I’m in the process of creating a lecture for a homeschool group on how parents can/should choose good children’s literature for their kids to read. There is such a big difference between the great stuff and the sub-par! I think that parents can do a lot to promote a love of reading if they expose their children to great books from infancy. Here is an unscientific list of many of our favorite books for around Tommy’s age:
Robert McCloskey is great–we also love Blueberries for Sal and Homer Price. Make Way for Ducklings has a special place in my heart, however. When John was in kindergarten (!), we lived near Boston and went on a tour of all the places represented in the book and took pictures of him in every frame. I’d love to do that with Tommy in a few years!
THE classic bedtime book!
Ezra Jack Keats is a wonderful illustrator, and his stories crack us up! This one won the Caldecott medal for best picture book back in 1963. (NB–most of the Caldecott medal winners, especially in the early years, are delightful! Any good public library should have them highlighted on a special shelf.)
Richard Scarry is the only author I know who makes worms and pickle cars really cool. My favorite Scarry-illustrated book is I am a Bunny, but Tommy’s now into cars and trucks and anything that goes, so this one is perfect for him!
Probably Tommy’s favorite book. Anything by Virginia Lee Burton is absolutely delightful! Mike Mulligan is so much a part of American childhood that it shows up in other children’s books, too. Even fictional children love Mike and Mary Anne!
Don Freeman captures so many charming details of childhood here!
All Beatrix Potter books are wonderful and should be read frequently!
So what treasures am I missing? I’ll post more of our favorites soon…
One of my favorites: Nora’s Castle Probably better for girls than boys.
I would have to be at home to come up with more!
For older kids (you probably know most of my favorites, so I tried to think of obscure stuff):
1. The Rescuers series by Margery Sharp (get the originals with Garth Williams illustrations, nothing based on the [blech] Disney movies). I owned the first 5: The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, The Turret, Miss Bianca in the Orient (so un-politically correct! Maybe that’s why they’re out of print), Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines. According to Wikipedia there are 4 more!
2. Slightly less obscure: Five Children and It and its two sequels (The Pheonix and the Carpet, and The Story of the Amulet) by E. Nesbit. I have reproductions of the first editions, with illustrations by H.R. Millar. The recent movie was stupid; also, I like the sequels better than the first one.
I was thinking of Richard Scary too last night!! What about the Madeline books?
more ideas:
alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
amelia bedelia
harold and the purple crayon
Runaway Bunny
The Snowy Day
Dr. Suess
Go Dog Go
ok not sure if these are all “classics” but instantly remind me of chidhood
oh oops you already said the snowy day, sorry 🙂
Oops, I missed the “around Tommy’s age,” sorry! Keep my suggestions for later. 🙂
Thanks, girls! Yes, Emily, I love several of those, but we don’t own them yet, so I hadn’t thought of them! Oh, and we love Curious George (Tommy has really done a number on the ones you gave us) but I forgot to add that one on the list. I’ll have to do a part two sometime with some of yours!
Mariel, I am going to have to go get the Rescuers books out of the library if ours has them (which is doubtful)…I’d forgotten about them! But loved them back in the day! Thanks!