10 Books That Every Child Should Read

There is a list here of the 10 most amazing books that the author thinks every child should read. Have you read them all? Here's the titles only version, go to the link to see the full list.

1- Charlotte's Web (read many times)
2- Miss Osborne the Mop (haven't heard of it)
3- Where the Red Fern Grows (read)
4- Pippi Longstocking (read once, wasn't hugely into her)
5- The Borrowers (read and LOVED)
6- Little Men (did not read)
7- The Mouse and the Motorcycle (read a few times)
8- The Giver (read in college for a class)
9- Island of the Blue Dolphins (always wanted to read, never did for some reason)
10-Hatchet (know of it, did not read)

Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer

I've seen these books in the stores for a while, but had actually steered clear of them because I thought they were just a Harry Potter knock off. The other day, I was in the kid section with Daniel while he was playing with the train table, and they caught my eye again. As they had the first 3 books in the series for $9.98, I decided to give them a try. Who am I to pass up a bargain?

Well, let me just say, it is not a Harry Potter knock off! Yes, it deals with sprites, dwarves, leprechauns, and other fantasy figures, but there the resemblance ends. The leprechauns are actually LEPrecons (Lower Elements Police Recon officers), the fairies use nuclear powered battery pack wings, and the lead character, while a young boy, is a brilliant criminal mastermind. The book is a light quick read, but is very engaging. I highly recommend it to either a fantasy fan, or a young adult/children's literature fan. Enjoy!

Sheep in a Jeep

I don't know why, but Daniel finds "Sheep in a Jeep" by Nancy Shaw to be absolutely, roll on the floor laughing, hysterical. I mean, he just went into full belly laughs tonight while we were reading it, to the point where he was having trouble catching his breath! I'm not sure what exactly sets him off. Is it the simple rhyming text? "Sheep in a jeep on a hill that's steep." "Uh-oh, jeep won't go." They all get out to push: "Sheep shove. Sheep grunt. Sheep don't think to look up front." (This is the part where the belly laughs start.) Or is it the pictures of 5 sheep falling down in the mud while trying to chase the jeep which has now gone downhill? Whatever it is, it works. Luckily, there are more books in the series that we will be exploring:

"Sheep Take a Hike"
"Sheep Out to Eat"
"Sheep on a Ship"
"Sheep Trick or Treat"

The Great Green Room Wiki

When I was searching for anything interesting on "Goodnight Moon" yesterday, I came across this site.

http://kidsbooks.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

It is a website based on the Wikipedia model, where anyone can contribute to it. It is geared towards compiling a database of information on children's literature. It was set up this past summer. Sadly, it doesn't seem to have much information (or any) on it yet. It has the potential to be a wonderful resource!

Goodnight Moon

The first book I ever read to Daniel, when he was just a few days old, was "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown. It was my favorite book when I was a child, and I can still remember the sense of quiet I felt as I listened to my mother read it.

In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of-

The cow jumping over the moon
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs

And two little kittens
And a pair of mittens
And a little toyhouse
And a young mouse

And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
And a quiet old lady who was whispering "hush"

Did you know these facts about the book?

• On every color page, you can find the little mouse hiding somewhere.
• "The Runaway Bunny", Margaret Wise Brown's other classic book, is on the bookshelf.
• The painting on the wall of the bunny fishing is actually a drawing from "The Runaway Bunny."
• There is a copy of "Goodnight Moon" on the nightstand beside the bed.
• The three little bears have a picture of the cow jumping over the moon on their wall.
• The Simpsons had an episode with Christopher Walken (brrrrr) reading the book to a group of increasingly frightened children. Yeah, that would put me over the edge.
• The book is referred to in The Exorcist III. (Goodnight moon, goodnight stars, goodnight Amy.)
• Opus enjoys his own version of "Goodnight Moon" in Bloom County.
• Zits (one of my favorite comics about a teenage boy...I envision Daniel in a dozen years) did a parody of the book called "Goodnight Dude."

Tasha Tudor

I don't even know where to start with this remarkable artist. She is a timeless illustrator and a fascinating woman. I have several of her books, a few of which are probably collectors items by now.

She was born in 1915, and has recently turned 91 in 2006. She has illustrated nearly 100 books, and received Caldecott Honors for Mother Goose and 1 is One. Once you see a few of her illustrations, you get to recognize them anywhere. She uses soft, almost delicate colors, and her drawings often seem to transport you back to the days before cell phones, televisions, or even electricity for that matter.

She lives what she draws. (Or rather, she draws what she lives.) Her house was built in the 1970s by her son using only hand tools. She is surrounded by antiques which never have a chance to collect dust. She makes her own candles and soap, weaves her own cloth, cooks on an old fashioned stove, cans, makes her own ice cream and cheese from fresh goat's milk, and collects eggs from her chickens. I have a book called The Private World of Tasha Tudor by Richard Brown and Tasha Tudor which details her day to day life. If you're a fan of her work, I recommend this book for an inside look at who she is.

This is probably my most beloved book of hers. I have a well worn copy from when I was a child. If you click on the book, it will take you to Amazon.com, which lets you see a few illustrations. If I could show you the whole book I would!I found an almost amusing interview by the site downhomebooks.com. It's funny due to the complexity of the interviewer's questions contrasted with Tasha's extremely brusque answers. As the interviewer says, she suffers no fools! Here's an example (she was interviewed through her son Seth, thus the seemingly odd self reference).

DHBks: One thing stood out for me when I read A is for Annabelle as a young child. When you got to the letter “X,” instead of making up some insipid comment, you said, “X is the comment for which I've no rhyme!” I remember standing up and cheering. Did you have this in mind from the very beginning, or search for an “X” word to rhyme with, and then give it up in frustration?

TT/Seth: Tasha Tudor cannot explain the instinctive creative process.

Happy Hanukkah!

The first night of Hanukkah was last night. In honor of that, here is one of my favorite Hanukkah books.
It's a cute story about Baba Brayna, who is so old she is almost blind and deaf. She is getting ready for Chanukkah celebrations, and does not realize that the "rabbi" she has invited in is actually Old Bear. It's a fun, engaging story that children of all religions will enjoy.

The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell

This is an unusual book review, in that I have not actually read this particular version of the book. Here's the story:

When I was little, I had a Christmas record (yes, an honest to goodness record!) with this story on it. I vividly remember listening to it each Christmas, and loving the story. It's about a little angel boy who comes to heaven, and can't seem to get anything right. His halo is always crooked, he falls head over heels more often than not, and he creates general havoc. He eventually has to go meet with the Angel of Peace (the Singer) to explain himself.

The Littlest Angel removed his halo and breathed upon it heavily, then polished it upon his robe, a procedure which added nothing to that garment's already untidy appearance, and then tiptoed in!

The Singer who was known as the Understanding Angel looked down at the small culprit, and the Littlest Angel instantly tried to make himself invisible by the ingenious process of withdrawing his head into the collar of his robe, very much like a snapping turtle.

At that, the Singer laughed, a jolly, heart-warming sound, and said, "Oh, so you're the one whose been making Heaven so unheavenly! Come here, cherub, and tell me all about it!"

The Littlest Angel looked furtively from beneath his robe. First one eye. And then the other eye.

Suddenly, almost before he knew it, he was perched on the lap of the Understanding Angel, and was explaining how very difficult it was for a boy who suddenly finds himself transformed into an angel. Yes, and no matter what the Archangel said, he's only swung once. Well, twice. Oh, alright, then, he'd swung three times on the Golden Gate. But that was just for something to do!

That was the whole trouble. There wasn't anything for a small angel to do. And he was very homesick.

The Understanding Angel fetches a small box from under the Littlest Angel's bed back home. In this box are all the treasures in the world a boy could save: a butterfly wing, a bit of eggshell, some stones, a scrap from his favorite dog's collar, etc. After having his box again, the Littlest Angel is then transformed to the most model Angel in Heaven.

Soon, it comes time for the child Jesus to be born in Bethlehem. All the Angels work on creating beautiful gifts, but the Littlest Angel can't think of what to give. When the time comes, he eventually decides to give the new baby his very own special box of treasures. He is very afraid that it will be found ugly and worthless, but is amazed to discover that God is so pleased with his gift that he sets it up in the sky as the Star of Bethlehem.

I was thrilled to see that my beloved story was in a picture book, with vibrant oil paintings to accompany it. According to The School Library Journal, "The writing style is rather ornate and full of grandiose words and phrases, but some children will love to hear it read aloud." I agree...it is a delicious book to listen to! The more children are exposed to rich language, the more they will develop their own communication skills. If you want to read the whole text of the story, go here.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

We just read Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in class today. It's the original poem written by Robert L. May and warmly illustrated by David Wenzel. The poem was created in 1939 as part of an advertising campaign for Montgomery Ward. I would say it's best for 5 year olds at a minimum, 6, 7 and 8 year olds would get the most enjoyment out of it. The only reason I say this is because it is a little lengthy. That being said, however, my class sat through it all without squirming, so they were definitely drawn into the story! We sang the song afterwards, and then made reindeer out of their hands and feet. (If you ever want to make one, trace the foot for the head, trace the hands for the antlers. Draw or glue wiggle eyes, draw a mouth, and add a red glitter nose!)

The Night Before Christmas, Jan Brett

Time to start reviewing Christmas books! I'll start with a traditional story. Everyone knows the poem by Clement C. Moore. Here it is told alongside Jan Brett's intricate illustrations. As I said in my author review of her in November, she pays great attention to detail in her drawings, even to the point of studying actual reindeer to depict them accurately. The book is a visual wonder. As with any of my reviews, click on the book and it will take you right to that item in www.barnesandnoble.com.

Children's Book Links

I was looking for a site that reviewed children's picture books, and came across these sites.

http://www.eleanorsbooks.com/ A collection of interesting links.
"A PLACE TO START: for the writers, readers, collectors, illustrators, librarians, teachers, parents, publishers, printers, storytellers and kids."

http://www.childrenslit.com/ An amazing review site!
"Each month Children's Literature features interviews with children's book authors and illustrators. Also each month Children's Literature features several sets of themed reviews and these are archived continued reference. We provide thousands of links to author illustrator sites, publishers, kids, parent and teacher resources, children's literature collections, upcoming events relating to children's literature and much more."

The Children's Literature Web Guide
"The Children's Literature Web Guide is an attempt to gather together and categorize the growing number of Internet resources related to books for Children and Young Adults."

Through The Looking Glass Children's Book Review Grouped by age.
"Online children's book reviews for the child in your life featuring both new and popular children's book authors."

Chewy Louie

I was looking back and realized it's been a while since I've reviewed a book. So here is one of my favorites!

Chewy Louie, by Howie Schneider

I love this book for two reasons. First, Schneider's illustrations of the little black dog Louie are priceless. In almost every picture, that tail is wagging maniacally. You know Louie has been bad, but you can't help but grin at him anyway. Second, anyone who has owned a puppy can sympathize with the plight of Louie's family, who are chagrined to discover that he not only chews slippers or toys, but furniture, parts of the house, and basically anything that he can get his chompers on! It's a great book that both children and adults will enjoy reading again and again.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims

This is one of my favorite books to read as Thanksgiving approaches. It's One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B. G. Hennessy.

The text is roughly this:

One little, two little, three little Pilgrims.
Four little, five little, six little Pilgrims.
Seven little, eight little, nine little Pilgrims.
Ten little Pilgrim boys and girls.

One little, two little, three little Wampanoag.
Four little, five little, six little Wampanoag.
Seven little, eight little, nine little Wampanoag.
Ten little Wampanoag boys and girls.

Then there's a section of what they're all doing, gathering berries, nuts, etc. to get ready for the feast.

Next:
One big, two big, three big turkeys.
Four big, five big, six big turkeys.
Seven big, eight big, nine big turkeys.
Ten big turkeys for the feast.

After that is a listing of all the good foods they are eating, and showing them gathering for the feast.

I think there's a final section of them coming together for the feast at the end. I like that it uses the name "Wampanoag" who were the Native Americans around for the first Thanksgiving. I never thought that word would roll off my tongue so easily! I also like that some of the activities are distinctly Massachussets area things...at one point they're digging for clams on the beach and fishing for cod. One review I read said "Its purpose is to reflect the daily lives of the pilgrims and the Wampanoag children during the 1600’s." The kids really seem to enjoy it!

Jan Brett

Hopefully, if you read children's literature (specifically picture books), you know the name Jan Brett. She is the author and illustrator of books such as Trouble with Trolls, The Mitten, Annie and the Wild Animals, Comet's Nine Lives, Gingerbread Baby, and The Umbrella, to name a few. What you might not realize is that she has an extensive website that is very educator friendly. There are activity pages, coloring pages, videos, games, recipes, projects, cards and envelopes, and of course, tons of beautiful artwork. In the activity pages section, she has a wealth of resources: alphabet pages, math pages, flash cards, bulletin board printables, High Frequency Word lists, etc.

Here are a few facts about her: (I found these listed on many different websites, too many to cite!)

• Each book begins with the art first.
• Jan likes to listen to audiobooks while drawing--usually thrillers!
• Each book takes about a year to complete. (Take a look at a single page of one, and you'll see why!)
• The pages of each book are not created in sequence (she saves the front materials and endpapers for last).
• Each book is carefully researched--she created The Umbrella after a trip with her husband to Costa Rica.
• Jan prefers to use her memories of a place to create her art, rather than relying on pictures.
  
• By the time she was six years old, she knew she wanted to be a children's book illustrator.
• She is known for very detailed drawings, with glimpses of what is to come in the side illustrations of each page.
  
• If you look carefully, you can often find a hedgehog hiding in the pages of each book!
  

(Click on this one to look at the details of the artwork.)

Janell Cannon

Teaching kindergarten, I come across many children's picture books. One of my favorite authors is Janell Cannon. Whenever I read her stories to the class, they sit spellbound by the rich language, beautiful pictures and new creatures to learn about. Here are some examples:


Stellaluna is about a young fruit bat who loses her way from home one day. She tries to fit in with a family of birds, and is amazed to discover that even though we all look and act different, we all feel the same things inside.



Verdi is a little tree snake. He loves his bright yellow skin, and loves being able to do all the great things a young snake can do. He doesn't want to grow up and be boring like the bigger green snakes. A wonderful book about the fear of change and of growing older.


Only Janell Cannon could make you feel empathy for a cockroach! Crickwing gets bullied by the others because of his crooked wing, and he starts to take it out on the leaf-cutter ants. A good story to launch a discussion of acceptance and bullying.


Here is an interview about her latest book, Pinduli. I have not had a chance to read this one yet, but I'm sure it's as brilliant as the rest!