Books Your Kid Should Read

This year's Newbery and Caldecott award winners have been announced - always worth checking out. The Newbery went to Neil Gaiman for The Graveyard Book (ages 8-12). You can read his cute blog post about finding out here. The Caldecott went to The House in the Night (ages 4-7), illus. by Beth Krommes.

Also, I have smart friends with kids, and some of them have recently recommended some good reads:

Shan recommends Our Nest (for the 0-3 set).

Mom and Kiddo recommend Keats's Neighborhood: An Ezra Jack Keats Treasury (ages 4-7).

Ellen recommends Ellen's Lion: Twelve Stories by Crockett Johnson (ages 4-7).

You can get 'em all in the bookstore (for keeps) or at your local library (for temps). Enjoy!

The Wicked Enchantment
by Margot Benary-Isbert
1955

So, it's a new year, a new president (yay!), and you're looking for something new to read to or with your kids. Here's a book that might be a little hard to find, but is well worth the hunt. Translated from the original German, Wicked Enchantment tells the story of a girl named Anemone and her dog Winnie, as they embark on a sort of feminist modern-day Cinderella/adventure story. Intrigued? Anemone's dear father has just remarried after the death of Anemone's mother, and in true fairy-tale fashion, the stepmother and her son, Erwin, are terrible additions to the family. Erwin terrorizes all the family animals and shifts the blame to Anemone whenever he's caught out, but (of course) no one will believe that Anemone is suffering from anything other than jealousy. Finally things get so bad that Anemone lights out for her Aunt's house across town, a utopian abode where cats and mice live peacefully together and everything is more magical than it at first seems. With the help of her Aunt, Anemone disguises herself and her dog as a young boy and sets out to determine just what the heck is going on with her new relations. What she uncovers is an evil plot that threatens the entire village of Vogelsang, and forces Anemone to draw on all her intelligence, courage, and common sense (qualities she fortunately possesses in abundance).

This is a book I found by chance at a public library sale when I was in my teens; I picked it up because it looked like it might be interesting, and the book was soon a family favorite. If you're looking for well-written fiction centering around strong, interesting female characters, this book will be right up your alley.


Interested in this book? Get more details or make a purchase at the bookstore.

My Penguin Osbert
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
illus. H. B. Lewis

Oh, my, this is a cute book. A classic be-careful-what-you-wish-for tale, this is the story of young Joe, who has a history of being a little disappointed in his Santa gifts. It's not that he doesn't get what he asks for (e.g. a red fire engine), it's just that they aren't quite what he meant (only 3 inches long). So this year, he decides to be really specific with his list, and sure enough - waiting for him under the tree Christmas morning is the pet penguin he asked Santa to bring him. At first Joe is overjoyed ... but then the realities of penguin ownership kick in, and Joe slowly realizes that he maybe didn't think this wish through. Funny all year long, with wonderful illustrations that add to both the humor and the cute factor (which is considerable).

Interested in this book? Get more details or make a purchase at the bookstore.

A Christmas Memory
by Truman Capote
illus. Beth Peck
1956

I only discovered this story in the last few years, but it's rapidly become one of my faves. I'm not usually a huge Capote fan, but this tale of a young southern boy and the eccentric elderly cousin who is his best friend is a great American Christmas story. It starts in "fruitcake weather" as Buddy and his cousin gather the ingredients (some - the pecans from the orchard - are free, and some - the whiskey - are more illicit) for the cakes they make each year to send to people they admire. As the story moves on they engage in other timeless Christmas rituals, secure in their fast friendship despite the deprivations of poverty and other family members who have little time for them. It's a beautiful, poignant tale, wonderful to read aloud and sure to be enjoyed by all but the smallest children (I'd say it's best for age 7 and up).

Interested in this book? Get more details or make a purchase at the bookstore.

Freckles
By Gene Stratton-Porter
Illus. Gene Stratton-Porter
1904

I inherited my copy of Freckles from my mom, who had supplemented the author's illustrations with a few of her own in the margins (really good ones, actually; she's quite the illustrator). I think she inherited the book from her mom - at any rate, the copy I have is quite old, from when the book was first published. I think I was nine or ten when I read it for the first time, and it immediately became one of my favorites. The writing style is unabashedly sentimental, full of heightened emotional reactions to the events that unfold. It's not a style that would be at all popular nowadays, but certain bookish pre-adolescents will eat it up. (And actually, I still enjoy the hell out of it.) The events take place in turn of the century Indiana, largely at a lumber camp preparing to take out some high value trees (oaks and other hardwoods) from a big swath of old-growth forest. Freckles, the title character, shows up at the camp one day looking for work. He's a half grown orphan, missing one hand, who knows nothing about his heritage and has a lot to prove. Since he obviously can't work at the camp itself, the manager, a Scot with a soft heart, takes a chance on giving him a job as Limberlost guard - the person responsible for watching over the parts of the forest that the camp hasn't yet begun to work. Freckles, urban to his core, has an uphill battle to navigate the raw nature of the Limberlost trail, but in the course of doing so he develops a deep interest in and love of nature, meets the love of his life, and ultimately discovers his roots. The story is steeped in naturalist's lore (the author was herself a noted naturalist and all-around interesting character) and while the environmental politics of the story are problematic by contemporary standards, the book also imparts a love of nature and a conservationist perspective that balances out the lumbercamp setting. It's also an excellent look back into midwest America at the turn of the twentieth century, with its blend of immigrant cultures, the deep contrasts between urban and rural life, and engaging characters from all social strata and both genders. Try it for free at Project Gutenberg.

The Dark is Rising Sequence
By Susan Cooper
1965-77

I didn't stumble on The Dark is Rising sequence until I was a senior in high school, which is exceedingly odd if you know what my reading tastes were back then (and still are, if I'm being brutally honest). But it wasn't until I was living with my parents in Salzburg during the autumn of my senior year that I happened upon the books at the American Library. Desperate for some new leisure reading material (you can only pack so many books when you're traveling overseas for a semester), I took a chance on the books, and oh, how glad I am that I did! Cooper's books are firmly in the lineage of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein, but set in the late 60s and 70s, so a little more modern. They deal with all the classic british fantasy themes: Arthurian legend, the eternal fight between good and evil, the alliance of mortals with forces beyond mortal knowing, etc., etc. Your standard stuff. But wow, is the writing ever good. These books will transport you to the shores of Cornwall; to Welsh farm country; to the coziness of a British village in the depths of winter. Old traditions like the building of the greenman and the legend of Herne the Hunter are effortlessly threaded through the plot, grounding it in British folkloric tradition. The main characters are the three Drew children, caught up in the fight between dark and light through their "Uncle" Merriman (a loosely disguised Merlin character), and Will Stanton, an 11-year-old boy who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is the last of the "Old Ones," mystical beings who possess great magical powers and fight for the light. Sure, sure, it can sound hokey if you're a jaded Gen-X formerly hip parental unit. But if you're an imaginative 11-18-year-old, this stuff is pure magic. A great option for kids who've gotten through Harry Potter and are looking for something in the same vein.

Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
1936

If the only way you've ever heard of the Shoe books by Noel Streatfeild is from Meg Ryan's mention of them in You've Got Mail, boy have you been missing out. Ballet Shoes, the first of the books, is the story of Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil, three orphans who are found and sent home to London as unusual souvenirs by Matthew Brown, an elderly and eccentric geologist. Pauline is a survivor of a shipwreck, Petrova is from Russia, and Posy arrives with only a pair of ballet shoes (her mother's) in her possession. The three are placed in the care of Matthew's niece, Sylvia, while he goes off on his endless travels. Soon enough the money runs out, and Sylvia must take in boarders and find a way to educate the three girls so they can care for themselves once they are of age. And so they are sent to The Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, where Pauline quickly discovers her talent as an actress, Posy comes into her dancing heritage, and Petrova ... well, Petrova finds her own route. Streatfeild worked in the theatre for many years before becoming a writer, so the rendering of the training regimen, backstage life, and performing arts in general all ring true. This was one of the first books that gave me insight into the seriousness and legitimacy of a life in the arts - the rigor of it, the discipline, and the commitment it takes as well as the magic and joy it can confer. The three central characters are great role models, young women who take charge of their own destinies and are always there for each other despite disparate origins and very different personalities. And the rendition of 1930s London is vivid and memorable - a wonderful way for kids to enter into a different historical era. Many other Shoes books would follow (Theatre Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Party Shoes, Family Shoes, etc.), but I think it's always good to start at the beginning. (The books all have different settings and characters, but the Fossil girls have cameos in several of them.) It was also apparently made into a movie last year starring Emma Watson (Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter films) - which looks pretty good. But read the book first!

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
by Betty MacDonald
Illus. Hilary Knight
1947

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the kind of old lady everyone wishes lived in their neighborhood. A kindred spirit to children everywhere, she lives in a magical upside-down house, there's buried treasure in her backyard, and her home always smells like freshly-baked cookies. The kids in her town know they'll always find a friendly face and comforting advice over at Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's place, but it's their parents who are really in her debt. You see, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has a cure for just about any kind of bad habit or mischievous behavior a kid can get up to. Whether it's not wanting to bathe, staying up all hours of the night, or fighting with their siblings all the time, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle knows a clever (and enormously fun to read about) way to get it to stop. The stories are presented from a kid's perspective, meaning that the adults (with the exception of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle) often come off as amusingly dim. Each chapter is its own self-contained story, making this a perfect book for bedtime reading aloud (if you can stick to just one story, which is difficult). Though the stories are technically about behavior and etiquette, they're never moralistic or condescending. The true-to-life depictions of kids' tantrums and misbehavings, along with the highly unusual tactics recommended by Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle to cure them, make a compelling read even if you don't care a whit about manners and morals. And if they get your kid to think twice before pitching a fit at bedtime, so much the better. With really excellent illustrations by Hilary Knight (of Eloise fame).

Also recommended: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic (1949), Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm (1954), and Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (1957).

The Diddakoi
by Rumer Godden
1972

Rumer Godden is on my top ten list of the all-time best children's book authors around, so it's a shame that she's known primarily in the States as the inspiration for Demi Moore's and Bruce Willis's daughter's name. (No, really: that's where they got it.) Godden, a British author, wrote books for children and adults from the 1930s all the way until her death in the late 1990s, but her best stuff for kids (in this blogger's opinion) was published in the 60s and 70s. The Diddakoi, which won the Whitbread Award, tells the story of Kizzy Lovell, a gypsy child whose world is turned upside down when her beloved grandmother dies and she's force to leave her traditional lifestyle and start attending regular school as a ward of the county. Godden has a real feeling for culture clashes of this kind, and Kizzy's story is treated with sensitivity and affection. Godden's distinctive style really draws the reader into the story, making it feel immediate and vital: Kizzy's spirited (and often downright naughty) defense of her gypsy ways; the courage of the single woman council member who defends Kizzy and provides a safe haven for her; and the cruelty of Kizzy's schoolmates in the face of Kizzy's "otherness," are all beautifully rendered. It's a wonderful book for learning something about a vanishing culture, but Kizzy's story will resonate with anyone who knows what it feels like to be stranded in a new place, feeling scared, unloved, and unwanted.

Meet the Austins
by Madeleine L'Engle
1960

If I had to pick the one author who was most important to my teenage years, it would have to be Madeleine L'Engle. Reading her books always made me feel less awkward, less nerdy, less of a weirdo for having an artistic, academic family or being interested in big questions about life and death, love and morality. L'Engle reassured me that I wasn't the only one out there like myself, and that the teen years were just a brief episode in my life story. L'Engle's time trilogy books (starting with A Wrinkle in Time) are better known - and they're wonderful, too - but her books about the Austin family (there are four more novels after this one) have their own homey appeal. Daughter Vicky, who's 12 years old in Meet the Austins, is a sympathetic narrator of sibling squabbles, family crises, and her own rocky road through early adolescence. L'Engle has a true ear for dialogue and personality, and the Austin family manages to be extraordinary and endearing without ever being cloying or precious. I first read the book in the early 1980s, some twenty years after its original publication, and didn't find it one bit out of date. I suspect the same could be said for today's readers: sure, you might have to explain what a "phonograph" is, or why none of the kids have cell phones, but the situations and relationships are as timely now as they've ever been.

The House At Pooh Corner
by A. A. Milne
Illus. Ernest H. Shepard
1928

If your only familiarity with Pooh Bear comes from the Disney cartoons, hie thee to a bookstore and buy some of the original stories, pronto. Don't get me wrong: as a child of the 1970s I have as many fond memories as anyone of watching those Disney animations of a Sunday. But there's really nothing to compare with the language, imagery, and wit of Milne's words and Shepard's pictures. The House At Pooh Corner is the second storybook devoted to Pooh and his pals (Winnie-the-Pooh being the first), and it's got to rank as one of the all-time great sequels in literary history. No, really! Not only are we introduced to Tigger, a scene stealer in the fine tradition of such "secondary" characters as Sam Weller or Mr. Toad, but Owl's house gets blown down in a storm, Piglet and Pooh build Eeyore a "new" house, and the wonderful game of Poohsticks is invented. As usual with A. A. Milne's work, there's as much to entertain the adults who are reading the stories as the children listening to them. As I reread it recently (To myself, since you ask. At bedtime. You got a problem with that?) I was struck anew by the poignancy of the latter chapters of Pooh Corner. Christopher Robin is growing up, and though the assurances in the final sentence that "wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing" are sufficient to quiet any younger reader's fears, the older reader can't help but acknowledge how hard it is to find that enchanted place sometimes. Fortunately, there are always the Pooh books to help us out.

The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
Illus. Ernest H. Shepard
1908

I read The Wind in the Willows for the first time when I was maybe 8 or 9, and I've re-read it every few years ever since. Grahame's characterization of life on an English river (and thereabouts) through the eyes of a mole, a water rat, and the inimitable Mr. Toad is by turns lyrical, mystic, clever, and laugh-out-loud funny. Will appeal equally to boys and girls, and animal lovers will be in pure heaven. You HAVE to get the edition with Ernest Shepard's illustrations - don't be fooled by imitations! Shepard's ink and watercolor drawings absolutely capture the tone and feel of Grahame's text (yes, that's the same Shepard who illustrated all the Winnie-the-Pooh books, so he knows from woodland creatures.) Splurge on a hardcover; trust me, you'll want a copy that withstands multiple readings.