I LOVE Make Way for Ducklings! That is one of my all-time favorite childhood books. That and Be Nice to Spiders.
I think for me it’s the last couple of lines. I haven’t re-read it recently because of this. It makes me so sad, this ending of a period.
Another Oscar Wilde: “The Happy Prince.” The thing gets sad about a third of the way through and sadder as it progresses. As a grown man that damn story has made me cry; the attempt at a happy ending doesn’t make up for it. Read at your own risk.
Seconded (ETA: to concur a fourth or fifth time, sorry). The boy’s treatment of the tree is what gets me - he’s such a selfish prick. Yet the tree still loves him to the end. I’m not a parent, but I think that this book is a good metaphor for parenting from my observations; maybe the end doesn’t hold up to that interpretation so well.
Can we include children’s song lyrics? Puff the Magic Dragon makes me cry…
That makes me think of Jurassic Bark in “Futurama.” I know, I know, NOT a book or for children, but it also involves someone waiting behind…forever. Sigh.
AAAHHHH!!! fingers in ears LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
trying very hard not to think about "Jurassic Bark
lip wobble
Bastard…
Sorry. I created a follow up thread here just asking if people who have these books that make them cry dislike the books for that reason. Didn’t want to hijack this one too much, so there it is–it’s a question that’s intrigued me for a while.
Are You My Mother?
Corderoy (that spelling does NOT look right…)
I’m with you, Stargazer. I’ve had to use the “Um, sorry, I lost my place… got distracted” routine while I pull myself together.
My favorite book in this genre, though, is The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein. It’s full of gorgeous illustrations of Philippe Petit’s amazing high-wire walk between the two World Trade Center towers (the illustrations are based on film taken that day, I believe) that just convey the grace of human endeavor. At the end, it just says something like “The towers are gone now. But they live in our memories as they did on that August day when Philippe Petit walked in the sky.” I’m crying just thinking about it. But it’s a great way to introduce children to what happened on September 11, should you feel a need to start that conversation.
I will also mention Sophie’s Masterpiece, by Eileen Spinelli, and The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola, but won’t attempt to describe at the moment!
I cannot read Chapter 14, “Alamo Gulch” of Phillip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife without bawling like a baby.
Heck, I’m tearing up right now, just thinking about it.
The display of love and steadfastness in the face of danger is breathtaking. Being at once hopeless and satisfied, doomed and accepting… there’s just so much at play in this chapter, and the last sentence just reduces me to jelly.
Great book.
The last page of Mrs. Katz and Tush, by Patricia Polacco, just kills me every single time I read it. Thinking about it makes me choke up. It’s the story of an old Jewish widow, childless, who sort of adopts an African-American family in her apartment building (and they adopt her right back). The end is inevitable. You see it coming a mile away. But that last page. Damn.
And count me among those who find Love You Forever to be completely creepy and awful.
Oh man, you and me both…
*A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, jackie paper came no more
And puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his life-long friend, puff could not be brave,
So puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. oh!
*
That kills me. You gotta be made of stone for that not to break your heart…
Polacco has another book called Pink and Say about two boys (one black and one white) during the Civil War. Both of the boys are eventually taken prisoner and Pink is hanged. At the end you find out that Say was Polacco’s great-great grandfather and the story of his relationship with Pink has been passed down through the family. The last line of the book is:
“Before you put this book down, say his name (Pinkus Aylee) out loud and vow to remember him always.”
The thing is, kids do confront death. Grandma dies. Fluffy dies. Even if they don’t have a pet or friend or relative who dies, they’re insatiably curious about death, and dying, and all the stuff parents don’t want to talk about. That’s part of why fairy tales are full of death and suffering and such - kids want to talk about it and explore it. Now, some kiddie lit is just exploitative, but I don’t think you can say that about Charlotte’s Web, for example - the spider dies at the end because that’s how the world is - you have to grow up, your parents can’t look after you forever.
Reading the one-star Amazon reviews for Love You Forever is downright hilarious. 
I gotta admit, I haven’t actually read the book. It sounds like half the audience finds it a heartwarming tale of unconditional love - and the other half, a creepy Psycho-like story of stalking, obsession and (just possibly) incest.
I know! It’s fascinating. It’s apparently a polarizing thing, huh? It’s like Sarah Palin in children’s book form (did I just type that?). It seems to me, judging from the hilariously diverse (and adamant! So adamant! :D) reviews, that the dividing line on this one concerns being able to conceive allegories in a significantly abstracted way. Just a wild guess- I’ve never even heard of the book, but I’m intrigued. Sounds like I might have to give this one the old “Borders Thumb-Through”…
I sort of disagree with Puff and Pooh, I mean, Puff sort of did affect me as a child, but when I grew up, I realized that if I had known actual dragons and talking animals as a child I would very well make time for them as an adult.
Heh I’ll be keeping an eye out for it too.
I doubt I’ll buy it for my boy, though. Seems more something that would appeal to (or alternatively horrify) parents.
Several parts in the Chronicles of Prydain, notably what happens to Prince Rhun, and even moreso the whole wrap-up of the series in The High King. As an adult, I introduced my wife to these books, reading aloud every night, and couldn’t keep my eyes dry despite great effort.
Moderator interjection: You’re doing fine, I just want to remind all future posters please, do NOT quote large amounts from works. Much better is a small quote within Fair Standards usage, and providing a link to a web-site that has the work, with the author’s (or whatever) copyright permission.
I’m leaving the long Oscar Wilde quote, assuming that the copyright is long run out. However, even for something like that, we’d much prefer that you provide a link to another web-site rather than lengthy quoting here.