I love books, but I don't particularly want to own them unless I know I will refer to them often. I just reviewed our bookshelves and these are the books that we own that I would buy again if our house burned down:
The Chicago Manual of Style
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brother's Grimm
The Best American Poetry 2005 (It was a good year, trust me.)
The complete collection of plays by Tennessee Williams
The Making of a Poem
The scriptures
Several of my cookbooks
I love going to libraries, and since I am quite comfortable with inter-library loan I don't see much use in keeping books. I know that is boringly practical of me, but there it is.
Lately, however, I have been thinking a lot about Sophie's reading habits (Five Little Ladybugs, Curious George's ABC's, Everybody Poops...). Especially if we travel I would like her to have lots of other fun and exciting books at her fingertips. So, I am going to start a library. I just joined Paperback Swap which is a free online organization that you trade books, cds, and dvds on. It seems the perfect place to start building up a library for the Boapers.
I have started to compile a list and am looking for recommendations. I am looking for anything that would appeal to a sweet and gentle girl who is also a loud screaming barbarian who will one day be tough enough to bite through tires if she wants.
Here is what I am thinking of so far:
Fablehaven series
Maniac Magee, Wringer and anything by Jerry Spinelli
Holes
all of Gordan Korman's books (Losing Joe's Place)
Laura Ingalls Wilder books (Little House on the Prairie)
Louisa May Alcott books (Little Women)
Chris Van Allsburg books (The Mysteries of Harris Burdick)
Taran Wanderer
Anne of Green Gables
Enders Game
A Wrinkle in Time
The Hunger Games
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
The Boxcar Children
The Borrowers
Pippi Longstocking
And...I am tired of making this list now.
What are your favorite children's books that Soaps should read?
8 comments:
Lately I am a big fan of the Toot and Puddles books by Holly Hobbie. A couple of weeks ago I checked out one of each at the library and made Bryan read them all. Then we bought the first one at the BYU Bookstore sidewalk sale a week or so ago. Let me tell you why I love them. First of all, the illustrations are wonderful. They are the kind of pictures that you find yourself noticing funny little details and laughing about them even though you've read the book fifty times. Also, I think these books do a great job at teaching morals without shoving morals down the kid's throat. It's kind of like Christ's parables to the masses- he just told the good story and let them figure out the meaning for themselves. Okay, maybe that was a bit sacrilegious, but I just finished reading in Luke this morning. Anyway, I have so many favorite children's books, but that is just one set.
Also, I love Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye. This book needs no explanation. I promise you will have no regrets.
The Egypt Game
Stepping on the Cracks
Calico Captive
Jacob Have I Loved
Johnny Tremain
And for the younger crowd, Harold & the Purple Crown and anything by Frank Asch.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Grandfather Twilight
The Betsy Tacy and Tibb series
Oh, the Frances books, too.
Bread and Jam for Frances
Best Friends for Frances
etc.
author's name is Hoban
Oops, one more I forgot. This one is for when she's a teenager.
Girl of the Limberlost
Freckles
both by Gene Stratton Porter
I really liked all the "Where's Waldo" books. It wasn't until a few years ago that I realized how much of an effect those books had on my childhood. For instance, whenever people mentioned a train station or a ski resort the images of crowded, exciting places came to mind.
-The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series
-Everything by E.L. Konigsburg (e.g. The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and The View From Saturday)
-Lois Lowry books (including the Ask Anastasia series and The Giver)
-Dandelion Wine
-a Joan Bauer book or two (including Hope Was Here)
-Sharon Creech books (e.g. Love That Dog, Grandma Torelli Makes Soup)
I'm ditto-ing most of Bridget's books and the Frances recommendations. Good heavens, I love the way Frances eats food.
Oh--WAYSIDE SCHOOL! WAYSIDE SCHOOL! WAYSIDE SCHOOL!
Get some Newberys too. They're usually pretty good--even the old ones. (The Bronze Bow, etc.)
Turns out I could go on forever: to prepare for her tire-biting days--My Side of the Mountain.
Also, Sarah, Plain and Tall (most perfect book ever written).
THE LITTLE PRINCE!
And the All-of-a-Kind Family series. (Taught me more about Judaism/Jewish holidays and girlhood than any other book I've read.)
This is my new favorite game.
Dear Anna,
I miss your blog posts. Even though they make me have a complex about my own and wonder why I don't think of such cool things to write about. Still, I wish you'd write. Yo.
-Katie
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