Kid's books... a survey, sort of

[pat]

My son's class has just finished reading one of my all-time favorite books from childhood, "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler." (I trace my love of art and art museums to wanting to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the heroine...)

I love children's literature. I still occasionally reread "Little Women" and "Rose in Bloom" by Louisa May Alcott. I think Jon Scieszka is a genius: every intelligent adult I know who has read it falls into fits of laughter over "Math Curse". And "Clack Clack, Moo Moo: Cows that Type" by Doreen Cronin gives me a serious case of hysterical giggles.


So, my question is .... what are your favorite kids' books?

What books did you read as a child change your life?
What books were your favorite escapes?
What books did you discover as an adult which you wish you had known about when you were a kid? (A good friend in college, horrified that I had never read "The Phantom Tollbooth," once gave me a copy for my birthday. I loved it after the first five pages.)
What books do you recommend or buy for your children, nieces and nephews, or your friends' kids?

And any age range here... from "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Goodnight, Moon" to "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

I'm interested in seeing what books affected people. Not to mention checking into ones I haven't read yet : >

Comments

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

Favourite kids books:

Books I read as a child that could be said to have changed my life:

The Hobbit

Lord of the Rings (can be read as a kid's book)

The Tom Swift books

Godel Escher Back - well I read it at 15, so maybe it counts as a kids book!


Favourite escapes:

Lord of the Rings

Dune

Sherlock Holmes

Children of Morrow

Catseye by Andre Norton


Recent discoveries:

Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series (reading the last one at the moment)


What would I buy:

Anything they asked for, and the Phillip Pullmans

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

My Side of the Mountain (http://www.momsview.com/discus/messages/3955/7672.html) was one of my favorites, as a child. I read and re-read it, wishing that I, too, could escape to the wilderness and make my way on my own, learning how to survive on berries and bark. I was particularly tickled when, one summer at camp, one of our counselors pointed out some unusual plants that I had read about in that book (I'm currently blanking on them, but it'll come back). My imagination games used to regularly include adventures where I'd run off, either alone or with one friend, and survive in the woods like the protagonist in this book. In 20/20 hindsight, I think this being one of my favorites reflected how alienated from my family and surroundings I really felt. However, it also gave me an appreciation for self-sufficiency that persists to this day, and caused me to be interested in reading Thoreau (the nickname of an adult friend in the book).

more later, I hope.

[geekchick]

I can't believe I'd forgotten about that book! My teacher read that to our class in fifth grade, and I remember really liking it. Thanks for jogging my memory.

Ah, well, if we're talking about 5th grade...

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Since you mentioned being read to in 5th grade, let me just add the one my teacher read to us in 5th grade. Her name was Ms. Wyzomerski (though I'm not sure of the spelling, come to think of it--we all just called her Miss Wizzo!), and she frosted her hair (ooh, very daring in the midwest in the early 70's). I remember her as very very cool; one of the best of my teachers. And one of the reasons I thought she was great, is that she read A Wrinkle in Time to us. Now there is a fabulous book, and of course it's part of a fabulous series. In fact, so far, there hasn't been anything I didn't like by her, including her non-fiction chronicles of her life, which show how Christian she is at heart. I consider her writing to be a good example of how Christians don't have to be boring, or reject science.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Ah.. A Wrinkle in Time. I think I remember reading that in junior high.

I never did read any of the sequels though. Should I?

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

oh, yes, definitely. I personally think the first is still the best, but the others are good too. One of the later ones explores mitochondria. Very cool.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Interesting thread!

What books did you read as a child change your life? I loved the L. Frank Baum "Wizard of Oz" series as a kid (but not the later books by other authors - only the Baum first 14). I read them repeatedly, drew pictures, made dolls....The earliest book I remember liking was "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1560080817/qid=1041981793/sr=2-1/102-2362603-3876113). I got a copy a couple of years back because I still love the art.

What books were your favorite escapes? Wizard of Oz, definitely!

What books did you discover as an adult which you wish you had known about when you were a kid? (A good friend in college, horrified that I had never read "The Phantom Tollbooth," once gave me a copy for my birthday. I loved it after the first five pages.) Probably the "Hitchiker's Guide" series.

What books do you recommend or buy for your children, nieces and nephews, or your friends' kids? I don't know - it really depends on the age of the child, I suppose. I think I got a copy of "Why Mosquitoes..." as a baby shower gift though, or at least thought about it.

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

The first book I ever read was "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" by Robert Heinlein. It gave me a love for science and science fiction and all the wonderful things that could be possible.

Later in life I read "The Abandoned" (also known as "Jennie") by Paul Gallico, a juvenile fiction about a little boy who turns into a cat. I wish I still had my copy.

[frankenboob.livejournal.com]

Phantom tollbooth; Chronicles of Narnia; Dune; Interview with a Vampire. Nancy Drew. Hardy Boys. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Mr. Wiggly. Charlotte's Web. Swiss Family Robinson. Little house on the prarie (the set). Anne of Green Gables (the series). Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. Curious George. Archie comics. Rikki-tikki-tavi. Any/all fairy tales/poems. Diary of Anne Frank. Beezus and Ramona. Encyclopedia Brown. Aesops fables. Call of the Wild. A cricket in times square. (pardon the on again off again capitalization.. it's late.) All the Wizard of Oz books. A Little Princess. The Little Prince. Secret Garden. Doctor Dolittle. Ferdinand. Madeline.

Hard to just name a few... I read everything. I still do. I'm one of those people who reads cereal boxes, and labels. Anything and everything. Except, of course, for textbooks. :) Those put me to sleep within 5 words.

My Grandmother's neighbor used to give me Harlequin romance novels (in elementary school). My sister gave me *The Story of O* when I was in jr. high. Maybe it was elementary school. About the time she explained to me what a blow job was. She did a lot of speed back then & provided me with way too much information.

[frankenboob.livejournal.com]

Pat... hope you don't mind... here is a link to my journal frankenboob/question of the day which parallels yours. I'm trying to establish a music collection for my daughter & need help...
Thank you!

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Not at all! Before I saw this comment, I had already linked a post to your music entry.

[geekchick]

• One of my favorite Christmas presents ever was a boxed set of the "Little House on the Prairie" books, I read those over and over.
  
• I never owned them, but I read the Narnia books several times.
  
• "The Velveteen Rabbit", which never fails to make me cry.
  
• "Goodnight, Moon."
  
• Curious George.
  
• All the "If You Give a [x] a [y]" books ("If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", "If You Take a Mouse to the Movies", "If You Give A Moose a Muffin", "If You Give a Pig a Pancake", "If You Take a Mouse to School").
  
• "Where the Sidewalk Ends".
  
• The "Oz" books.
  
• Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events", all of them.
  

I'm sure if I think about it more I can come up with a much longer list, but for some reason I feel like I should be doing actual work right now instead. =)