, more treasure, and even a smattering of actual information about architecture and nuismatics. I still remember one of the chapter headings, "One dark, one light, one future not bright."

This one seems to be far out of print. On the Amazon auction board, some guy wants $245.00 for a first edition library book. Eek!

Interrobang!?

09-04-2001, 06:11 PM

One series I haven't seen mentioned yet:

Keith Robertson's Henry Reed books -- Henry Reed, Inc., Henry Reed's Vacation, Henry Reed's Journey, Henry Reed's Baby-Sitting Service and Henry Reed's Big Show. I loved those books. I reread them last year and realized, among other things, that Henry and Midge have a sort of presexual -- heck, pre-romantic -- screwball-comedy relationship (he's Cary Grant, she's Katherine Hepburn).

Short premise: Henry's a diplomat's kid, living abroad, who spends the summer with his aunt and uncle in exurban New Jersey. He and his new friend Midge Glass try to make money -- by dowsing for water and "striking oil," or running a baby-sitting service -- and wacky hijinks ensue.

Robertson's '90s sequel, Henry Reed's Think Tank, is probably best forgotten, unfortunately.

Another favorite: Homer Price -- apparantly I was impressed by H-named heroes. I still remember the diamond bracelet in the donut machine, and everyone in town getting one song stuck in their heads.

Lionors

09-04-2001, 06:12 PM

Grimm's Fairy Tales. The original (or as original as possible) unexpurgated version. (IMHO, it's no worse than what most kids scarf down off television and/or movies.)

D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths (if this hasn't been brought up already.)

Kudos for bringing up Virginia Hamilton!

And yes, I remember the Judy Blume days...whoohoo, the fights in the school library about whether to keep HER books on the shelves! Oddly enough, though, my favorite ones that she did weren't the really controversial ones.

Has Robert Cormier been mentioned yet? If not, The Chocolate War is a must for any late-middle-school aged child.

After this thread, I am definitely going to raid the YA/children's section. :)

Beadalin

09-05-2001, 09:21 AM

Just remembered another series:
James Howes' The Celery Stalks at Midnight, Howliday Inn, Nighty-Nightmare and Bunnicula Strikes Again!. I don't know now whether they're really good, but they sure cracked me up when I was a kid.

Yankee Blue

09-05-2001, 10:17 AM

Originally posted by Lionors

M.E. Kerr wrote several that were rather thought provoking that I liked. And did anyone else read the book [u]When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit? There was a sequel to it, too, the title of which I don't remember at the moment. I thought a Kerr wrote that but I don't remember who.

I remember that one. I read a lot of kids books about that era in junior high. Besides the above, I remember Snow Treasure, Escape from Warsaw, and The Cigarette Sellers of Three Crosses Square.

Origionally posted by Ukelele Ike This poem, as well as most others dear to the child in all our hearts, can be found in Donald Hall's The Oxford Book of Children's Verse in America.
Thanks for the info on the Nash poem, Ike.

Myron Van Horowitzski

09-05-2001, 10:40 AM

I remember liking Conrad Richter's The Light in the Forest and A Country of Strangers in grade school. I just read them again recently, and found them totally depressing.

Anyone remember Me and Caleb, by Franklin Meyer? If you've got a copy, hang onto it, it's rare.

And [/i]Me and Caleb[/i] reminds me of a similar book I can't remember the title or author of, linked stories about a group of kids who form a club and have all kinds of adventures: building a Loch Ness monster, entering a balloon race, finding treasure hidden in an old cannon... ring a bell with anyone?

Others: How to Eat Fried Worms, Thomas Rockwell
The Cricket in Times Square & sequels, George Selden
Doctor Doolittle books, Hugh Lofting
The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Warner
The Search for Delicious, Natalie Babbitt
...and others too numerous to name...

c_goat

09-05-2001, 11:31 AM

<B>The Diggingest Dog</B> - Don't know the author.

Good cute story. Lots of life lessons in a single book.

mblackwell

09-05-2001, 11:42 AM

Originally posted by c_goat
<B>The Diggingest Dog</B> - Don't know the author.

Good cute story. Lots of life lessons in a single book.
Oh yeah! I forgot about that one. That was one of my favorites.

Edwardina

09-05-2001, 12:11 PM

There could hardly be a thread topic nearer and dearer to my heart . . .

[originally posted by bean_shadow]
Then there was this one book that I loved but cannot remember the author or name, maybe someone can help: It was about this boy who loved little action figures, real tiny ones. Somehow he gets shrunk to the size of his action figures and his brother takes them to school and they have adventures. Does anyone know this? I'd love to read it again. Please!

Could you be thinking of The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks? I loved that book!

A few that I didn't see listed yet:

Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
The Owlstone Crown by X. J. Kennedy
Stuart Little by E. B. White
The White Deer by James Thurber
The Wizard Children of Finn by Mary Tannen
Smith of Wootton Major & Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien

I know I'll think of more after I post this.

I was ecstatic to see so many of my favorites already posted (like Robin McKinley, Betty MacDonald, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L'Engle, Astrid Lindgren, Maurice Sendak and so many more!), and astonished to find some (like Mr. Bass and the Mushroom Planet) that I remembered reading as a child but had forgotten the titles and authors. I am so happy to find this information again! Thank you, Teeming Millions!

sjc

09-05-2001, 01:25 PM

Homer Price, I'd forgotten all about that one! Thanks interrobang!?.

How about some of Roald Dahl's kids books? The Girrafe, the Pelly, and Me, George's Marvelous Medicine, Fantastic Mister Fox, The BFG, The Twits, The Enormous Crocodile... The list goes on and on.

There were a couple of books that focused on obsolete technology. The titles that I remember were: Rosie the Snowplow and Mike Mulligan's Steamshovel. Now that I think about it, Mike Mulligan's Steamshovel was sort of like an updated version of the story of John Henry (only with a happier ending, if I recall correctly).

sadity

09-05-2001, 03:55 PM

Musicians of the Sun by Gerald McDermott
The Lady with the Alligator Purse
Dr. Seuss -- The Sneetches and others
All of Lewis Carroll's poems and _riddles_
The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey
T.S. Eliot's Practical Cats

Has anyone read Toni Morrison's recent children's book, The Big Box? Not a joyous reading experience and rather heavy-handed.

Tenar

09-05-2001, 11:25 PM

Based upon your choices, Chronos, will you marry me?

Ditto on many books already named. Also, how about Taash and the Jesters, whose author I cannot recall? Does anyone else remember it? Also, Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy (I am trying to forget that the fourth book, Tehannu, exists.) I also loved Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, and Jim Kjellgaard's dog books (Big Red, Outlaw Red, etc.,) and Jim Farley's horse books, including The Black Stallion.

For younger kids, I loved Good Dog, Carl, about a rottweiler who babysits.

Tenar

09-05-2001, 11:35 PM

Whoops! Make that WalterFarley's horse books. And how about Marguerite Henry -- Misty, Stormy and Sea Star? And Brighty of the Grand Canyon. I suspect most of these are out of print.

I absolutely love Ragged Dick and Mark the Match Boy by Horatio Alger. Terrible writing, great fun.

My favorite trashy series was Trixie Belden, a Nancy Drew knock off.

I feel OOoooooold now.

Badtz Maru

09-05-2001, 11:59 PM

Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars

by Daniel Manus Pinkwater

You must read this book.

SkeptiJess

09-06-2001, 09:19 AM

Lionors John D. Fitzgerald's adult novels are wonderful (Papa Married A Mormon, Mamma's Boarding House, and Uncle Will and the Fitzgerald Curse. Kind of hard to find from a library, but often available from Ebay or ABEbooks.

As for the OP -- I think most of my favorites have been mentioned. Except:

the Betsy-Tacy series
anything by E. Nesbit
anything by Rumer Godden
anything by Noel Streatfeild

Tracyj

09-06-2001, 02:48 PM

One book that I read over and over was The Devil's Arithmatic by Jane Yolen. Ever since then I have had a fascination with reading about the Holocaust.

Another awesome book that I don't know the title - maybe you can help me out.. This is what I remember:
1. About a boy entering High School, but he gets applications for 9th and 11th grade, so he takes both so he can graduate sooner.
2 He only lives with his mother (maybe a brother), and she's an artist who does crazy things like dressing up in jail clothes and complaining all day that she is being worked to death.
3. He does things like wears a green hat to every (but only) English class, so the students call him 'the green hat boy' and don't recognize him when he is in the other classes.
4. He builds a pyramid that his friend sits in and can solve all her problems, but he can't figure out why this only works for her.

A lot of random details, but maybe one of you has read it?

Dijon Warlock

09-06-2001, 06:38 PM

I read this when I was about thirteen, and even had a copy for a while, but lost it (or Mom threw it out, or something). It was about a girl who would sneak into an abandoned property near her house, and explore the old mansion that sat there. Inside the house were a series of portraits of sisters with the last being the ugliest and the sister wearing a bracelet with pigeon feathers. The girl finds a bracelet just like the one in the portrait, and then starts getting haunted by the woman in the painting who gets out (of the painting, y'know) and stands under the girl's window at night, saying "I want my bracelet" over and over in a low voice.

There was a garden gnome statue/fountain in the mansion's yard which would come alive when the girl was there (but never anyone else, so no-one would believe her), and something about the sisters all turning into pigeons. I think even the girl ends up getting turned into one at some point, but that may have been a different book.

I keep wanting to call it "Pigeons from Hell," but that's a Robert E. Howard story. Anyone got a clue on this one? I'd love to read it again.

Lsura

09-06-2001, 07:12 PM

Originally posted by Dijon Warlock
There was a garden gnome statue/fountain in the mansion's yard which would come alive when the girl was there (but never anyone else, so no-one would believe her), and something about the sisters all turning into pigeons. I think even the girl ends up getting turned into one at some point, but that may have been a different book.

To me, this sounds vaguely like Beloved Benjamin is Waiting, by Jean E. Karl. The blurb on the back of my copy(bought through B&N's out of print book service) says:

Because one night a statue began to come to life in that house. It was the statue of a boy named Benjamin who had died almost a hundred years before.

It may not be the right book, but it was the first thing tha came to mind.

Dijon Warlock

09-06-2001, 09:26 PM

Doesn't sound like it. The statue in this book was a leprechaun out in the yard, and once every so often the girl would hear a tap-tap-tap off in the weeds to find the statue hammering on a small pair of shoes. It was such a strange book and rather creepy (I had nightmares for awhile about a woman outside my window..."Give me back my bracelet!" Yeesh!)

Thanks, though. :)

Shirley Ujest

09-06-2001, 10:31 PM

I love it when these threads pop up. Always new to me authors waiting to be discovered. I always take notes and check out the recommedations.

To give the gift of reading to another person is to give them the world. Or as I like to say, A book is a friend that will never crap on you.

Since I am a major bibliophile for young children's books, allow me to suggest a few outstanding books for the younger (infant to maybe 3rd grade):

Zak: the one of a kind dog. (Jane Lidz)Zak is always asked " What kind of dog are you?" he goes on a quest to find out. Kids love the picture of Zak.

Edward and the Pirates (David McPhail) This was the first children's book that I discovered that had a female heroine (and a male one too, but really, who cares about him ) in it. Boy, have books changed since I was a kid! Now, when friends I know have a baby, this is one of a few standard you-must-read-this books I give to them. I practically jam it down their throats with enthusiam.

Bob the Snowman (Sylvia Loretan ) When bob the snowman decides to go south for the winter, what will happen to him?

Any book by Mercer Mayer. His stuff is great for helping kids learn basic things ("I just forgot", " Just say please" "Just me and my mom" "I was so mad" all are titles of these books.)

Twas the night before Easter (Natasha Wing) Nice angle on the famous poem.

Twas the night before Thanksgiving. (Dav Pilkey) Brilliant version of the famous poem. I could read this one every night and in fact, I practically have for the past two years.

Olive the other reindeer (Otto Seibold) Just love this one and so does my son.

The Thomas the Train Series. ( By Rev. W. Awdry) These are usually three or four train stories in one book. My son (now 3.5)loves trains, but these stories ( I thought) were too old for him (at the age of two) because they are really wordy, but kids surprise you and learn and understand what they can. My son adores these books and they teach little lessons about the hazards of boastfulness and the like, without being preachy. (Also, no one (trains) on the Island of Sodor is every really at fault for anything that goes wrong (which is alot like upper management in the real world.) If a trains brakes fail him it is because his wooden brakes were old and should have been mended a long time ago. If a train runs of the rails, it's because the coaches were being nuisances - the coaches and cars are the bad guys - slackers who bump the engines and drag behind instead of cooperating.The Rev was an excellent writer. ( He wrote these stories for his sickly son who loved trains.)

Anno's USA, Anno's Britian, Anno's Journey, Anno's Counting House, Anno's Numbers - (Mitsuma Anno. Nearly all of his books are on some Teacher's or Best of List. No words. Just pictures. The Anno's numbers is nothing short of pure brilliance for teaching counting skills.

Imogene's Antlers (David Small) Young Imogene wakes up one morning to find she has sprouted antlers. She takes the whole thing in stride,but her household is in an uproar. Great Illustrations. This is another you-must-read-this baby gift book.

Chester's Way, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Julius: baby of the world, Wemberly Worried, Owen. (Kevin Henkes) This man is nothing short of brilliant. Great stories kids can relate too (Owen carries a blankie with him everywhere and is starting preschool soon and how he has to learn to live without it and how ingenous his mother is.) and great illustrations of his characters who are mice. Most of his books have characters that have a mention in the other books ( except Owen and Wemberly) but of them all it is Lilly who is an exceptional heroine and has won a shitload of awards. If you only look at one of his books, make it Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. Do this right now, dammit. ALL of these books are mandatory baby shower gifts from me.

I'm a little teapot. Mary had a little lamb. Row row row your boat, Twinkle twinkle little star and Itsy Bitsy Spider. (Iza Trapani) all are based on the famous songs/poems with longer lyrics and lovely illustrations. The itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle little star and I'm a little teapot are exceptionally well done. Another you-have-to-read-this book. (usually first birthday, by the time I finish with the baby shower gift books, I'm usually broke.) as it introduces singing to kids of songs we all know.

Goose. (Molly Bang) A goose egg rolls out of it's nest and hatches before a den of woodchucks, where the goose is raised by them. She does not know she is a goose and learns how to do everything they do, but after awhile, she is not happy. She sets off to find her herself. Once she discovers she can fly, she flys happily back to the wood chucks. I just love this story.

Caillou (His name is pronounced KAI-U.) The round headed - possibly encephilatic :) - little preschool boy from PBS's morning line up has a series of books. They are excellent for handling those pesky caught between toddler and Kindergarter age. Too big to ride in the shopping cart, where did I come from, night time night mares and the ever popular, potty time issues.

And naturally, the greatest christmas story of all time
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by the greatest poet of the last one hundred years. Dr. Suess. I could read this story every day for the rest of my life and still sit there in awe of it. What better opening hook is there in kid lit than this?

"Every who down in who ville, liked Christmas alot.

But the Grinch who lived just north of who ville did not."

And so I conclude Shirley's Book review. Buy these titles for a child in your life right now or they will mentally shrivel up and die die die.

Thank you. You've been a great audience.

Note : Fixed coding. - E.

[Edited by Eutychus55 on 09-10-2001 at 04:39 AM]

Shirley Ujest

09-06-2001, 10:36 PM

I formally apologize for the stinking bolding in the above post. I should be hanged, drawn, sketched,cartooned, quartered, nickled, dimed and Susan B. Anthony'd.

But

Society is to blame.

{sub]I am an idiot. [/sub]

Dijon Warlock

09-06-2001, 11:07 PM

Originally posted by Shirley Ujest
I formally apologize for the stinking bolding in the above post. I should be hanged, drawn, sketched,cartooned, quartered, nickled, dimed and Susan B. Anthony'd.

But

Society is to blame.

{sub]I am an idiot. [/sub] Missed a bracket, there.

*Snicker!* ;)

Lionors

09-07-2001, 12:09 AM

I cannot BELIEVE I forgot Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry! Thanks, Tenar! And I liked Trixie Belden, too...she didn't have a convertible like Nancy Drew, but she was a tomboy, which made her aces in my book. And thanks for the tips on the Fitzgeralds, Jess! I think my next book quest will be to see if I can dig those up. Tracyj and Dijon, I'll keep an eye out for what you're looking for, too and give a yell if I see anything that fits the descriptions.

But it's so wonderful to see so many old favorites! A couple more came to mind, too:

Any story or collection of stories by Hans Christian Andersen.

All of the books by Rebecca Caudill, especially Barrie and Daughter and The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come.. (She was an Appalachian author, and may not be easy to find by now.)

Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting definitely deserves a mention, too.

Another one that is great at Christmas (but considerably less well known than Shirley's so-well-chosen Grinch) is Santa Mouse. (To this day, my family always puts tiny 'Santa Mouse' presents with a yellow ribbon on them for each other. :) )

And does anyone else remember the books about the Little family?

Yankee Blue

09-07-2001, 09:56 AM

Originally posted by Dijon Warlock
I read this when I was about thirteen, and even had a copy for a while, but lost it. Inside the house were a series of portraits of sisters with the last being the ugliest and the sister wearing a bracelet with pigeon feathers. The girl finds a bracelet just like the one in the portrait, and then starts getting haunted by the woman in the painting who gets out (of the painting, y'know) and stands under the girl's window at night, saying "I want my bracelet" over and over in a low voice.

There was a garden gnome statue/fountain in the mansion's yard which would come alive when the girl was there (but never anyone else, so no-one would believe her), and something about the sisters all turning into pigeons. I think even the girl ends up getting turned into one at some point, but that may have been a different book.

I know this book. I read it when I was about 13 too. IIRC it was called The Wicked Wicked Ladies and [in?] the Haunted House but it's title had been changed from the original which was something like The Wicked Pigeon Sisters. Gad, where did I pull that from?

The girl in the story was actually transported to the time of the wicked sisters where she met their really nice mother...were there 7 sisters?

Anyone else ever read one called Shadow Castle? I think it was the first fantasy novel I ever read at about 8 or 10, I remember loving that book.

Dr_Paprika

09-07-2001, 10:52 AM

How could you possibly get this far without mentioning In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak, Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs, The Cat's Quizzer or Go, Dog, Go?

Shirley Ujest

09-07-2001, 11:50 AM

Originally posted by Finagle

There was a great book from my youth called "Sinbad and Me" by Kin Platt. Boy hero and his dog -- he solves mysteries by his knowledge of architecture. This book has everything, pirate treasure, bad guys, people with secrets, smart kids, more treasure, and even a smattering of actual information about architecture and nuismatics. I still remember one of the chapter headings, "One dark, one light, one future not bright."

This one seems to be far out of print. On the Amazon auction board, some guy wants $245.00 for a first edition library book. Eek!

I am now very interested in this book. If I find it (new or used) I will let you know.

Lionors

09-08-2001, 12:00 PM

Kin Platt did the 'Chloris' books, too, didn't he? (Chloris and the Creeps, Chloris and the Freaks). Any call for those?

shrew

09-08-2001, 09:03 PM

Beyond the Divide by Kathryn Lasky

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Super Gnat

09-09-2001, 12:53 AM

There's one I can't remember, about three children who moved to London *during the war? postwar?* to live with their grandmother who had been a famous actress. They go to a school to learn to act, sing and dance. They're sponsored by three sisters. I can remember almost the entire plot, but not the name *Dancing Shoes?*. Does someone remember this? Also, there was a prequel involving the sisters.

Uhh. . . a series, of which the middle one is called Greenwitch. Don't remember the author's name.

Emily of New Moon, by L. M. Montgomery. She also wrote Anne of Green Gables, but I like this one better.

The Sleep Book by Dr. Seuss. In fact, just about anything by Dr. Seuss.

The Phantom Tollbooth by. . . Norman Juster.

A book I really like is Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen. There are sequels to it, but none of them catch the flavor of the first one.

There's a fourth Earthsea book! No way, dude! I liked the Tombs of Atuan (sp?) best, althought that may just be because it's the clearest in my mind.

The Riddle-Master of Hed and it's two sequels. Although the last one was kinda weird. . .

I think I may be blurring the lines between children's books and fantasy, mainly because I read fantasy while I was a child. *shrug* Who knows?

And I may be mistaken, but I don't think anybody mentioned one of the greatest children's books of all time. . . although I'm extremely shaky on the name. Here's a stab:
Alex and the No Good Extremely Bad Very Horrible Day
In my defense, I have not *seen* this book since I was seven years old. Oh yeah, and Goodnight Moon.

Lsura

09-09-2001, 07:08 AM

Originally posted by Super Gnat
There's one I can't remember, about three children who moved to London *during the war? postwar?* to live with their grandmother who had been a famous actress. They go to a school to learn to act, sing and dance. They're sponsored by three sisters. I can remember almost the entire plot, but not the name *Dancing Shoes?*. Does someone remember this? Also, there was a prequel involving the sisters.

Those are by Noel Streatfield-there are several in the series, including Ballet Shoes (about Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil), and [i]Theater Shoes. There may have been more in the series, but I never read past the first one.

ferrisgirl

09-09-2001, 05:46 PM

our teacher read this to us in second grade, i think it was called "tiki tiki tembo". it was about a little chinese boy named tiki tiki tembo mo sa rembo chari bari roochie pip perry pembo, and the whole story was based on how he fell in a well and his brother who had an inferiority complex about how his name wasn't as long had to go around town saying that big old long name to try to get him out of the well. i love that book.
did anyone read a book about some girl whose best friend named David killed himself, and everyone's trying to find out why, and then the ending is that he thought his mom was pregnant, and he didn't want to share the attention or something, but then it turns out she really wasn't pregnant? i read that in junior high and i can't think of the name of it.
the ramona books always make me cry for some reason

sjc

09-09-2001, 11:45 PM

Originally posted by Dr_Paprika
How could you possibly get this far without mentioning In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak, Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs, The Cat's Quizzer or Go, Dog, Go?

The Night Kitchen! Oh my god, I started this thread and I didn't even mention it. I can't believe I went this long before aknowledging one of the greatest kids books! I never owned it, it was a book that hung out in the kid's area of our local food co-op. My mom worked at the food co-op, and I would play there with my sister. We'd always read that book. I loved that the kid was buck-naked for awhile until he got a suit made out of dough.

While I'm at it, I should also say I loved

originally posted by Super Gnat:
Alex [sic] and the No Good Extremely Bad Very Horrible Day and Goodnight Moon.
and
originally posted by ferrisgirl:
"tiki tiki tembo"
I loved the artwork and the stroy was fun because it told how the younger son (Chen?) (Ching?) was actually lucky to have such a short name.

Osakadave

09-10-2001, 12:21 AM

Most of my favorites are up, except Rudyard Kipling's Just So stories and the Jungle Book, Scuffy the Tugboat by Gertrude Crampton, the Curious George books, and the Harry the Dirty Dog books.

butter pie

09-10-2001, 04:06 AM

I never read most of these books. But I do remember that in the fourth grade I read about ten books by Stephen King... It, The Shining, um... Eye of the Dragon (or something)...Cujo...I got bored of them after awhile because they start to sound alike (and King rambles off topic more than any other author I have ever read).

That and I read a large amount of paranormal and space-themed "fact or fiction" stuff.

I must be some kind of freak. When I was 13 I read a really stripped down version of Jane Eyre, and I liked it so much I checked out the full version and read that twice. I also really liked Great Expectations and Silas Marner.

I remember reading Hatchet, Where the Red Fern Grows, and How to Eat Fried Worms when I was *really* young... I never got into those Babysitter books or any of those things, though.

TheLoadedDog

09-10-2001, 06:43 AM

You guys reminding me of books I forgot in my earlier post, and thanks to this thread I picked up a copy of The Monster at the End of This Book at the supermarket the other day -for my stepson, of course. ;) I'd forgotten how much I loved that book. Harry the Dirty Dog, and No Roses for Harry were favourites of mine too. I also loved Where the Wild Things Are, and The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar. It was so great being of this age in the early 70s when the kids books were so weird and trippy. The Truck on the Track by Janet Burroway is a classic example of this.

BTW, The Diggingest dog (http://my.linkbaton.com/get?lbCC=q&nC=q&genre=book&item=0394800478) is by Al Perkins. However, I'm having trouble trying to find a book from the 70s (possibly 60s) about a tram (streetcar) called Sparky. I think this is the title of the book too, but I'm not certain now. Nothing on Google.

Agrippina

09-10-2001, 01:08 PM

Originally posted by Edwardina
[originally posted by bean_shadow]
Then there was this one book that I loved but cannot remember the author or name, maybe someone can help: It was about this boy who loved little action figures, real tiny ones. Somehow he gets shrunk to the size of his action figures and his brother takes them to school and they have adventures. Does anyone know this? I'd love to read it again. Please!

Could you be thinking of The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks? I loved that book!

Nope. But I have read that one and liked it (the movie was pretty dorky). Besides the description I've provided, I'll try and remember some more:

The book begins with him leaving these little action figures all over the house and his mom gets angry with him about it. The action figures are pretty small. Umm..hmm...that's all I can really remember. The action figures are pretty modern, like space men or something; not indians or cowboys.

woolly

09-10-2001, 03:55 PM

A couple of our family faves not previously mentioned:
Classics: Winnie-the Pooh (AA Milne)
Aust Classics: The Magic Pudding (Norman Lindsay), Blinky Bill (Dorothy Wall)
The Hairy Mclary series by Linley Dodd

AA Milnes stuff might be twee but watching my 5yo and 3yo carefully walking the pavement while reciting "Lines & squares" or "Sneezles" defines cute.

Café Society

09-10-2001, 06:23 PM

My favorites- I reread them every year or so, are:

The Annotated Alice in Wonderland. This version explains the period references.

The Phantom Tollbooth. Which is a modern story with the same feel. Milo talks to the leaders of the lands of numbers and letters the doldrums.

PatrickM

09-10-2001, 06:48 PM

A great and witty book that hasn't been mentioned yet is "Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back" by Shel Silverstein.

And I'm delighted to know that "The Monster At The End Of This Book" is still currently available in grocery stores.

sjc

09-10-2001, 11:09 PM

Originally posted by bean_shadow

Nope. But I have read that one and liked it (the movie was pretty dorky). Besides the description I've provided, I'll try and remember some more:

The book begins with him leaving these little action figures all over the house and his mom gets angry with him about it. The action figures are pretty small. Umm..hmm...that's all I can really remember. The action figures are pretty modern, like space men or something; not indians or cowboys. [/B]

Is it just me, or does this sound a bit like ToyStory?

Dijon Warlock

09-12-2001, 07:51 PM

Originally posted by Yankee Blue:

I know this book. I read it when I was about 13 too. IIRC it was called The Wicked Wicked Ladies and the Haunted House but it's title had been changed from the original which was something like The Wicked Pigeon Sisters. Gad, where did I pull that from?

The girl in the story was actually transported to the time of the wicked sisters where she met their really nice mother...were there 7 sisters? Yeah, there were seven sisters. For some reason, I'm remembering the title as Pigeons on the Roof, but can't find anything about it online.[i]Originally posted by Super Gnat:

Uhh. . . a series, of which the middle one is called Greenwitch. Don't remember the author's name.That would be The Dark is Rising (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0020425651/qid=1000342172/sr=2-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_1/103-2418826-2807868) series by Susan Cooper. Very cool, freaky books.

MonkeyMensch

09-12-2001, 10:31 PM

Chris van Allsburg was mentioned a ways back in this thread and was recommended for very young readers. I was surprised by this. My brother gave me Jumanji and The Polar Express a few years back. I don't have any kids and neither does he, so it's not like they were intended for anyone else.

Jumanji, (don't even think of the movie), is undoubtedly the finest illustrated book I have ever seen. I wonder how long it took the author to create those unbelievably lush, velvety graphite renderings. The story is just a kid's afternoon adventure, but those drawings, those drawings...

And The Polar Express? I'll just say that I only read it twice a year, both times in December, just to make sure that I can still hear the bell ring. Sniff.

sjc

09-13-2001, 01:51 PM

I really like Are You My Mommy? The one about the baby bird who falls out of the nest and keeps mistaking different animals and machine for his mother. It is a pretty cutesy story, but I still like it.

I don't think anyone has mentioned books by Bill Peet. Fly Homer Fly!, [b]Big Bad Pete, Buford the Bighorn Sheep, No Such Things, and last but very certainly not least, The Wump World. I [b]loved The Wump World.

sjc

09-14-2001, 03:39 PM

Rosie's Walk, about the chicken being followed by a fox, is a good kids book. For pretty young readers, but I remember it fondly

Dijon Warlock

09-15-2001, 06:54 PM

My Side of the Mountain (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140348107/qid=1000597857/sr=2-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_1/103-2935220-0520655) by Jean Craighead George. A kid leaves city life and goes off by himself to live in the wilderness like a junior Grizzley Adams. Man, did I want to do that.

elfkin477

09-16-2001, 09:51 PM

I'll come up with my list after I've had more time to think about it (having worked with toddlers thru 3rd graders on early literacy gives me a lot to think about) but...
<minor hijack>
Tell me about the Golden Compass series. Are they good books for adults to read, too? I'm tempted to buy the first book in paperback, but besides kids raves over them, I haven't heard much. Have any of you read and liked them?
</minor hijack>

deepbluesea

09-17-2001, 04:51 AM

So many of my favorite children's books and authors have been mentioned (Nesbit, Eager, Cooper, Phantom Tollbooth, etc.). Here's a few I didn't see:

Picture Books Tuesday by David Wiesner. This is a Caldecott winner that has only three words, but tells a wonderful story nonetheless. Black and White by David Macaulay. Another wordless Caldecott, the impressive thing here is that each page contains four drawings - in four distinct artistic schools or styles - that tell four different (but interconnecting) stories. Amazing, and probably better for adults than kids, even. Tibet and Starry Messenger by Peter Sis. Actually, most of Sis' stuff is great. Tibet is really much better for adults, though. Olivia by Ian Falconer. Just the quotes on the back are worth the price of the book. If you loved Eloise, you'll love Olivia, too. The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base. This is the picture book for puzzle lovers of all ages.Children's and YA books Ordinary Jack, Absolute Zero, etc. - the first four books of the Bagthorpe Saga by Helen Cresswell. These are fanastic and some of the funniest books I've ever read, as an adult or as a child. The Golden Compass and sequels, by Phillip Pullman. These are just incredible books; kids love them on one level, adults love them on another, and everyone should read them. (Yes, this means you, Elfkin!) A Very Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket, and the rest of the novels in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Very tongue in cheek, quite funny, amusing for adults or children. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. A great fantasy novel that just happens to be written for YAs. The sequel, The Queen of Attolia, is even better. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg. I can't believe this one hasn't been mentioned yet! Two kids run away, hide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and solve a mystery. Konigsburg's latest, Silent to the Bone is also a great book about a mystery, though for YAs rather than kids. Seaward by Susan Cooper. Those who loved her Dark Is Rising sequence would probably really like this one - it's a standalone, less-well-known book, but is nearly as good as the best of DIR. The Diamond in the Window, The Swing in the Summerhouse, and The Astonishing Stereoscope by Jane Langton. These are marvelous books about magic in Concord. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. We read this every year at Christmastime in my house, even though we don't celebrate Christmas - it is a wonderfully funny story.Well, that doesn't come close to exhausting my list, but I imagine it more than exhausts everyone else's patience. Needless to say, I love children's literature - and I live with a children's librarian, too.

sjc

09-17-2001, 02:47 PM

The Rabbit Ears series of videos that narrates various kid's books is great. They have famous actors and actresses narrate stories and famous musicians provide the music. They don't actually animate the stories, but instead pan around the page and occasionally have the pictures move primitively. They tend to have some humor that can be appreciated by adults as well.

When my little sister brought home their version of The Fool and the Airship, I was spellbound. Robin Williams provides the narration with clever little asides.

amarinth

09-17-2001, 04:25 PM

Originally posted by MonkeyMensch
Chris van Allsburg was mentioned a ways back in this thread and was recommended for very young readers. I was surprised by this. My brother gave me Jumanji and The Polar Express a few years back. I don't have any kids and neither does he, so it's not like they were intended for anyone else.
...
And The Polar Express? I'll just say that I only read it twice a year, both times in December, just to make sure that I can still hear the bell ring. Sniff. Actually, Anything by Chris Van Allsburg. The Z was Zapped is the best alphabet book ever. And every child should have The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
. We (brother sister and I) each got a gift set of The Polar Express that came with a sleigh bell, but as we were no longer actually small children - mom gave them away to people who were. Even she regrets that now.

Also want to mention everything by Ezra Jack Keats and Jon Scieszka/Lane Smith in the picture book categories.

The only older children's book that hasn't been mentioned already is Go to the Room of the Eyes. I live just next to the neighborhood where it takes place and I still drive around trying to figure out where the house is exactly (Already have identified all the major landmarks). But even without that kind of connection, it's a wonderful story.

Hedda Rosa

09-17-2001, 06:01 PM

I'm really fuzzy on the details but if anyone remembers it....

There were a group of children, maybe brothers and sisters. They were in a house or castle, and outside was a gigantic tree that might have been named something biblical like Noah. There were ghosts of other children in the house or maybe in the tree. It was a very dark book but I remember really liking it, and I wish I could remember more. I do remember it was a "chapter book" but had some illustrations and was probably written between the 1930s - 1950s.

I was really happy to see Gone Away Lake in this list. Was trying to remember it, having loved it as a child.

My suggestion: All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. A bunch of Jewish little girls growing up in NYC around the turn of the century. Oh and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, of course.

Twiddle

Shirley Ujest

09-17-2001, 08:18 PM

Originally posted by Shirley Ujest
Originally posted by Finagle

There was a great book from my youth called "Sinbad and Me" by Kin Platt. Boy hero and his dog -- he solves mysteries by his knowledge of architecture. This book has everything, pirate treasure, bad guys, people with secrets, smart kids, more treasure, and even a smattering of actual information about architecture and nuismatics. I still remember one of the chapter headings, "One dark, one light, one future not bright."

This one seems to be far out of print. On the Amazon auction board, some guy wants $245.00 for a first edition library book. Eek!

I am now very interested in this book. If I find it (new or used) I will let you know.

My library found this book for me. If I really really like it, whisper I just may not return it since it seems impossible to locate in the real world. Is that bad?

deepbluesea

09-17-2001, 10:10 PM

Originally posted by Twiddle
I'm really fuzzy on the details but if anyone remembers it....

There were a group of children, maybe brothers and sisters. They were in a house or castle, and outside was a gigantic tree that might have been named something biblical like Noah. There were ghosts of other children in the house or maybe in the tree. It was a very dark book but I remember really liking it, and I wish I could remember more. I do remember it was a "chapter book" but had some illustrations and was probably written between the 1930s - 1950s.

Twiddle, sounds to me like you might be talking about the Green Knowe books by Lucy M. Boston - I think the one that features the tree called Noah is The Children of Green Knowe.

Shirley, yes, it is a bad thing if you don't return that book to the library. There's no way they can replace it if it is out of print. So, by stealing it from the library, you're taking away the chance for kids to find that book and love it, which after all is a main point of the children's collection in a library - showing kids why they should love to read. (And if enough kids love it, there will be sufficient demand that it might just come back into print.)

If you really are going to steal this book from the library, this is the only way that remotely approaches honorable:

First, make sure that this is not the last or second-to-last copy in the system. (You can find out by checking their computer catalog.) If it is, DO NOT STEAL IT. If the book goes out of the collection entirely, it will be much, much harder to replace it should it ever return to print. Also, most large library systems hold last copies in special collections; it is particularly important that these special collections stay complete, so that scholars and others can have access to hard-to-find books.

Second, borrow the book.

Third, report that you lost it.

Fourth, pay the fine in full.

Fifth, if you know the book is worth more than the fine you just paid, you can be extra nice (and extra honorable) by donating books or money to make up that value - apparently this one runs into the hundreds of dollars, which means the lost-book fee will not cover it.

Just not returning it, by the way, and not reporting that you lost it will create a host of additional problems - people will try to check out a book that isn't there, someone will have to devote many hours to a manual shelf-check, the catalog will have to be changed several times as opposed to just once. If you lose a book or steal one, please do report it as lost. (And be aware that if you don't report it, or if you don't pay your fines, some libraries are now selling their bad debts to collection agencies - it's just like not paying any other bill, y'know.)

Limerick

09-18-2001, 12:16 AM

Trixie Belden, Ohhh YEAH!! Loved em.

Has anybody read the last of the Green Gables series-- Rilla of Ingleside? Even now it can ake me cry like a baby.

Wrinkle In Time freaked me out. I think I read it too young.

galen ubal

09-18-2001, 10:40 AM

Great gods, the memories...

Madeline L'Engle - any and all.
Where The Wild Things Are

I'd forgotten The Great Brain series, and Bridge To Terebinthia - thanks guys.

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh - very cool *Sparklies!* (Yes, I know that's from the movie, which deviated significantly from the book, but it's a line which comes to me frequently, for some reason.

Dr_Paprika

09-18-2001, 11:30 AM

Having recently re-read Where the Wild Things Are, I find no credence to the earlier claim that Max increases in size until the Rumpus than decreases in size until he returns home for warm dinner.

Oh well.

Better stick with Fungus the Bogeyman.

bourbonstew

09-18-2001, 12:41 PM

Originally posted by elfkin477
<minor hijack>
Tell me about the Golden Compass series. Are they good books for adults to read, too? I'm tempted to buy the first book in paperback, but besides kids raves over them, I haven't heard much. Have any of you read and liked them?
</minor hijack>

I LOVED the Golden Compass and its sequels, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. The books have that sense of wonder and originality you rarely experience today. They are also mildly subversive, with subtext of choice and self-determination over rigid societal and religious constraint.

Reading them took me back to that sense of discovery over a new world that really fostered my love of reading as a 10-12 year old. I'd recommend the books to an advanced 11 year old or higher, or anyone 13-14 and up. These are the kind of books that may be shelved in the YA section but are great for adults as well, with more realistic and grown-up situations than, say the Narnia books. They're better than the Harry Potter books, and I enjoy those as well.

I'm also slightly amazed at only one mention of Shel Silverstein so far. A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends were two favorites as an elementary school-aged kid. They were funny, sympathetic to a child's viewpoint, and had some good 'gross' humor that never gets old to a kid.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book for a YA, and slightly over-rated but still good are the SE Hinton books (Outsiders, Rumble Fish) also.

AbbySthrnAccent

09-18-2001, 01:01 PM

Originally posted by Twiddle
...Oh and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, of course.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, is a great read. It's a coming of age story about a young girl, but I respectfully disagree that it's a "kid's book", especially not for young kids as discussed in the OP.

AbbySthrnAccent

09-18-2001, 01:32 PM

Originally posted by sjc
Which children's books do you still enjoy? (Or really liked as a kid.)

This is pretty free-form, I am thinking of young kids books, but you are free to talk about 'young adult' or whatever.

I still love most of Dr. Seuss. Also Make Way For Ducklings and Blueberries For Sal, the list goes on and on...

One of my favorites Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. It is so cool.
Oops, my apologies, I hadn't re-read the op since I first posted to the thread over two weeks ago. I remembered it as a request for books for the very young and school age, but sure enough it says "young adult" and [b]A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" certainly fits young adult.

schemo

09-19-2001, 10:54 AM

Originally posted by Legomancer
One of my all-time favorite books is 'Monster at the End of this Book' by lovable furry old Grover.

I LOVE THAT BOOK!!!
I read it to my class when I worked with kidergarteners. It was the first book i remember being really excited about, because the main character actually talks to you while you're reading.

sjc

09-19-2001, 04:34 PM

For Seattlites (such as myself (during the school year)) The Weedle on the Needle is a good book.

Has anyone mentioned Winnie the Pooh? What a classic.

My dad read me Tom Sawyer and later Huckleberry Finn when I was a kid. Did anyone else feel like Tom Sawyer was a wuss after reading Huckleberry Finn? I mean, I thought Tom was cool but then when I heard Huck's story I realized that he was just a wannabe. I liked the fence painting scene though.

Hello Again

09-19-2001, 04:58 PM

My love affair with non-fiction began at a young age. I loved a book called Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? which was about the American Revolution, only told from George III's point of view, with information on him his family, etc. The book is appropriate for 3-4th graders who are interested, IMO, but I was a early reader, so YMMV.

amarinth

09-19-2001, 05:18 PM

Originally posted by sjc
For Seattlites (such as myself (during the school year)) The Weedle on the Needle is a good book.
"There's a Wheedle on the Needle
and I know just what you're thinking
but if you look up at night
you can see his red nose blinking."

(I have totally forgotten the plot of the book, but will remember that forever.) Actually, the whole series of books by Stephen Cosgrove is pretty good.

sjc

09-20-2001, 09:58 PM

Ping the Duck, about a duckling who lives on the Yangtze river on a houseboat. He gets lost and a mean boy catches him. Eventually he finds his houseboat.

For little kids really.

LifeOnWry

09-20-2001, 10:45 PM

Where the heck was this thread hiding all this time?

My all-time favorites:
Anything by Shel Silverstein, Beverly Cleary or Dr. Seuss
The Giver, by Lois Lowery (an AMAZING book for young adults)
The "Junie B. Jones" books by Barbara Parks
Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret and Then Again, Maybe I Won't, by Judy Blume

Authors unremembered: William's Ninth Life (cry? I thought I was going to DROWN in tears!), The Ghost Next Door and Love, Anna

Anyone ever read any of Fred (Herman Munster) Gwynne's wonderful children's books?

deepbluesea

09-21-2001, 05:09 PM

Originally posted by amarinth
The only older children's book that hasn't been mentioned already is Go to the Room of the Eyes. I live just next to the neighborhood where it takes place and I still drive around trying to figure out where the house is exactly (Already have identified all the major landmarks). But even without that kind of connection, it's a wonderful story.

THANK YOU, Amarinth, for posting this. I checked out all the books in this thread that I hadn't already read - last night I started Go to the Room of the Eyes. Wasn't far into it before I started to think 'hmm - read this before?' Turns out this is a book I read when I was about 7 and really liked. I forgot the title and the author, so I couldn't find it again; I've been trying to figure out what the book was ever since. Mystery solved, at long last!

Dale The Bold

09-22-2001, 12:46 AM

Everybody Poops I mean, wow, think about it.

Quincyj68

09-22-2001, 10:37 AM

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was a favourite of mine which I haven't seen mentioned....

I also agree with Charlotte's Web, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, oh, most of them actually! :)

There are a few I jotted down and will introduce to my 8 year old son. I'm sure he'll like something called The Big Orange Splot!

sjc

09-22-2001, 01:34 PM

Lloyd Alexander's The Book of Three and the other books in that series (YA). I believe this has been mentioned before, but I think they deserve another mention.

Shirley Ujest

10-29-2002, 01:51 PM

I am resurrecting this thread for a couple of reasons.

1) I want to thank Finagle for recommending Sinbad & Me by Kin Platt. I liked it so much that I actually thought of committing an unspeakable crime of stealing it from the library. Which I would never do now that I have integrity...dammit.

2) Which leads me to tell Deepbluesea that I am now the proud owner of this book by all means legal.

3) For the whopping price of Three Dollars which also included shipping and handling.

There have been a couple other books recommended that based
on the mentioning here, my jotting it down to take a look at it, I have added a considerable chunk to my kids (ok, mine) personal library:

Lord of the Nutcracker Men Ian Lawrence. A little boy in WW1 thinks he can control the outcome of the battles with the tin soldiers that his father made. His father is fighting for the brits.

Dear Napolean, I know your are dead Elvira Woodruff. A young boys assignment to write to a famous person goes awry when he choses to write to dead famous people and gets replies.
What is going on at Gramps' nursing home anyways? (Fun read.)

Harry Potter Series I'm re-reading them right now. I can't say enough about this series and am absolutely chomping at the bit for #5 and the next movie.

Never Miss a sunset J by Jean Gilge. Turn of the century Upper Midwest farm girl is stuck taking care of the house and mama and the other kids when mama is pregnant again. She resents missing school and hates the soon to be baby. I loved this story when I was a kid and it wasn't until I went to replace my copy of it and couldn't find it anywhere that I discovered it was a christian themed book and part of a set.

I have a stack of others that I haven't read through yet, but details as they warrant. :)

Bomzaway

10-29-2002, 02:59 PM

I cannot believe that this thread has grown to three pages long without a single mention of the great Bloom County Christmas story A Wish For Wings That Work.

Mtgman

10-29-2002, 05:02 PM

A couple of my family's favorites.

#1, and this is with a bullet. Weslandia (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0763600067//102-4903630-8054526?v=glance) by Paul Fleischman, Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)
The following quote is a review of the book posted on the Barnes and Noble site but the link above goes to Amazon so you can see the pages.Wesley is a nonconformist suffering rejection from classmates who torment him for his weird views (such as thinking professional football stupid and disliking pizza) until he puts his school lessons to use and founds his own civilization-Weslandia. Beginning with the discovery of a new staple crop that Wesley christens "swist," the idea works superbly, its flowering caught equally well in text and illustrations that seamlessly flow together from beginning to end. Double-page spreads explode with color barely contained within the book. Vegetation, insects, and wild creatures abound as Wesley utilizes flower, fruit, rind, tuber, and leaf to create and maintain his new home. A language and counting system evolve to support his innovations; it's all here and it all fits. Combining the allure of fantasy and science fiction with the dismissal of socially acceptable norms creates a true paradise for today's pre-teen and terrific fodder for social studies classes. At another level, the story works for younger children, who will be drawn to the art and appreciate Wesley's inventiveness, indomitable spirit, and ultimate triumph. You can see some of the pages at Amazon, it's just brilliant.

We also like Phoebe's Revolt (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374359075/qid=1035931731/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/102-4903630-8054526?v=glance) and The Froggy Series (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/series/-/459/paperback/ref=ref=pd_sim_series/102-4903630-8054526) as books which have characters who represent childhood archetypes the kids can usually relate to. We like pretty much any book really. We let the kids get five books a week on our trips to the library. They pick them at random from the shelves, it's a great way to discover new books/authors. Harder to do with older children/adult books because those books get too long to bother reading if they suck wind. But with the kids books that average about twenty pages or so, even if you get a stinker it's no real big deal. Not like you wasted an entire day reading about Rand al'Thor and his harem with nothing being resolved at any point.(not that I'm bitter)

Enjoy,
Steven

MaxTheVool

10-29-2002, 05:03 PM

Every time this topic comes up, I mention the greatest picture book of all time:

The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle and Who Was In It (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0156954877/qid=1035931747/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_4/104-7873911-1025506?v=glance&n=507846) by Carl Sandburg

A few others that have not been mentioned yet (or if they were, I missed it):

The Twenty One Balloons (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140320970/qid=1035931805/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-7873911-1025506?v=glance&n=507846) by William Pene du Bois (along with many other of his books)

The Secret Garden (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0397321651/qid=1035931880/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-7873911-1025506) by Francis Hodgson Burnett

Coraline (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380977788/qid=1035931944/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-7873911-1025506?v=glance) by Neil Gaiman

Dragonsong (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553258524/qid=1035931990/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/104-7873911-1025506) by Anne McCaffrey

Also, my nomination for top Dr Suess book is the frequently overlooked
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394944844/qid=1035932059/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-7873911-1025506?v=glance&n=507846)