# Which Kid's Books Kick Ass? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368 "2001-09-02T02:27:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/81 "2001-09-07T00:12:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/82 "2001-09-07T02:26:50Z")
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. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/83 "2001-09-07T03:31:09Z")
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] ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/84 "2001-09-07T03:36:53Z")
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] ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/85 "2001-09-07T04:07:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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!_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lionors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@Lionors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionors)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/86 "2001-09-07T05:09:19Z")
I cannot BELIEVE I forgot Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry! Thanks, Tenar! [sub] 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. [/sub] 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? ---
**Author:** ![Yankee\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7ea924/32.png) [@Yankee\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankee_Blue)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/87 "2001-09-07T14:56:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/88 "2001-09-07T15:52:10Z")
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**? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/89 "2001-09-07T16:50:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. ---
**Author:** ![Lionors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@Lionors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionors)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/90 "2001-09-08T17:00:11Z")
Kin Platt did the ‘Chloris’ books, too, didn’t he? (Chloris and the Creeps, Chloris and the Freaks). Any call for those? ---
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/91 "2001-09-09T02:03:27Z")
Beyond the Divide by Kathryn Lasky Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/92 "2001-09-09T05:53:03Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/93 "2001-09-09T12:08:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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), [i}Dancing Shoes\* and _Theater Shoes_. There may have been more in the series, but I never read past the first one. ---
**Author:** ![ferrisgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ferrisgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ferrisgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/94 "2001-09-09T22:46:27Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/95 "2001-09-10T04:45:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. ---
**Author:** ![Osakadave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f07891/32.png) [@Osakadave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osakadave)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/96 "2001-09-10T05:21:53Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/97 "2001-09-10T09:06:43Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/98 "2001-09-10T11:43:21Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/99 "2001-09-10T18:08:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. ---
**Author:** ![woolly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ebca7d/32.png) [@woolly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woolly)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368/100 "2001-09-10T20:55:52Z")
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. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-kids-books-kick-ass/79368.md?page=6)