Children's Books

Having a kiddo means I'm reading a LOT more children's books. It's been so much fun to discover a new genre of books. I've been building a children's library for years and I love curling up with Sydney to read. We read tons of classics from my childhood, like Madeline, Dr. Seuss books, the Francis books, and Clifford books. 

We also love the BabyLit Classics. They're such a fun introduction to characters I hope she'll grow to love. The Mini Myths series is so great too! We've definitely learned that it's not easy to write a good kid's book and some are way better than others.

Here are a few of our new favorites:

- All Ladybug Girl books

- King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (so much fun to read with silly voices)

- The Pout-Pout Fish

- A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon

- Skippyjon Jones

- Llama Llama Red Pajama

- Miss Rumphius

- Edgar and the Tattle-Tale Heart

- Press Here

- The Going-To-Bed Book

- The Other Dog

I'd love to hear your recommendations!

Mini Reviews: Railway Children, Magician's Elephant and The Missing Ticket

 



The Railway Children 

by Edith Nesbit

★★★★

 

In the great tradition of British children’s literature, Nesbit’s name is always mentioned with reverence. This is my first book of her’s but I can’t wait to recommend her to my nieces and nephews. The story, published in 1906, is about an English family whose father is accused of espionage and imprisoned. His role is rarely mentioned (think of the father in Little Women) and is more notable in his absence than presence. 

 

The children walk to the railway station almost every day and make friends with the regular travelers. They also help an ailing Russian man who is looking for his family. Their mother is strong and supportive, shielding her kids from knowing about their struggles.

 

BOTTOM LINE: The sweet story is a perfect one to read aloud with young kids. The adventures are very episodic and would work well being spread out over the course of a week or two. It reminded me of Swallows and Amazons, another good British children’s book. 

 

 

The Magician's Elephant

by Kate DiCamillo

★★★★☆

 

A young orphan named Peter visits a fortune teller in the hopes of finding out whether his sister is still alive. Her confusing answer leads him on an odd journey. Meanwhile a magician accidently makes an elephant appear out of nowhere in the midst of a performance. The story is full of strange characters and impossible situations, but that just makes it all the more delightful.

 

As the dream-like tale unfolds we meet a nun at a local orphanage, a beggar and his clever dog Iddo, and Hans Ickman, who once had a dog who could jump incredibly high. There’s nothing earth-shattering in this novel, but the way it’s written is charming.

 

BOTTOM LINE: For a slim little novel this story packs a punch. There were little lines full of wisdom that resonated with me. I can’t wait to share this one with my nieces and nephews.

 

“Magic is always impossible,” said the magician. “It begins with the impossible and ends with the impossible and is impossible in between. That is why it is magic.”

 

“We must ask ourselves these questions as often as we dare. How will the world change if we do not question it?”

 

“It is important you say what you mean to say. Time is too short. You must speak words that matter.” 

 

 

The Missing Golden Ticket and other Splendiferous Stories

by Roald Dahl

★★★

 

I’ve always been a huge fan of Roald Dahl, from reading The BFG and Matilda as a child to discovering his adult short stories years later. This fun book gives readers a glimpse behind the curtain to learn a bit about how he worked. It includes some fun facts and information about characters that he cut from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

 

BOTTOM LINE: Don’t expect a lot of depth, but this quick read is provides a few interesting tidbits about Dahl and one of his most famous novels.

 

Top 100 Kids Books

I'm not quite ready to join the hordes of mothers out there, but I have so many friends and family members that have already made that leap. So I've been to innumerable baby showers in the last decade and I love to give them a book, inscribed to the new baby, instead of a card (along with a present).

Scholastic has compiled a list of the top 100 kids books. There are definitely some young adult books on the list, but there are loads of good choices for little kids too.

Do you guys have a favorite kids book?

Check out Wallace's Bookish Baby Shower ideas here!

p.s. Did you guys know there's a website where you can do a registry just for baby books for your shower? Check it out here at Usborne Books. 

Image from Book Riot post.

Mini Reviews of Children’s Books: Jazz ABZ, Kenny and the Dragon and Knight’s Castle

Jazz ABZ

An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits with Art Print (edition 2007)

by Wynton Marsalis, Paul Rogers (Illustrator)

★★★★★

Part children’s book, part poetry collection, this alphabetized introduction to jazz artists is a must for all parents who value artistic learning! The author and illustrator picked 26 major figures in jazz and then provided a poem and portrait of each one. The combination creates a beautiful effect, a book that flows just like jazz itself, through the history of the musical movement.  

The poetic book combines dozens of different writing styles. At the end there are biographies of each jazz artist and a page recommending albums from each performer. There’s also a section describing the various poetic styles used throughout the text (ode, haiku, calligram, sonnet, free verse, etc.) This gives kids a chance to learn about jazz and poetry at the same time. What an excellent pairing!

“A songwriter, a sonneteer, a sorcerer of sorghum sonatas, so sweetly sung.”

“My bass drum can blacken a big man’s eyes and injure a hero’s pride.”

Kenny and the Dragon

by Tony DiTerlizzi

★★★★☆

There are dozens of books about kids making new friends and looking past outward appearances, but this one takes the cake. A bookish rabbit named Kenny meets a dragon named Grahame and the two become fast friends. Things get complicated when Kenny’s only other friend, George the local bookseller, is hired by the king to slay the dragon.

The short book is packed with great life lessons: finding nonviolent solutions to your problems, respecting your parents, talking out your problems with others, not judging people before you get to know them, etc.

The lovely illustrations and sweet story made this one an absolute delight. I particularly loved Kenny’s parents and their development. It’s been added to my permanent collection of kids’ books.

Knight’s Castle

by Edward Eager

★★★★

When Roger and Ann’s father finds out he is ill, the family must travel with him to Baltimore while he receives medical treatment. Roger and Ann move in with their cousins, Jack and Eliza, and spend their days playing with a knight’s castle and toy soldiers.

Roger’s older toy soldier comes alive and with a bit of magic he sends Roger into an unknown land. The children soon all travel into the world they’ve built with their toys and they must learn to navigate the territory which holds Robin Hood and Ivanhoe. I was strongly reminded of the Narnia book, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eager’s series is fun because each book holds adventure and life lessons for the kids. Start with Half Magic and then keep reading!

Top Ten Childhood Faves

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for our Top Ten childhood faves. I spent so much of my childhood up a tree with a book and so looking back at some of my favorites was so much fun. I became a lifelong reader as a kid and these are some of the books I read over and over again.

1) From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E.Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

2) Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic by Betty MacDonald

3) The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

4) The Mystery of the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

5) Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

6) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien

7) The Littles series by John Peterson

8) Sideways Stories from Wayside School and other Louis Sachar books

9) The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

10) Midnight in the Dollhouse by Marjorie Stover

Bonus: I also loved everything by Shel Silverstein and Roald Dahl. There are just too many great books to list.

*Me as a kiddo, too young to read these books, but I was getting there.

Friday Favorites: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert C. O’Brien

Mrs. Frisby is widowed field mouse who is used to a quiet life. When her son Timothy comes down with pneumonia she becomes desperate to save him and is thrown into an unexpected adventure.

Soon Mrs. Frisby’s path leads her to a group of former laboratory rats that live on the same farm that she does. Their leader, Nicodemus, explains their history and then must decide if they’ll help her in her quest.

This was one of my absolute favorite books growing up. I think I was in about 2nd grade the first time I read it and I was hooked. We are sucked into a fascinating world of animals with human intelligence, yet the author keeps it firmly grounded in reality, with a believable explanation for everything.

The book won the Newbery Award in 1972 and author’s daughter later wrote two sequels, Racso and the Rats of NIMH and R-T, Margaret and the Rats of NIMH. I read the two sequels as a kid. Neither is as good as the original, but I just couldn’t get enough of the story.

If you haven’t read this one, than I’m bummed, because I’m sure it’s much better if you’re a kid. But I still think you should pick it up and read it. Then eventually you can pass it along to another young reader.

Side Note: I saw the animated movie version when I was young. I wasn’t impressed. It adds unnecessary magical elements to the story, which just detracts from the plot.

Books for Littles

A most delightful sassy Scot is pregnant with twins and in much need of suggested reading material. So she conspired with one of my favorite people and had her create a list of fantastic reading suggestions for 3 age groups of kiddos...

Tiniest Littles

Littles

Slightly Bigger

Amanda's taste is flawless and I read through each of the lists jumping back and forth between, "Oh I love that book!" and "How have I not read that?"

So go, read the lists and enjoy! I would add that though these books are great for children, they're also great for the kid in all of us.

Friday Favorites: The Westing Game

I first read The Westing Game when I was 9-years-old. I think my older sister read it and recommended it to me (which any of you with siblings know, probably means she told me I was too young to read it, so I had to steal her copy and read it immediately).

From the first pages I was hooked. It was completely different from anything I'd read before. A wealthy man, Samuel Westing, dies unexpectedly and leaves riddles and games in his wake. His strange will leaves his fortune to 16 tenants who live or work in a local apartment building, but it's not without a catch. Those 16 people become competitors in a game to find Westing's murderer.

The book was the 1979 Newbery award and introduced me to the world of quirky mysteries. Ever since I've loved reading books with a good twist. This was my precursor to Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier and dozens of others.

The Westing Game also taught me that any book is made richer when you care about the characters and not just the plot. In The Westing Game, a 13-year-old named Turtle gave me someone to identify with. She's a tomboy and a spitfire and I loved her. The other 16 competitors include a young track star, a bride-to-be and a Chinese couple among others. There's such a rich cast that the wonderful plot becomes secondary, always a plus for me.

I wish that all of you read this book when you were young, because I'm sure that's when it would have the biggest impact. But if you missed it then, I hope you pick it up soon.

The Remarkable Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl has long been one of my favorite authors. He became famous for his much-lauded books like, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." But I am even fonder of his nonfiction pieces like, "Going Solo" and his macabre adult short stories.

I recently decided to re-read a few of his young adult books and had a chance to fall in love with his writing all over again. Dahl had a gift for telling stories with a good moral lesson without making the reader feel like they were wading through saccharine. I can't say enough about how wonderful his books are. I remember reading them as a kid and just loving every second of it.


If you're new to Dahl or have a son/daughter/niece/nephew whom you think would appreciate his genius, here's a few must reads...

Matilda - A young girl, who loves books, struggles to feel accepted by her family. Then she discovers she has a secret power!

James and the Giant Peach - An orphaned boy, who lives with his evil aunts, climbs into a giant peach and finds a new family in the form of huge, friendly bugs.

The BFG - The Big Friendly Giant is an outcast in the world of giants. He doesn't like to eat little children. Instead he sneaks around at night giving the children wonderful dreams.

Going Solo - Dahl writes about his time as a pilot during World War II. He ends up in plenty of scrapes, including a plane wreck that almost kills him.

The Umbrella Man - These dark, twisted tales are a perfect treat for grown ups who remember loving Dahl as a child and would like a taste of his work for adults.


Photos by moi.