The Wonderful World of Children's Lit

[Prairie Rose]

Another book I remember well as a kid was The Chocolate Touch. It shows the downsides of greed, gluttony and what happens when one has too much of a good thing.

[Badger]

He wasn't really a children's author, but I loved reading Ernest Thompson Seton's stories about nature and animals.  Much of his work had to do with hunting culture too.

Any Lois Lenski fans?  

[Constant Viewer]

I did read Strawberry Girl and Indian Captive by Lous Lenski. The latter led me to read Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare.

[JustHereForFood]

On 3/3/2022 at 8:04 PM, Snow Apple said:

The first chapter book I read was The Little Princess and it still holds a special place in my heart. I read The Secret Garden later in the 5th grade. I also remember borrowing The Little Leftover Witch from the school library. I need to read it again to see if it holds up.

I read The Little Princess and The Secret Garden only as an adult, but I really liked them.

I don't know if this is unpopular opinion, but as a child and teenager, I didn't really care much for books for my age and usually read books for older kids, as a teenager books for adults. Now, in last couple years, I still read mostly YA and I started reading some books for children (I don't mean like very small children, but around 10+ maybe, or some for all-ages). I don't care if someone finds it weird, I find a lot of them relaxing and possitive, which can't often be said about books for adults. Same with movies, my favorite are mostly Disney.

[Badger]

2 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

I read The Little Princess and The Secret Garden only as an adult, but I really liked them.

I don't know if this is unpopular opinion, but as a child and teenager, I didn't really care much for books for my age and usually read books for older kids, as a teenager books for adults. Now, in last couple years, I still read mostly YA and I started reading some books for children (I don't mean like very small children, but around 10+ maybe, or some for all-ages). I don't care if someone finds it weird, I find a lot of them relaxing and possitive, which can't often be said about books for adults. Same with movies, my favorite are mostly Disney.

I read "A Little Princess" first when I was a kid although I've read it several times since, but I didn't read "The Secret Garden" until I was an adult.

"A Little Princess" was made into a 6-episode British tv series in 1986.  It's the only version I've ever seen that's true to the book.  It's available on PRIME although I understand they use a version that had some scenes cut out - speeches by Sara about how she thinks a princess should behave.

However, someone recut the original series into 2 parts and put it on Youtube so you can see the version with those speeches in.

Some other children's books or stories I remember:

"Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel"

"Lassie Come Home"  

"The Story of Serapina" 

 

 

[Prairie Rose]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

"Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel"

Yes!!! I think that was one of the first books my brother read. 😎

[Constant Viewer]

12 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

Now, in last couple years, I still read mostly YA and I started reading some books for children (I don't mean like very small children, but around 10+ maybe, or some for all-ages). I don't care if someone finds it weird, I find a lot of them relaxing and possitive, which can't often be said about books for adults. Same with movies, my favorite are mostly Disney.

"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness." C.S. Lewis.

I believe you should read and watch whatever makes you happy! If something is good or has quality it is good no matter what age it is supposedly meant for.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Constant Viewer
clarification

[Prairie Rose]

Is anyone else familiar with The Chocolate Rabbit? I got my copy in my Easter basket as a young'un in the mid-1980s. 🐇🐰💖

[Constant Viewer]

Yes! I haven't thought of that book in forever!

[SophiaD]

Love everything here, especially LM Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Frances Hodson Burnett.  I also loved L. Frank Baum's Oz books, and Louisa May Alcott, although her books got a bit preachy.  Same with the Narnia and Tolkein books, although the roles for girls were somewhat limited.  (I did really like Jill, though)

Adored Joan Aiken's short story and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Black Hearts in Battersea. That turned into a very long series, but I wasn't as crazy about Dido Twite as a main character, rather than Bonnie and Sylvia or Simon and Sophie.

Elizabeth Goudge's children's books are and were awesome.  Linnets and Valerians and the Little White Horse came out in paper, but she also wrote a bunch of others:  The Blue Hills, Sister of the Angels, and the Valley of Song among others.  When I found the Valley of Song at a used bookstore, I pounced on it.

Alexander Key's paranormal books were great, if slightly dated.  The Forgotten Door and The Case of the Vanishing Boy were great.

Rumer Godden's children's books were also good.  Jennie Lindquist's trilogy is a favorite and I still go to Open Library and read them regularly - The Golden Name Day, The Little Silver House, and The Crystal Tree.

Virginia Hamilton was a ground-breaking author for me, especially her Dustland trilogy.  Also loved Lensey Namioka.  

And of course Tamora Pierce, although I wasn't a child anymore when they came out.  

Edited May 10, 2022 by SophiaD

[Grrarrggh]

Amelia Bedelia, The Pain and the Great One, Bunnicula, and Tomie dePaola's legends and folktales are some of mine and mine families' faves. Then again I've also been trying to indoctrinate my children into believing that Barbara Tuchman is a children's author lol. It's tough going but there have been a few wins. Kids can be quite interested in hearing how children lived hundreds of years ago. 

[Lyinfait]

So many memories! I loved going to the children's section of the library to pick out my favorites to read and re-read each visit. You have mentioned many of my favorites: Little House; anything Beverly Clearly--even her animals were delightfully relatable to young me. I loved Socks the cat; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe--didn't learn it was a series until I was older; Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky; Fudge; The Indian in the Cupboard. Anne of Green Gables (Avonlea?).

 

So many! Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, topsy turvy books, choose your own adventure, highlights magazine 

I loved adventure and other worlds so I was a big fan of The Hobbit, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass. I also loved The Phantom Tollbooth.

The Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Next best thing to be trapped in a library really. 

I read a lot of Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley High and Goosebumps (even though I thought Christopher Pike was the superior storyteller). I still really love my little books but I look very odd skulking about the children's section so I will usually grab them in thrift stores and library sales. 

[blackwing]

On 2/26/2022 at 9:55 PM, Prairie Rose said:

I don't think I ever did. I googled her and the books (mysteries) look interesting. 

I always loved the Little Golden Books. Remember this classic?

Loved this book as a kid and bought it for my own kids when they were toddlers.  I loved reading it to them in the voice of Grover, they thought it was hilarious.  I later found out there was an app on iTunes that had voices and sounds, was fun for the kids.

I found out that they did a sequel called "Another Monster at the End of This Book" that starred Elmo.  Elmo wasn't around when I was a kid, so I never got into Elmo.  The kids didn't like that one as much as the original.

There was another Grover picture book from when I was a kid called Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum.  He went through the museum which separated objects into categories (Things that are Tall, Things that are Light, Things that are Heavy, etc).  Fun book.  It was out of print when my kids were younger and I could never find it in the library and never got around to ordering one from eBay.

[idiotwaltz]

Quote

The Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. 

Before Audible existed (I’m talking early 90’s), my mom would borrow books on tape from the library for me and my brother and this was one of my favourites. 

[dubbel zout]

I remember visiting the Met after reading that and asking about the Angel statue, and I was crushed to hear it didn't exist; Konigberg made it up. I was one of thousands of kids who asked about it, I'm sure. And the Met likely got a nice admissions bump from the book. It was made into a movie with Ingrid Bergman as the title character (not the files!), but I can't find it anywhere these days.

[OtterMommy]

I recently listened to The Mysterious Benedict Society with my son (over a series of many car rides!) and I think I may have been just too old for it.  My son loved it, but I found it disturbing?  Am I missing something with this one?

[SusanM]

On 5/10/2022 at 6:39 PM, SophiaD said:

Adored Joan Aiken's short story and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Black Hearts in Battersea. That turned into a very long series, but I wasn't as crazy about Dido Twite as a main character, rather than Bonnie and Sylvia or Simon and Sophie.

Wow!  I don't think I've ever "met" anyone else who's read Joan Aiken!  I loved most of her books but The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is probably my favourite!

[Snow Apple]

I'm reading Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. Were what this book when I was a child? It's like reading about my childhood.

[Bethany]

I didn't notice anyone mentioning the wonderful Richard Peck here.  I first came across his books when I read The Ghost Belonged to Me.  Loved all the Blossom Culp books but I don't think he wrote a single book I didn't like!

[PRgal]

In an effort to expand my son's exposure to different kinds of books and to books that aren't just "for boys," I got him a couple of princess books from the Once Upon a World series when he was 1 or 2.  Traditional western European fairy tales set in different parts of the world.  For example, Snow White is set in Japan and Cinderella is in Mexico.  I read them to him a few times, but he said he didn't like them.  And there was zero pressure from either of us (or his grandparents) to influence him into what many see as stereotypically "boy" things.  This was during the height of the lockdown, so it wasn't like there was peer pressure, either.  

Kids' books I loved growing up include most of the Ramona books, The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley.  Of course, I also liked Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (soooo seeing the movie!) and Blubber.

[Bethany]

I doubt these could be described as "lit" or at least not literature the way my prof at university meant in the children's literature course I took but anyway I am currently going through the entire Judy Bolton mystery series.  I had a fair  number but had only ever read a few.  Someone in a FB group mentioned how much she had preferred Judy Bolton to Nancy Drew and I thought I'd give them a try.  They were written between 1932 up to about 1967 all by the same author.  Anyway it's been a wild ride so far.  I can see why someone would like these better than Nancy.  Judy isn't perfect for one thing and the characters age as the series progresses.  But oh my word the plots are so farfetched!  Definitely quick reads.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 1/18/2023 at 9:10 AM, Elizabeth Anne said:

I doubt these could be described as "lit" or at least not literature the way my prof at university meant in the children's literature course I took but anyway I am currently going through the entire Judy Bolton mystery series.  I had a fair  number but had only ever read a few.  Someone in a FB group mentioned how much she had preferred Judy Bolton to Nancy Drew and I thought I'd give them a try.  They were written between 1932 up to about 1967 all by the same author.  Anyway it's been a wild ride so far.  I can see why someone would like these better than Nancy.  Judy isn't perfect for one thing and the characters age as the series progresses.  But oh my word the plots are so farfetched!  Definitely quick reads.

I picked up a copy of The Vanishing Shadow from my library and it included a short "More about the author" written by Margaret Sutton. In it she mentions that a girl who had written to her as a 12-year-old fan had grown up to write a series of her own. I'm not sure when the bio was written although it must be after her second marriage (which started in 1975 and lasted for "many years") had ended. I am curious about who the fan might have been and what her series is.

[OtterMommy]

I made a little goal for myself that for each month of 2023, I'd read a book recommended by my daughter (she's 13 and reads at a high level, but her interests are still in the middle grade area).  The first book she handed to me is The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer, which is the first in the Enola Holmes series.  I'm enjoying it, but I'm surprised on two counts.  First, while I wouldn't say this is written in a high-brown literary style, I will say it isn't written in a way that it panders to kids.  Most of what would be considered middle grade when I was a kid always seemed to be written like this, so I appreciate that that is changing.  Secondly, I was surprised at how childlike Enola is in this book and it took me a while to realize that she thinks and behaves like a tween.  I was used to the Millie Bobby Brown's Enola and those moves, which are very clearly Young Adult.  I actually think the story works better with a more middle grade heroine, at least as far as I am in the book.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to what my daughter gives me next.  My only limits were that it has to be fiction and it can't be manga (nothing against Manga, I just don't think my middle-aged brain can manage to read the book from the back!)

[Bethany]

For some reason I was reminded of how much I loved Swiss Family Robinson when I was a child so downloaded a copy onto my kindle last night.  I'm enjoying it but I am also wondering if different editions were made (no doubt really that there must have been) as I don't remember it being so overtly, constantly religious.  Or maybe the constant appeals to god, prayers to god, and talk about living a godly life went right over my head as a kid and I just enjoyed the adventure.

I had thought of getting a copy for my grandson but now I'm thinking there's no way he'd read past the first page.  Which made me think about other children's classics I devoured whole back in the day and whether "kid's today" would have any interest in reading them.  Heidi, Black Beauty, Treasure Island, The Secret Garden,  titles like that.

[Ceindreadh]

8 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

For some reason I was reminded of how much I loved Swiss Family Robinson when I was a child so downloaded a copy onto my kindle last night.  I'm enjoying it but I am also wondering if different editions were made (no doubt really that there must have been) as I don't remember it being so overtly, constantly religious.  Or maybe the constant appeals to god, prayers to god, and talk about living a godly life went right over my head as a kid and I just enjoyed the adventure.

I had thought of getting a copy for my grandson but now I'm thinking there's no way he'd read past the first page.  Which made me think about other children's classics I devoured whole back in the day and whether "kid's today" would have any interest in reading them.  Heidi, Black Beauty, Treasure Island, The Secret Garden,  titles like that.

There's definitely a few different versions of Swiss Family Robinson around. 

The original version I read as a child (a copy which had belonged to my father when he was a child) had an ending with some of the sons going back to civilisation, but I downloaded a copy only a few years ago which had them meeting with other survivors and staying put. 

I don't remember if the updated version toned down the religious aspect or not though.

[Bethany]

2 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

The original version I read as a child (a copy which had belonged to my father when he was a child) had an ending with some of the sons going back to civilisation, but I downloaded a copy only a few years ago which had them meeting with other survivors and staying put. 

Oh interesting!  The version I had growing up was the Companion Library version (they were the ones where there were two classics in each edition, so Swiss Family Robinson was paired, naturally enough, with Robinson Crusoe).  That edition definitely ended with most of the family remaining but two of the brothers choosing to return to Europe.  IIRC the idea was also that settlers would be encouraged to come to the island so the family was not going to be isolated much longer.  

I ended up returning the edition I downloaded - lots of mistakes, not just typos and the like but calling characters by different names.    That is something up with which I will not put!  Cheap is cheap I guess, if you only pay a few dollars for something you are likely not getting the best edition possible!  

[Scatterbrained]

My kids were in preschool and kindergarten when the pandemic lockdown began.  We did a lot of reading and listening during this time.  We still do, but they do it more “on their own” now, vs. a daily family routine.  Here are some books we enjoyed.  I’ll post more when I think of them.

The Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey - I honestly think this series will stand the test of time because it is so ridiculous that it is highly appealing to children, yet there are deeper themes explored in all the books.  

The Cat Kid Comic Club also by Dav Pilkey it is an off shoot of the dog man series.

Timmy Failure graphic novel series by Stephan Pastis .  We both read and listened to the whole series.  The books were great because of the pictures that enhance the stories, but the audio version was surprisingly phenomenal.  Jared Goldsmith narrates and he does ALL the voices.  Each one is distinct and oozing with personality.  He really brought the humor to life!  I highly enjoyed listening in!

Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs.  We listened to this one first, then the kids when back and re-read.  

High Five by Adam Rubin.  My son’s K teacher read and recorded Dragons Love Tacos by Rubin for e-school.  My son would play it over and over with tears softly rolling down his cheeks because he missed his teacher, his school, and his old daily routine so much.  Then, the school year ended and the e-school K classroom was wiped.  Oh, the devastation!  So, we went Rubin book hunting at the e-library!  High Five is fun in book form because there is a hand illustration you can high five (therefore, it is interactive).  There are two different audio versions.  The read-along version (visual and audio) is pretty boringly straightforward.  The audio only version offers background sound effects that really bring the story to life.  That’s the one I recommend.  If you can have a book in real life to read along with, even better.  My kids would just dance around on their beds and then high five each other at the appropriate times.  The book went from a bedtime book to an “anytime but bedtime” book due to all the excitement.  The author narrates.  He has a really cute voice.  I looked him up based on his voice.  Sadly, his looks were not as appealing to me.  I still recommend his books, though!  :)

Donut Feed the Squirrels by Mika Song.  This is the first book my daughter read all by herself.  At the time, it was a standalone, but has since become a series.  We make sure she gets to read each one.

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman.  We listened to this on audio.  It is really excellently narrated by a cast.  I highly recommend it as a listening book.

The Next Great Pauline Fink by Ali Benjamin.  We listened to this one.  It had a cast of narrators.  Some of the kids voices were a bit manly because of this, but I still think it was good to have a variety of voices because it takes place in a school and there are a lot of characters involved.  The themes can be deep and some of the subject matter veers towards depressing, but the goats offered comic relief balancing the whole story out.  
 
After The Next Great Pauline Fink, we also listened to The Thing About Jellyfish also by Ali Benjamin.  The internet feels this is the better book.  I disagree.  It’s not bad, but if I were going to recommend a book by this author, I would recommend The Next Great Pauline Fink.

Word of Mouse by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein.  This was the book so nice I bought it thrice.  First, we checked it out of the e-library multiple times.  We missed our devices and got tired of the kids wrangling over them, that we bought a paperback version.  Then the kids tussled over that one so much, we bought another so they could each have their own and we could have blessed peace!  Then I bought a third copy for the classroom winter book exchange.  I figured if my kids liked it so much, some other kid was bound to like it too.  My kids loved quoting “mouse-isms” to each other while reading this book.  
 

OK, I’m tired.  More later!

 

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by Scatterbrained

[Laura Holt]

I came across a couple of Enid Blyton's Five Finder Outers in a store the other day and as they were super cheap I thought I'd revisit her.  Well you know that old saying "you can't go back"?  Definitely true in this case.  There are lots of children's and YA books that I will happily re-read on a regular basis but Enid Blyton won't be numbered among them.  I can see why they were popular - who didn't, as a kid, dream of besting the adults and being proved right?  But oh wow, these books are so elitist!  

Edited September 11, 2023 by Laura Holt

[JAYJAY1979]

I'm a child of the 80s and kids books then were creative and fun.

With it being Halloween..3 kids books I remember reading in the late 80s/early 90s.

[Constant Viewer]

I loved Wait Till Helen Comes!

I didn't read Witch of Blackbird Pond until I was an adult, but I loved Calico Captive also by Speare.

In keeping with the Halloween theme, did anyone else read the Bunnicula books or the Witch Saga by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor?

[Annber03]

Bunnicula! Yes, I used to read those books when I was in elementary school :). 

[Dani-Ellie]

I still have my childhood copy of Wait Till Helen Comes with that exact cover. It was my favorite book throughout elementary school.

[PRgal]

I joined a children's literature Facebook group shortly after my book was published and connected with a writer named Marie Robert who published a book called Georgia's Far-Away Family.  Georgia and her family live in another part of the world, different from all her relatives, different from many of the other kids at her school. It's a simple read, and great for beginning readers (also very easy for them to understand, whether this is how their family is or not).  The author told me she, like Georgia, grew up away from extended family because her parents were diplomats.  

[EtheltoTillie]

On 1/9/2024 at 8:33 PM, PRgal said:

I joined a children's literature Facebook group shortly after my book was published and connected with a writer named Marie Robert who published a book called Georgia's Far-Away Family.  Georgia and her family live in another part of the world, different from all her relatives, different from many of the other kids at her school. It's a simple read, and great for beginning readers (also very easy for them to understand, whether this is how their family is or not).  The author told me she, like Georgia, grew up away from extended family because her parents were diplomats.  

Has your book already been published?  We had not heard an update? 

[PRgal]

6 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Has your book already been published?  We had not heard an update? 

Yes, Our Three New Years! has been published!  Available in hardcover, paperback and e-book formats on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes&Noble and likely some independent bookstores.  I know for a fact that it's physically IN at least a small handful of bookstores in Toronto.  Not sure about other places, but definitely online at the above mentioned stores. 

[andromeda331]

On 1/13/2024 at 3:27 PM, PRgal said:

Yes, Our Three New Years! has been published!  Available in hardcover, paperback and e-book formats on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes&Noble and likely some independent bookstores.  I know for a fact that it's physically IN at least a small handful of bookstores in Toronto.  Not sure about other places, but definitely online at the above mentioned stores. 

Congratulation! That's a huge accomplishment.

Edited January 15 by andromeda331

[PRgal]

8 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Congratulation! That's a huge accomplishment.

Thank you!  But it’s a long road ahead to becoming actually “known.”  A library system already turned me down because they’re not looking for books by independently published or small press authors right now.  Disappointing since that community has a large East Asian population.  A nearby town (similar demos) did ask for a review copy, however.  I have also been asked to read it at my son’s school! 

[JustHereForFood]

4 hours ago, PRgal said:

Thank you!  But it’s a long road ahead to becoming actually “known.”  A library system already turned me down because they’re not looking for books by independently published or small press authors right now.  Disappointing since that community has a large East Asian population.  A nearby town (similar demos) did ask for a review copy, however.  I have also been asked to read it at my son’s school! 

Good luck!

[Bookworm 1979]

6 hours ago, PRgal said:

Thank you!  But it’s a long road ahead to becoming actually “known.”  A library system already turned me down because they’re not looking for books by independently published or small press authors right now.  Disappointing since that community has a large East Asian population.  A nearby town (similar demos) did ask for a review copy, however.  I have also been asked to read it at my son’s school! 

Oh, that's too bad.  The library I used to work at was always happy to promote books by local authors.

[Schnickelfritz]

On 6/4/2022 at 11:12 AM, dubbel zout said:

I remember visiting the Met after reading that and asking about the Angel statue, and I was crushed to hear it didn't exist; Konigberg made it up. I was one of thousands of kids who asked about it, I'm sure. And the Met likely got a nice admissions bump from the book. It was made into a movie with Ingrid Bergman as the title character (not the files!), but I can't find it anywhere these days.

I know it's been ages since this was posted but I wanted to let you know that the movie is available on Amazon free with ads under the title, From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I think it was originally called The Hideaways. (or vice versa). Search title with Ingrid Bergman and you'll have it.

[JustHereForFood]

From non-UK/US authors, I have to mention Astrid Lindgren. Her books are beloved all through Europe and she is one of the most translated authors. Her probably most famous and internationally-known work is Pippi Longstocking, but she has written several other books for children. Apart from Pippi, I have read her Bullerbyn books (known as Six Bullerby Children), one of her Kalle Blomkvist books and a standalone Ronia, the Robber's Daughter which is probably my favorite. (There is actually a new TV adaptation of Ronia coming to Netflix this week, I am very much looking forward to it.) Astrid Lindgren has also been a huge supporter of children rights and animal rights.

[Constant Viewer]

Ronia the Robbers Daughter was my favorite!

Edited March 31 by Constant Viewer

[PRgal]

Another update:  I MAY have succeeded in getting my book into an indie bookstore and will hopefully have it there in time for Asian Heritage Month in May (which is also Jewish Heritage Month).  Despite being specific to certain holidays, the very fact the family in the story is Jewish/Asian makes it appropriate to promote in May as well.  And again around Rosh Hashanah, of course.

And book #2 is coming soon.  

(besides reading to my son's class, I also had the opportunity to read to Grade 2s at my alma mater!  The kids were very well behaved and mostly patient, saving all their comments and questions until the end.  Two years makes a big difference (and I suppose being girls only does too)!!! Gives me A LOT of hope))

[andromeda331]

On 3/31/2024 at 6:25 PM, PRgal said:

Another update:  I MAY have succeeded in getting my book into an indie bookstore and will hopefully have it there in time for Asian Heritage Month in May (which is also Jewish Heritage Month).  Despite being specific to certain holidays, the very fact the family in the story is Jewish/Asian makes it appropriate to promote in May as well.  And again around Rosh Hashanah, of course.

And book #2 is coming soon.  

(besides reading to my son's class, I also had the opportunity to read to Grade 2s at my alma mater!  The kids were very well behaved and mostly patient, saving all their comments and questions until the end.  Two years makes a big difference (and I suppose being girls only does too)!!! Gives me A LOT of hope))

That's wonderful! Congratulations!