Five Favorite Children's Books
As someone who has spent her entire life steeped in children’s literature, in one way or another, and as a strong advocate for encouraging reading, I truly enjoy sharing what I have learned with others. In addition to spending a large portion of my former bookstore career running children"s departments for many years, I also had an opportunity to deepen my knowledge of children's literature in an academic setting, which provided me with a historic perspective, specifically in regards to picture books.
In order to complete my degrees in sociology and social science, during my senior year of college, I was required to take a research course, which was a semester-long group project. The class was broken into small groups, and we were given parameters and requirements for the project itself, as well as for the paper and presentation we would need to complete by the end of the term. Our group chose to research and analyze the evolution of gender roles in the Caldecott Award winners and honors, starting with the award's inception (1938 was the first year it was given) all the way through the early 21st century. It was a challenging, rewarding experience, and we earned ourselves an A, with the professor even proposing that we consider submitting our paper for publication.
Today, as a freelance artist and illustrator, I've come full-circle, with much of my illustration work being influenced by classic children's picture books.
So, that's a little of my background in the field of kid's books. Now, it's onto the recommendations! There are so many wonderful books for kids (and adults - we're allowed to enjoy them, too!), I could have made this list A LOT longer. My personal collection used to be a bit unwieldy, but it has become more curated over the years (though there is always room for more!). For the sake of (relative) brevity, I have elected to highlight five that I love.
Picture Books
The Maggie B., written and illustrated by Irene Haas, published in 1975.
"This is a story of a wish come true. Margaret Barnstable wished on a star one night…"
- from The Maggie B.
The above is the opening line of this sweet, gentle, and beautifully illustrated picture book. Margaret’s wish of having her own ship comes true, and the story takes you through a day and night on the Maggie B. with Margaret, along with her baby brother James as her shipmate. She takes pride in her ship, which is filled with a menagerie of animals and birds, trees and fruit, along with all the comforts of home.
The illustrations envelop you in Margaret's world on her ship, and you just want to stay there forever, sipping a cup of tea in her little kitchen. I remember having this book read to me and loving the dreamy, warm feeling it never failed to evoke.
" 'Why don’t you run and play with the other little bulls and skip and butt your head?', she would say.
But Ferdinand would shake his head. 'I like it better here where I can sit just quietly and smell the flowers.' "
-from The Story of Ferdinand
This was one of my favorite books to have read to me when I was little. Long before I knew what the terms "individuality" and "pacifism" were, I identified with Ferdinand, and his refusal to participate in the societal expectations imposed on him, opting instead to "sit just quietly and smell the flowers." Lawson’s illustrations lend this story a touch of subtle humor that kids pick up on. The message of this book is clear, but it is communicated in a gentle, funny, and clever way. Hitler banned it, Gandhi loved it, which tells you all you need to know about this classic work.
Middle Reader Books
Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon, written by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett, published from 1948-1951 (My Father’s Dragon, 1948; Elmer and the Dragon, 1950; The Dragons of Blueland, 1951).
" 'I think I ought to be getting home,' said Elmer the next morning as he ate the last ten tangerines. 'How do you feel, Dragon?'
'Fine! Why, I could fly to the moon and back.'
'Good,' said Elmer, 'because I think today is my father's birthday.' "
- from Elmer and the Dragon
"Elmer walked around to the dragon’s head and pretended not to notice that he was crying.
'Elmer, I guess I’m not much of a dragon. A little storm comes along and forces me down, and I stand in a little water for a little while and it makes me so stiff that I can’t move a single muscle.'
'That’s not at all true,' said Elmer, 'It was a big storm, and you stood in a lot of cold water for a very long time, and besides, you're only a baby dragon and you're not used to flying long distances. And just as soon as the sun dries you off, you’ll be unstiff again. Have another lollipop.'
'Thanks, Elmer.' "
- from Elmer and the Dragon
In the first book, My Father's Dragon, Elmer Elevator finds out from a stray cat about a flying baby dragon that the cat assures Elmer he will be able to ride on, if he rescues it from being held captive on Wild Island. The book tracks Elmer’s adventure, as he outsmarts the wild animals that try to prevent him from accomplishing his mission to rescue the baby dragon.
In the second book, Elmer and the Dragon, Elmer and the dragon have all sorts of wild adventures on Tangerina Island. Kings and Queens, talking canaries, buried treasure all make appearances in this delightful sequel.
The third and final book, The Dragons of Blueland, picks up where the second book left off, with the dragon dropping Elmer off at home, in Nevergreen City, off the coast of Popsicorina, before heading home to Blueland. When he gets there, he discovers that his family has been trapped in a cave by bad men who plan to sell them to zoos! Dragons were thought to be extinct, and when it is discovered they are alive but rare, they are a hot commodity. Borris (when he is reunited with his mother, we discover his name) knows that Elmer would be able to help rescue his family, so he collects him for one last adventure, and off they go together to Blueland.
When I read this trilogy in elementary school, there was something about it that captured and held my attention. The fantasy story paired with the unique pencil illustrations was unlike anything I had read before, and it has always stayed with me. I read the individual paper books in my youth, and several years ago I bought all three stories in one hardcover volume and reread each book. The books are whimsical, sweet, and fun, and I just love, love, love the illustrations.
Tuck Everlasting, written by Natalie Babbitt, published in 1975. Cover art also by Natalie Babbitt.
" 'Know what happens then?' said Tuck. 'To the water? The sun sucks some of it up right out of the ocean and carries it back in clouds, and then it rains, and the rain falls into the stream, and the stream keeps moving on, taking it all back again. It's a wheel, Winnie, everything's a wheel, turning and turning, never stopping, the frog is part of it, and the bugs, and the fish, and the wood thrush, too. And people. But never the same ones. Always coming in new, always growing and changing, and always moving on. That's the way it's supposed to be.' "
- Tuck to Winnie, from Tuck Everlasting
"There was a creaking on the loft stairs and Jesse was looking down at her, very beautiful and eager in the faint moonlight. 'Hey, Winner Foster,' he whispered. 'You asleep?'
This time she sat up, pulling the quilt around her in sudden embarrassment, and answered, 'No, not yet.'
'Well then listen.' He knelt beside her, his curls tumbled and his eyes were wide. 'I been thinking it over. Pa's right about you having to keep the secret. It's not hard to see why. But the thing is, you knowing about the water already, and living right next to it so's you could go there any time, well, listen, how'd it be if you was to wait till you're seventeen, same age as me -- heck, that's only six years off -- and then you could go drink some, and then you could go away with me! We could get married, even. That'd be pretty good, wouldn’t it!' "
- Jesse to Winnie, from Tuck Everlasting
While I do not recall how I came across this book in elementary school, I always remembered it. Maybe the cover caught my attention, with its slightly-out-of-focus illustration of a lonely, slightly eerie, remote cabin by the river intrigued me. In any case, it became my favorite middle reader book of all time. When I found a first edition hardcover several years ago, I bought it immediately and reread it. I enjoyed it just as much as I had as a child. It is a truly unique book, and one I would always recommend when I was a bookseller. If you missed reading this one, I highly suggest that you read it now. It would be the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea on a rainy afternoon.
Peter Pan, written by J.M. Barrie, published in 1904 as a play, and in 1911 as a book entitled Peter and Wendy. The edition I have has page decorations and black and white illustrations by Gwynedd M. Hudson, and color plates by F. White and A. Woodard.
"All children, except one, grow up."
- opening sentence of Peter Pan
"Certainly they did not pretend to be sleepy, they were sleepy; and that was the danger, for the moment they popped off, down they fell. The awful thing was that Peter thought this funny.
'There he goes again!' he would cry gleefully, as Michael suddenly dropped like a stone.
'Save him, save him!' cried Wendy, looking with horror at the cruel sea far below. Eventually Peter would dive through the air, and catch Michael just before he could strike the sea, and it was lovely the way he did it; but he always waited till the last moment, and you felt it was his cleverness that interested him and not the saving of human life. Also he was fond of variety, and the sport that engrossed him one moment would suddenly cease to engage him, so there was always the possibility that the next time you fell he would let you go."
-from Peter Pan
"....and thus it will go on, so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless."
- last line of Peter Pan
My first introduction to the story of Peter Pan and Neverland, was the Disney movie, which I still adore today. I first read the book as an adult, and it became one of my favorite books - not just one of my favorite children's books. What I love most about it, is the dark undertones, particularly of Peter Pan himself. He is portrayed at times as not only immature but amoral. He is not an innocent child, as is illustrated by the second quote above. Barrie also exposes the inherent selfishness in children throughout the story, which is perfectly summed up in the last sentence of the book (last quote above). His fantastic story of Neverland, fairies, pirates, mermaids, and no parents, is a truly engrossing adventure story, and unusual in its depiction of children.
There are so many more children's books that I could have included in my favorites, but these are some of the titles that I have consistently fallen back on over the years as recommendations in my bookseller days, and in my personal life. I would encourage any adult to read them for themselves, and to pass them on to the children in their lives.
I know this was a bit of a long read, so congratulations if you made it to the end! I hope you enjoyed the recommendations, and perhaps even incorporate a few of them into your own bookshelf.
Additional essays, for all you fellow bibliophiles:
Blueprint of a Work in Progress, which describes the process of working on my first picture book.
The " Books" section of my blog, which has several book-themed pieces in it (with more to come!).
