~1. Do you have recommendations for books that haven't been mentioned yet? Who would enjoy them: a little girl, a 10-year-old boy, the whole family? Is it a read-it-yourself, or a read-it-to-me type book?
~2. If you were giving just one book to an infant grandchild, what would it be? A friend suggested Clotilda by Jack Kent. I like A You're Adorable by Martha Alexander. What's your favorite?
~3. Do you remember a special book from your childhood? Who read it to you?
I think I want to answer all three questions.
1. Last year I was part of a children's literature book club. At first we did thematic evenings, but then we just ended up each bring one or more children's books (usually illustrated) to the book club and shared them with each other. Sometimes we read them out loud, sometimes we just summarized them. We laughed and we cried. We relaxed and enjoyed. It was the most stress free book club you could imagine.
During one of the evenings with a theme I came up with this list of books. I'm sure there are countless others, but these are ones I either owned or had found at the library at that time. These are read-to-me/with me books for girls 3-10.
Topic: Girls With Spunk -or- NOT your Damsel in Distress
Illustrated books (I think I've always listed the illustrator second):
'The Paper Bag Princess' by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenka
'The Princess and the Pizza' Mary Jane and Herm Auch
'The Princess Knight' by Cornelia Funke and Kerstin Meyer
'The Trouble with Mom,' 'Princess Smartypants,' and 'Princess Smartypants Rules' by Babette Cole
'Seven Brave Women' by Betsy Hearne and Bethanne Andersen
'Falling for Rapunzel' by Leah Wilcox and Lydia Monks
'A is for Abigail' by Lynne Cheney and Robin Preiss Glasser
'Eloise' by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight
'Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?' by Carmela LaVigna Coyle and Mike Gordon
'The Royal Broomstick' by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright
'Madeline' by Ludwig Bemelmans
'Linnea in Monet's Garden' by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson
and some novels:
'Dealing With Dragons' Patricia C. Wrede (and the sequels)
'From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler' E.L. Konigsburg
'The Ordinary Princess' M. M. Kaye
'The Witch of Blackbird Pond' Elizabeth Speare
I want to mention that 'Seven Brave Women' was a library find that particularly touched me. It is about the author and the six generations of women who have gone before her. It makes you feel proud to be a woman and to live up to the potential within you.
2. It's tough to pick just one, but since that is the assignment I'm going to pick 'Goodnight Gorilla' by Peggy Rathman. There are so many little details to talk about with a young toddler and they love the story line. There are a variety of themes you can follow from page to page. We add our own special surprised sound effects for the page where all you see is black and one pair of eyes. It makes the little ones giggle.
3. When my grandma was little there were two books I remember her reading over and over to us. So as a grownup I tried hard to get ahold of them. Luckily, my grandma still had one of them and I found the other one at a used bookstore. The books are 'Caroline in Europe' and 'Mop Top' by Don Freeman. 'Caroline' is a charming book about a girl and her pets who travel throughout Europe and get into all sorts of scrapes. 'Mop Top' is about a boy who doesn't want to get his hair cut. Both of the books bring back the warm fuzzies of childhood and the memories of my grandma reading them to me.
I could go on and on, but this will have to suffice for now. Thanks for the assignment!
I think I want to answer all three questions.
1. Last year I was part of a children's literature book club. At first we did thematic evenings, but then we just ended up each bring one or more children's books (usually illustrated) to the book club and shared them with each other. Sometimes we read them out loud, sometimes we just summarized them. We laughed and we cried. We relaxed and enjoyed. It was the most stress free book club you could imagine.
During one of the evenings with a theme I came up with this list of books. I'm sure there are countless others, but these are ones I either owned or had found at the library at that time. These are read-to-me/with me books for girls 3-10.
Topic: Girls With Spunk -or- NOT your Damsel in Distress
Illustrated books (I think I've always listed the illustrator second):
'The Paper Bag Princess' by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenka
'The Princess and the Pizza' Mary Jane and Herm Auch
'The Princess Knight' by Cornelia Funke and Kerstin Meyer
'The Trouble with Mom,' 'Princess Smartypants,' and 'Princess Smartypants Rules' by Babette Cole
'Seven Brave Women' by Betsy Hearne and Bethanne Andersen
'Falling for Rapunzel' by Leah Wilcox and Lydia Monks
'A is for Abigail' by Lynne Cheney and Robin Preiss Glasser
'Eloise' by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight
'Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?' by Carmela LaVigna Coyle and Mike Gordon
'The Royal Broomstick' by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright
'Madeline' by Ludwig Bemelmans
'Linnea in Monet's Garden' by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson
and some novels:
'Dealing With Dragons' Patricia C. Wrede (and the sequels)
'From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler' E.L. Konigsburg
'The Ordinary Princess' M. M. Kaye
'The Witch of Blackbird Pond' Elizabeth Speare
I want to mention that 'Seven Brave Women' was a library find that particularly touched me. It is about the author and the six generations of women who have gone before her. It makes you feel proud to be a woman and to live up to the potential within you.
2. It's tough to pick just one, but since that is the assignment I'm going to pick 'Goodnight Gorilla' by Peggy Rathman. There are so many little details to talk about with a young toddler and they love the story line. There are a variety of themes you can follow from page to page. We add our own special surprised sound effects for the page where all you see is black and one pair of eyes. It makes the little ones giggle.
3. When my grandma was little there were two books I remember her reading over and over to us. So as a grownup I tried hard to get ahold of them. Luckily, my grandma still had one of them and I found the other one at a used bookstore. The books are 'Caroline in Europe' and 'Mop Top' by Don Freeman. 'Caroline' is a charming book about a girl and her pets who travel throughout Europe and get into all sorts of scrapes. 'Mop Top' is about a boy who doesn't want to get his hair cut. Both of the books bring back the warm fuzzies of childhood and the memories of my grandma reading them to me.
I could go on and on, but this will have to suffice for now. Thanks for the assignment!
