A children's book meme from Big A, little A:
What are your three favourite children's series?
1. Anne of Green Gables*, Lucy Maud Montgomery
2. Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
3. The Chronicles of Narnia*, C.S. Lewis
What are your three favourite non-series children's books?
1. The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
2. The Princess and the Goblin* (and its sequel, The Princess and Curdie*), George MacDonald
3. How I Became A Pirate, Melinda Long
What are your three favourite children's book characters?
1. Anne with-an-e Shirley
2. Despereaux Tilling
3. Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
Narrowing favorites down to threes was difficult, and I almost cheated and added a "three favorite picture books" category (but managed to restrain myself). I won't be content unless I at least mention some additional* childhood favorites: the Little House series, Laura Ingalls Wilder; Misty of Chincoteague, et al, Marguerite Henry; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain; Charlotte's Web, E.B. White; The Digging-est Dog, Al Perkins; The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame; Winnie-the-Pooh, A.A. Milne. As an adult, I'd have to add Bear Snores On, Karma Wilson; Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss; the Daisy books, Jane Simmons.
What are your favorites?
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11 comments:
I love Anne with-an-e Shirley too! She is great. Thanks for looking at and commenting on my blog!
Jamie - what would you suggest for a first grader who reads at a *much* higher level than 1st grade, but likes 1st grade type stories still? She doesn't exactly want to read big chapter books all the time like Little House and such, but she's bored with picture books.
Thoughts?
Nice choices, Jamie! It WAS hard to decide on just three.
Kim -- glad to! :)
Megan -- Hmm, I'll have to think on it. And maybe call for reinforcements, enlisting the suggestions of my fellow kidlit bloggers... some much better qualified than myself! :) What has she read and enjoyed?
Kelly -- I enjoyed your list too, and especially that you listed books that were all childhood favorites. I didn't have quite that much willpower (obviously)--Despereaux had to be on my list! You are a stronger meme participant than I. ;)
She's read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and enjoyed it, but has no interest in the rest of them at this point. On a smaller scale, she likes the Boxcar Children and Mr. Putter and Tabby books (to go even smaller). I just got her some Nate the Great and think she'll like those as well. I guess I'm wanting her to LOVE reading and if that means reading below the level she's capable of, then I'm okay with that. But I also want her to know she can read more than Mr. Putter books and enjoy them. Does that make sense at all? I can do some web searches, but thought you might have some ideas...
Ok, that gives me an idea. (I thought I remembered a post a while back that she had read L/W/W--wow!)
I'm just beginning to familiarize myself with the books and series little Mr. Putter (Mercy Watson would fall into that category too). In fact, we just read our first last week, and we really got a good laugh out of Mr. Putter's cat with the "fish problem." Hehe. Anyway, I've been planning on going through as many as possible in coming weeks anyway, so if I come across any worth recommending, I'll pass them along.
Books on a similar level with L/W/W--well, I'm reading 'The Penderwicks' right now (by Jeanne Birdsall), and it's about the same speed. It's about a family of four sisters and their father who rent a cottage for part of the summer. Maybe you've already read it, but it is (so far) really cute. I'm about 3/4 of the way through.
The Tale of Despereaux (which I'm always trying to get everyone to read because I love it so much) is another good one, same reading level.
Cricket Magazine is another fun reading option. They have magazine subscriptions for different age/reading levels (Babybug, Ladybug, Cricket, etc.) and each magazine has a great collection of short stories and poems. As magazines go, it is pricy ($30/yearly), but worth keeping and handing down--I still have mine from my own childhood. Libraries usually have them if you wanted to take a peek. http://www.cricketmag.com/
Hoping to get to the library soon and I'll keep my eyes open for other ideas. :)
And...
Because of Winn Dixie (also by Kate DiCamillo) is another one--not terribly long, from what I remember, and lighter than 'Despereaux'. (Although if she read L/W/W...)
Frog and Toad books, by Arnold Lobel (beginning readers). We also have his 'Mouse Soup', 'Mouse Tales', and 'Fables'.
That helps - thanks for the ideas!
I have some thoughts for Megan (and agree with all of Jamie's suggestions).
The Secret World of Og by Canada's Pierre Berton is wonderful for a child your daugther's age. Search the web for "Og Pierre Berton" and you'll get some nice reviews.
Catwings by Ursula LeGuin is a lovely short novel about four cats who can fly.
My son, who is nearly eight, loved both of these and has since moved on to Harry Potter, the Edge Chronicles, Lemony Snicket, Tin Tin, etc., but he'd read these again in a heartbeat. He also loves to reread his old picture books (which he sees his two-year old brother enjoying), and I support that!
Jamie, one of my very, very favourite children's books I discovered in adulthood (and my son loves it too) - Dominic by William Steig. It's gorgeous, fun and profound. I love how Steig's characters think and ponder - on their place in the world, etc. Abel's Island is also lovely (we're just finishing it now).
Dagne, thanks for your suggestions! I was just reading about 'Catwings' the other day, and put it on my "to read" list. It looks interesting, and I've never read anything by Ursula LeGuin. I'll be sure to add 'Dominic' to that list, too, since you recommend it so highly. :)
Oh, and Megan, a couple more ideas:
I was searching on Chinaberry.com, and they gave high praise to 'The Golden Goose' by Dick King-Smith (the same who wrote 'Babe, The Gallant Pig'). I thought it sounded like something that might be a perfect fit for your daughter's current tastes: "This is an unusual book because it will appeal both to younger children and those who have started reading on their own." I put it on hold through our library to read it for myself, but I thought I'd at least mention it in the meantime.
Also, what about Madeline (et al) by Ludwig Bemelmans? Madeline is one spunky little girl who almost made it onto my list of 3 favorite children's book characters.
best regards, nice info
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