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

[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.