Book of the Week

9 years ago

1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up /
general editor, Julia Eccleshare ; preface by Quentin Blake.

I really love children’s
literature as it combines two of my favorites – literature and art. I find it extraordinary how the best of
children’s literature tells a story or conveys an idea in a very brief space. The illustrations in good literature are a wonderful
visual treat, complementing the text and adding to the magic of the storytelling.

The book entries in this volume were
selected and reviewed by leading international critics, three of these being Margaret
Atwood, Judy Blume and Isabel Allende. The
reviews are organized by age categories: Ages 0-3, Ages 3+, Ages 5+, Ages 8+
and Ages 12+. There are title and author
indexes and the book’s many illustrations provide samplings of the wide variety
of art to be found in this genre. I
had fun looking up entries about my favorite titles and discovering stories
that I haven’t yet encountered.

The reviews are not only for adults
choosing books for children, but also for increasing the reading enjoyment of
the adults themselves. For example, one
book that I have read and enjoyed many times is Make way for ducklings by
Robert McCloskey. I hadn’t realized,
however, that “Boston and its inhabitants are the other heroes of McCloskey’s
bold and detailed charcoal drawings. Nearly every double-page spread lovingly
depicts a landmark of the city.” There
are similar “nuggets” of information in all the book comments, enhancing the pleasure of reading for kids of all ages!

Featured Answer

User

9 years ago

What fun! Reading to my daughter is one of my favorite memories of when she was little :-)

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Comments (8)

caflowerluver
9 years ago
I have always loved children's books. My all time favorite was Charlotte's Web. When I was getting my Masters in Library Science, my favorite class was Children's Literature. I had wanted to be a children's librarian.
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stacey_mb
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Caflowerluver, I also have a Masters degree in Library Science, and Charlotte's web was one of the books that I chose to discuss for my major paper. Lovely book!
caseynfld
9 years ago
Sounds like a great resource. I love reading children's books as well, in fact I collect children's Christmas books (and I don't have any children).

In the past year I have read a few children's books that I missed when I was a kid (The Phantom Tollbooth among others).
stacey_mb thanked caseynfld
cacocobird
9 years ago
When my daughter was about ten, she stopped reading. Said she didn't have any books she liked. I tried my favorites on her -- Little Women, Anne of Green Gables. No interest at all. I asked a much younger colleague where I worked for suggestions. She told me about Harriet the Spy and Judy Blume. My daughter loved them.

I took her to the library a lot -- they had a great librarian there who picked out books that she would probably like.

I started a Book of the Month club for her -- once a month we went to a bookstore and she could pick out a book and I paid for it.

She's in her 40s now, and reads magazines once in a while, but has no interest in going back to reading books. I tried...
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caflowerluver
9 years ago
The one I used in my paper was more young adult than children's, The Highwayman (1983). I love the poem by Alfred Noyes but really love the illustrations by Charles Mikolaycak. It has been almost 40 years since I read it but remember it like it was yesterday. Good books leave that kind of impression.

The Highwayman
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stacey_mb
Original Author
9 years ago
I like the quote by C.S. Lewis on that site, Caflowerluver, and one that I definitely agree with: "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." -C.S. Lewis.
caflowerluver
9 years ago
stacey - agree.
stacey_mb thanked caflowerluver