AMERICAN AUTHORS CHALLENGE -- JANUARY 2023 -- CHILDREN'S CLASSICS

Two big questions arise for me with this month’s challenge:

First, what is a “classic”? Does it depend on the age of the book? The universality of its subject matter? Popularity upon publication? Being awarded a Newbery or Caldecott medal? Inclusion on another ALA list, or the Fordham Institute’s Kindergarden Canon (careful—not all of these are American), or being part of an arbitrary number of school curricula? Never falling out of print, dozens of different editions published, beaucoup copies entered into Library Thing?

Second, what is a “child”? There’s one in all of us, right? So when does a book cross the line from “children’s” to “young adult”. When does it pass completely out of the realm of youth and simply become something meant to be read only by grown-ups?

Now, since this is my gig, I’m going to answer those questions my way.

First: Any or all of the above are qualifiers for classic status for the purposes of this challenge. Furthermore, if you read it as a little person and have re-read it with pleasure as an adult (whether to a child or just for your own enjoyment), it’s a classic. If you want to choose from a list, I’ve included links above to some sources.

Second: Young adult literature is generally defined as that intended for readers between 12 and 18 years of age. That’s a pretty wide range, spanning early adolescence to legal adulthood, but surely modern parents still view their offspring as children during most of those years. Since we develop and mature at different rates, some books designated for young adult readers may appeal to precocious 10-year-olds. And what passed for “children’s literature” in the 19th century might seem fairly challenging, in language if not subject matter, to a modern second grader. So let’s be flexible with this one too. And by all means, if there is a favorite book from your youth or childhood that you feel has been unfairly overlooked and deserves wider readership, please share!

Herewith a partial list of authors to explore if you like. It’s hard to know where to stop, and I don’t claim this to be comprehensive in any way. Some of my own favorites constitute the first dozen. It’s alphabetical from there on.

Robert McCloskey
Lois Lenski
Arnold Lobel
Dr. Seuss
E. B. White

Jacqueline Woodson
Louise Erdrich
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Kathi Appelt
Josephine Lawrence (and others of the Stratemayer Syndicate that produced The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Dana Girls and more)
Helen Wells

Louisa May Alcott
Jason Alexander
Kwame Alexander
Avi
L. Frank Baum
Ludwig Bemelmans
Jeannie Birdsall
Judy Blume
Beverly Cleary
Barbara Cooney
Sharon Creech
Tomie dePaola
Kate DiCamillo
Paula Fox
Karina Yan Glaser
Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)
Carl Hiassen
Madeliene L’engel
Ann Matthews Martin
Betty MacDonald
Pat McKissak
Cornelia Meigs
L. M. Montgomery (Yes, Canadian is OK)
Scott O’Dell
Christopher Paolini
Peggy Parrish
Katherine Paterson
Gary Paulsen
Tamora Pierce

Margaret and H. A. Rey

Maurice Sendak
Shel Silverstein
Suzanne Fisher Staples
Kay Thompson (who wrote Eloise A Book for Precocious Grown Ups. Clearly she understood this challenge very well.)
Amy Timberlake

>1 laytonwoman3rd: I have already started A Wrinkle in Time for this challenge. It is one of my all-time favorite books, first read as a child and read several times even as an adult. I am hopeful of getting at least one other book in for the challenge as well, but it will be as time permits.

I also considered Sharon Creech, having 3 of her titles on my shelf and I adore them, but I will stick with the 5 (!) I settled on. They are all for younger kids and are all very short so I will count them as one or maybe two. This is a fun one to kick off the challenge, Linda! And thanks for the nod to Canadian classics! ;-)

I could read 75 books this year just for this challenge. I had decided to read Island of the blue dolphins and the followup Zia this year, but I cannot find our copy of Zia. Some other books come to mind as well. Decisions, decisions.

>1 laytonwoman3rd: Sorry Mrs, you are going to have to remove J R R Tolkien. Born in South Africa, lived mostly in the UK. I really must get to The Hobbit this year though.

As I said in the earlier thread, I will sit this one out, or maybe go for the wild card, as I don't read a lot of Children's fiction.

This is my opportunity to read something I never read before - Charlotte's Web. I don't quite know why no one gave it to me when I was young - I read most of Dr. Seuss, and reading was a major activity in my household. But E. B. White somehow got skipped, so I can make up for that now.

Half Magic. Seven Day Magic (such a great book for bookish kids and adults.

Then Knights Castle and The Time Garden for dessert.

Edward Eager wrote stories about American kids encountering magic, in the style of E. Nesbit, but made them wonderfully American midwest and wonderfully his own.

And wonderfully re- readable.

Repeating my possibilities here:

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
A Girl of the Limberlost, Gene Stratton-Porter (1909)
Under the Lilacs, Louisa May Alcott (1878)
Madge Morton Captain of the Merry Maid by Amy D. V. Chalmers (1914)
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster (1912) and
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1916)

plus--
Putting in a shout-out for The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett--born in Britain, but grew up in the U.S. and became a U.S. citizen.

>8 kac522: Do love what some people call "Board Books" Like Madge Morton and others - the less well known cousins of Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins.

I always look for them in garage sales and find them too - lots of them . Not classics but always fun reads.

>8 kac522: There are two little known (and not very good) "sequels" to Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer, Abroad

and

Tom Sawyer, Detective

Twain wrote them because he needed the money. They have his voice and some good moments but really, not much about not much.

I read them but you don't have to.

What a great way to start off the year! I’m going to start with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (the Books of Wonder edition). A great cozy reread.

Karen O

Linda, I do have options but wanted to read Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson which won the Scott O'Dell Prize.

Qualifies right?

Starting with the Star-Bellied SNEETCHES

(which also includes "The Pale Green Pants" -
I hang a pair out in a tree every year at Halloween
in case one of my former 4th Graders is stopping by
to see if there's actually still "nobody inside 'em."),

then an old favorite with a frightening opening -
Misty of Chincoteague,

and ending with three of Mary Chalmers' HARRY books -
all time favorite re-reads for my daughter and I.

>5 Caroline_McElwee: Philip Pullman is also British.

Probably don't want British author J K Rowling here in the AAC, but you could have Newberry awarded American author Lloyd Alexander on your list.

>13 m.belljackson: I read Misty fairly recently and have the rest of the series to read/re-read.

>6 ffortsa: I do hope you enjoy it, Judy. Charlotte's Web is the very first book that I ever bought for myself at age 8 from the Scholatic Book Mobile. I still have my original copy, taped together and beat up as it is.

I’ve just learned Where The Wild Things Are is one of a trilogy . So as soon as my request is filled from my library I’ll be reading those this month.

>16 alcottacre: - Stasia, that reminds me. In my first year of student teaching, I was placed in a grade 3 class and I read Charlotte's Web to them every day at the end of the afternoon. I was blown away when the classroom teacher later told me that nearly all the kids ordered the book from Scholastic, after that! Sure boosted my confidence as a student teacher!

>18 jessibud2: I bet it did! What a great story.

>5 Caroline_McElwee:, >14 CurrerBell:, >15 RBeffa: For heaven's sake....why did I do that?? I believe I mentioned on the general discussion thread that I had trouble when picking my own favorites because I kept coming up with non-Americans. And the three I added last to the list were Tolkien, Pullman and Rowling. OFF they went. (Read 'em anyway, though.)

>6 ffortsa:, >16 alcottacre:, >18 jessibud2: Charlotte's Web is such a wonderful story. I kind of envy anyone coming to it for the first time. White's other children's books don't have quite the same magic for me though.

>4 RBeffa: I could read a lot of qualifying books this month too, Ron. The best ones work at any age.

>7 magicians_nephew:, >10 magicians_nephew: Wow...I'm not familiar with Eager. Thanks for adding him to my list of possibles, Jim. I agree with you about the Tom Sawyer sequels. But the original is great fun. Some of Twain's other works could fit here as well, I think.

>8 kac522:, >9 magicians_nephew: Worth noting that the Madge Morton books are available at Gutenberg.org.

>10 magicians_nephew: Thanks for taking one for the team, Jim--I think I'll pass on the Tom sequels.
>9 magicians_nephew: Madge Morton is a 1914 copy owned by my grandmother (born 1904). I've had it for decades but never read it.

>11 klobrien2: Have you read any of the other Oz books? There are so many of them!

>12 PaulCranswick: It absolutely qualifies, Paul.

>13 m.belljackson:, >15 RBeffa: I read Misty for the first time in 2021. I loved it.

>22 laytonwoman3rd: That is good because I intend to read it this weekend.

I was going to sit the American authors challenge out, but then I see it's children's books and I do read a lot of children's books .... I've noticed before that there seems to be far less cross-over between Britain and America when it comes to children's books (especially ones aimed at younger children) than there is for adults. There's an awful lot of authors on the list that I've never heard of.

>8 kac522: Girl of the Limberlost has been on my ToDo list for a long time - here's my chance to finally read it. Thanks for the tip.

>6 ffortsa: I just recently reread Charlotte's Web. It is a wonderful children's book, but also has lots of nuances for the adult reader.

My choice is a book that's been on my shelves for a while, Buff, a Collie by the American Albert Payson Terhune. Some of you may be familiar with that author's best seller Lad, a Dog (forget the awful movie). I've managed to read a majority of Terhune's books, some okay, some wonderful. Lochinvar Luck is probably my favorite, after Lad.

Speaking of dogs, Jim Kjelgaard's "Red" series is good: Big Red, Irish Red, and Outlaw Red. The middle one was the first I read, and it remains a favorite.

I just discovered Richard Peck in 2022, and I love his books!

For more suggestions why not check out the Newbery medal and honor lists? I have them listed on my Newbery challenge thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/316991#

>26 fuzzi: Me too, I bought Irish Red and Outlaw Red from the scholastic book club. Last night before bed I decided i would read the series. I saw Big Red the movie when I was young and it was one of the favorite movies of my youth. So I have started Big Red the book and if all goes well I will read all 4 of the dog books that I have in a little set. The three reds plus Stormy. I read Irish Red and Outlaw Red but never the first one.

I want to put in a plug here for one of the authors on my favorites list, Josephine Lawrence. Although she worked for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and wrote several books for them under the names Helen Thorndyke and Alice B. Emerson, it's the Rosemary books published under her own name that I knew and loved as a girl. They had an old-fashioned feel to them, but they still felt very realistic to me. I probably first read Rosemary when I was 8 or 9, and have lost track of how many re-reads I've done. It still moves and amuses me. In my mind, it's a classic.

Both the Newbery and the Caldecott medal and honors lists, as well as some less well-known awards, can be accessed from the ALA website linked to in >1 laytonwoman3rd: above. I plan to read Newbery winner Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry shortly.

>15 RBeffa: Ron - My Misty copy is from 1947 so doesn't mention a series yet -

which ones do you recommend?

>29 m.belljackson: Marianne, Stormy, Misty's Foal is the first book I read and really liked. I received from my godmother as a birthday present one year. I've only read Misty. I bought the set of four for my daughter when she was young so I may read through the series this year (or month!). My wife has a couple of other Marguerite Henry books such as Brighty of the Grand Canyon which was a childhood favorite of hers.

>22 laytonwoman3rd: I’ve read all of the Baum-authored Oz books a few years back, and just loved them. I’m still arguing with myself about obtaining a set of the Books of Wonder books.

Karen O

>30 RBeffa: Stormy, Misty's Foal was the first Misty book I read, too. I'd already devoured King of the Wind in 4th grade.

>27 RBeffa: Stormy by Jim Kjelgaard is an okay book. The Red series is much better. And Snow Dog is also quite good.

>1 laytonwoman3rd: Will you please remove the British authors from the list? I think there's a chance someone will feel misled when attempting to choose American authors, who generally are less recognizable than those particular UK authors, as evident in the other thread.

The UK authors' inclusion here is also bothersome because people too often lump UK authors with authors from the USA and Canada in attempts to suppress American publishing. This mislabeling is especially frustrating when one of the most prominent authors is anti-American.

Authors I'm looking at for this month:

• Avi, though I'm not sure what to read
• Natalie Babbit, for Tuck Everlasting
• Marguerite Henry, as I'd like to again find a copy of Justin Morgan Had a Horse

I'll come up with at least one book to read for January, I just don't yet know what it'll be. Thanks, Linda, for being willing to twist the rules to accommodate Roald Dahl because his wife was an American, but I don't think I really need/want that. Plenty of good stuff available. (If I want to read Matilda or some other Dahl, I'd be inclined to pair it with a bio of Dahl. No doubt exists that he was a stinker.)

>33 aspirit: I apologize, I really thought I had removed the Brits from the list yesterday as posted in >20 laytonwoman3rd: above. I distinctly remember doing the edit, but I must have navigated away without hitting the "POST" button. I trust you don't see them there now.

I decided on a book I don't think I ever read either as a child or adult: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Not sure why but it speaks to me right now.

>1 laytonwoman3rd: Your list is great! Thanks for hosting this group! Jacqueline Woodson is one of my favorite authors of this genre. I have a hard copy of a book I haven't read that she wrote..Red At The Bone. I'll start this tomorrow!

It is difficult to name a favorite children's classic. I've read so many. Awhile back, I tried to read all the Newbery award winners. But, I realized there are so many and my goal wasn't feasible that year. I very much liked Missing May, or any book by Cynthia Rylant.

I clicked on the Betty McDonald line above at >1 laytonwoman3rd: and was astonished to find only 8 copies of Mrs Piggle-Wiggle, and no others of the series (we own 4 of them). Then I realized they had the author's name spelled wrong, it is MacDonald not McDonald. My skills are insufficient to figure out how to combine those books to the right author and book easily without screwing something up. Meanwhile Betty MacDonald will get one to the correct Piggle-Wiggle author.

>39 Whisper1: I read Missing May last year, as part of my Newbery challenge. I liked it, quite a bit.

I will probably finish Big Red today, which I have not read before. The book will be 78 years old this year, published in 1945. The world had been at war but you wouldn't know it from this story. I got some strange vibes from it that bothered me. I won't elaborate because you might think I'm crazy. I read Irish Red and Outlaw Red, the books that follow Big Red when I was about 10 or 11 I think. I had thought I might re-read them but now I am afraid I might spoil my good memory of them. I never knew any history of the author so I have been reading bits of info here and there on the internet.

There are some exciting scenes in the book. The story in the book is not the same story in the Disney film of the early 60's.

I am adding The Giver to my stack to read this month. I completely forgot about it until the reminder up top. Unlike A Wrinkle in Time, which I have loved since childhood, I never read The Giver until several years ago.

>42 RBeffa: I recently reread Irish Red, no issues.

>43 alcottacre: I really liked The Giver, and it's in a genre I don't usually care for.

I read Kate DiCamillo's Tale of Despereaux, which I absolutely loved. Very clever, witty, heart-healthy fairy tale fare. Newbery Medal winner, too.

>45 fuzzi: I am glad you enjoyed it too, fuzzi!

>46 laytonwoman3rd: I very much enjoy Kate DiCamillo's work. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is also excellent.

>46 laytonwoman3rd: I have this one and another, the tiger rising, on my stack to read this month.

Paddle to the Sea, by Holling C. Holling.

We had a copy in the house when I was a wee thing. I absolutely adored the paintings in the book, and although I found the story a bit scary at times, I loved it. If I can lay my hands on it, I'll reread it.

>49 tiffin: I remember that - I think it was my older brother's book, but read to me and my younger brother as well.

New book out. Perfect for this month's challenge. Have to see if I can get my hands on a copy.

>46 laytonwoman3rd: Adding Tale of Despereaux to my TBR pile

>51 weird_O: That should be "Days", plural, shouldn't it?

>47 alcottacre:, >48 RBeffa:, >52 magicians_nephew: I've read one other DiCamillo, Because of Winn Dixie, and I enjoyed that one too.

>49 tiffin:, >50 quondame: I really like the sound of that one.

>53 laytonwoman3rd: That is one of DiCamillo's that I have not read. I will have to see if my local library has a copy.

>30 RBeffa: STORMY, Misty's foal on its way from Abe.com!

>55 m.belljackson: I hope you enjoy it.

I'm thinking I'll be able to collect some suggestions—and some actual books—from my grands this weekend. Judi and I gave the twins a pair of Thurber stories for Christmas years ago (which I cataloged as "borrowed and read"). Also Brian Selznick books. Last year, I read Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books that I borrowed from Gracie. I know there's a Gramps-built bookcase in their guest room, jammed with their children's books. Oooo ooo oooo. Possibilities are endless.

I know a lot of people who liked the Percy Jackson series but it never really took flight for me

Still amazed that they tried to turn the books into a Broadway Musical - which didn't last long.

I finished Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm as part of the readathon this weekend and loved it. It reminded me of Anne of Green Gables. I spent Sunday by the woodstove lost in the world of rural Maine. Rebecca is much like Anne: full of the joy of life that often annoys those for whom life seems like one big chore. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was reminded why I pursue the LT challenges. I end up reading books I haven't and finding out I enjoyed them!

>46 laytonwoman3rd: Despereaux is such an adorable character that it is hard not to love the book, despite the dark happenings. I think what sealed my liking the book is the way DiCamillo wrote it - from the start I felt like she was reading the story to me. Her Dear Reader interjections were charming.

Did this turn up on your Facebook today/recently? Kate DiCamillo:

I signed for a package last week.
The delivery guy said, “DiCamillo?”
I said, “Yes.”
“Wait,” he said. “Did you write Because of Winn-Dixie?”
“I did.”
“Oh, wow,” he said. “My third grade teacher read that book to us. I’ll never forget it.”
And then he smiled at me—this radiant, beautiful smile—and I suddenly saw him as an eight-year old kid, sitting in class, listening to a story.
That man’s third-grade teacher is out there somewhere, and I wanted to let her know this: he remembers. He remembers you reading to him.

Seemed timely to me, in light of >46 laytonwoman3rd:. I was going to read The Tales of Despereaux, but I can't find it. I must have sent it to my Jersey Girls. But maybe I'll see if Firefly in Kutztown has a copy of Because of Winn-Dixie.

>61 weird_O: - Wow! That is so very cool!

>61 weird_O: That DID show up on my FB feed. Kismet.

Madeleine L'Engle is one of my favorite American authors. I actually had the wonderful experience of meeting her. This experience was after I read A Wrinkle in Time series. She signed her book Dance in the Desert. My first book read in the American author challenge is

Camilla by Madeleine L'Engle. I very much enjoyed this book. The story of Camilla Dickerson is an in depth study of a young girl who is forced to mature when she discovers her quite beautiful mother is cheating on her father. Camilla is exceedingly disappointed in her mother, especially when time and time again she arrives home (in the Upper East side of New York City,) to find her mother's "friend" Jacques in an embrace with her mother.

Camilla finds a good friend, one whom she can share her life experiences with. And, this friend happens to have a brother who is drawn to Camilla. It is through her experiences with her friend and her friend's brother, Frank, that Camilla understands she is not alone. While her friends parents marriage is breaking apart, Camilla finds a lot of emotional support.

Frank becomes Camilla's first love. He opens her world to new people and experiences.

Highly recommended for the excellent reading style and clear depiction of disappointment with parents who cannot seem to follow vows of "forsaking all others!"

To answer the January AAC challenge, I'm currently reading both The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends. I'm mentally inventorying the movie's divergences from the book, and also explaining to myself (as if I really know) the rationale for each alteration. I'm halfway through; the supplicants have been challenged to cap the witch of the west.

Re: Silverstein. Remember this one?

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it—one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh fiddle,
It's up to my middle,
Oh heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff...

>66 kac522: Yep, remember it. My own Silverstein favorite:

Mrs. McTwitter the baby-sitter,
I think she's a little bit crazy.
She thinks a baby-sitter's supposed
To sit upon the baby.

As my Review noted, SNEETCHES was one of the first anti-racism books - for kids AND adults -

from 1961 to Now comes this:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/11/2146642/-Chilling-effect-of-Republica...

I somehow managed to miss Harriet the Spy in my childhood, so I borrowed the audiobook from the library and listened to it. I am pretty sure I wouldn't have liked it as a child, and I didn't like it much now, either. The extent of Harriet's snooping troubled me, as did the bullying she was subjected to.

>66 kac522: I laughed right out loud!

I had a negative reaction to Silverstein's book The Giving Tree The boy used all of the tree's gifts..a selfish little boy who turned to a selfish man.

>67 m.belljackson: Thanks so much Marianne!

Here is the link to my 2023 75 challenge group:

https://www.librarything.com/profile

>69 Whisper1: I just re-read The Giving Tree this morning Linda and had almost the same reaction. I don't think the boy was selfish, it was when he got a little older and got all complainy and the tree gave and gave until there was nothing left to give. Was not my idea of a good message story. First read it in the early 90s I think.

I love Shel Silverstein, but The Giving Tree is just...odd.
And, of course he wrote "A Boy Named Sue", "Put Another Log on the Fire" and a few other country songs some of us may have heard of.

>69 Whisper1: I much prefer The Tree that set healthy boundaries

>71 RBeffa:, >72 laytonwoman3rd:, >73 quondame:
Thanks to all for your feedback regarding The Giving Tree. I never read comments from Silverstein regarding his idea of this book. Ron, I agree, it was when he got older that a boat was needed for wood from the giving tree. I simply thought this was not a positive message to children.

Sue, I like your title!
Linda, right you are, it is a odd book.

I agree with all on The Giving Tree; never liked it. Try The Great Kapok Tree instead!
Even so, Silverstein was brilliant. He also wrote 'The Unicorn' song.

>74 Whisper1: Oh thanks but it's not mine at all - it's a link to the redo of the same name.

Hoo hoo. Lots of good stuff about Shel Silverstein to look into.

I had no idea, Linda, that he wrote "The Boy Named Sue." Had to Google "Put Another Log on the Fire" and it doesn't surprise me it's Waylon Jennings who made it popular. I don't have The Giving Tree; so be it. I like Nancy's suggestion of The Great Kapok Tree. Sounds good to me.

Of course, I still have a half of Where the Sidewalk Ends to digest.

I actually have (as yet unread) an biography of Shel Silverstein. Count me among those who never much liked The Giving Tree, but his other stuff is very good.

Reading this thread brings back good memories of having my grade school teacher read Charlotte's Web to the class, of all the goofy Ramona books, of a book I really like, The Giver, of horse stories enjoyed with my children Misty, King of the Wind, etc. I loved A Wrinkle in Time as a kid along with Nancy Drew, The Phantom Tollbooth, and Harriet the Spy, guess its time for some rereads!

I'd like to add an American author to the suggestion list that our family has loved over the years, William Steig, delightful stories and his own wonderful artwork illustrating them Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, The Amazing Bone, Dominic, Amos and Boris, Shrek and others. He also did amazing covers for the New Yorker magazine.

>54 alcottacre: I loved Because of Winn Dixie!

>58 magicians_nephew: I was given a copy of The Lightning Thief, just couldn't get into it at all.

I've read almost all of the books people are mentioning above!



Book #8 A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter 336 pages

Read for the American Authors' Challenge. I loved this book and Freckles in my youth, along with Louisa May Alcott and Kate Douglas Wiggins and many more, but they certainly do write them different these days. It was hard for me to push through parts of the book and Elnora certainly is "an old-fashioned girl" (although she was probably quite modern back in 1909 when she was created). I won't say the Suck Fairy has visited, because I still ended up enjoying it, but it made me much more aware of why, even though I loved them in the 50s, later generations just have not appreciated them.

>81 ronincats: I will give you a pat on the back for that one. I am pretty sure I read this some years ago. I got about 80 pages into it this past week and it was familiar to me but I cannot say I was enjoying the revisit very much. I decided not to continue.

>82 RBeffa: STORMY, Misty's Foal is starting off as exciting as MISTY,

and with added evocative maps!

Thank you for the recommendation - book is a nice little hard back with cover.

>83 m.belljackson: I'm glad. My lovely hardback has many illustrations including some in color if I remember correctly. The paperback edition has illustrations but none in color. I have Sea Star in paperback to read for the first time - it is sitting on my read soon shelf. I'm hoping to read some of these children's books over a couple months. I'm moving on to a mystery series at the moment.

I completed Maurice Sendak’s Night Trilogy which consists of Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen and Outside Over There.

I am revisiting my old Marguerite Henry horse books this year, just finished Justin Morgan had a Horse. Call me old fashioned, but those are still exciting and feel good stories.

I read Little House in the Big Woods. I'd never read one of the Little House books, so seemed like a good choice. I really enjoyed it, as it's very interesting, in describing how people lived in such isolated places, what they dealt with, and how. I loved the TV-series The Victorian Farm as well, it's just interesting to know how people lived and took care of themselves. And it the same time I found it a very sweet and comforting read. I could see it would be nice to read it to a (young) child. A lot of the more adventurous stories in the book don't happen to Laura herself, but are told to her, making them less scary. Her family, the way her father and mother treat their children. (except for the beating, now that's really old-fashioned).

>86 kaida46: don't forget King of the Wind, that was my favorite.

>80 fuzzi: I have yet to have read that one. Maybe some day. . .

>81 ronincats: I read that one for the first time last year, Roni. I ended up enjoying it too, but it did strike me as rather an "old fashioned" book.

I've finished my read for this month's challenge: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. This was a very pleasant reread for me.

The afterword to the "Books of Wonder" edition that I read (again) says that, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow is widely acclaimed as the first truly American fairy tale. Though other American authors had written fairy tales prior to Baum, theirs were styled after traditional European tales, with princes and princesses, dire consequences, and fearful morals. Baum was the first to craft a wonderland out of uniquely American concepts and familiar items."

Really enjoyed the read--the Children's Classics pick was a good pick for a cold January!

Karen O.

>91 klobrien2: I'm reading The Wizard of Oz right now. I don't think I read it as a child; although I watched the movie multiple times, it's been years since the last time. It is quite delightful. My copy is illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt.



ETA: Finished it. The story is more complicated than I recall the movie version being. Better, scarier, but with some "how come?" moments due to internal logic inconsistencies. I can just hear a bright child asking, for instance, why the Wizard didn't make himself a balloon and fly off back home long ago, if that's all there was to it. But I quibble. It's a classic for a reason, and I'm glad to have read it now.

I finally read Charlotte's Web. Glad to have had the push from this challenge.

# 5. Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein. Finished 1/15/23. 

The Weird Report^TM  

Shel Silverstein was multitalented: a cartoonist and illustrator, poet and lyricist. He had a vision that was at once funny and sagacious. A lot of his work aimed at children, but was intended for adults as well; maybe, heh heh, the adult was the real target. What made him a natural choice for the AAC challenge was that he wrote and illustrated a collection my now-adult daughter left on the shelf when she went to college. The book wasn't forgotten. She and both her brothers recalled favorite poems.

Becky remember several poems, particularly this one:



I like the integration of the drawings into the presentation. Ned, the youngest, remembered "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too," in which you're taken for a ride in a flying shoe:

     

Ickle was captain and Pickle was crew
And Tickle served coffee and mulligan stew
As higher
And higher
And higher they flew…

And I liked this one too, again integrating the drawing with the text:

     

Sure, some clunkers are included, but the entire book is worth a read.

I think I have to catch up on more children's lit. I could go to the library and just sit there, in a comfortably small chair, and read my fill.

>94 weird_O: Love me some Shel Silverstein.

>95 ffortsa: Me too. Especially the nonsense stuff that is meant to delight them.

I just read Goodnight Moon. It's a sweet story that I probably would have loved more if I'd owned a copy as a child and had it read to me at bedtime.

I read Kate DiCamillo's The Tiger Rising and finished it about a week ago. It was a quick one day read. Can't say I really cared for it, unlike The Tale of Despereaux which I did like. Probably appropriate for about 5th grade. A little too depressing.

>94 weird_O: I can’t believe I haven’t read Where the Sidewalk Ends! It’s got so many things I like in a book—poetry, illustrations, and it’s for kids, young and old. This situation is being rectified—I’ve got a cooy requested from my library. Thanks for the reccie!

Karen O

I'm weighing in with Eloise, my favorite childhood heroine. It came out in 1955, for 54 weeks of which I was 6, though my attachment to Eloise has lasted since my first encounter with her that year.
The narration of Eloise's adventures is great fun, and the illustrations are so charming and sly, from the slight angles of the nostrils of Eloise's understated nose to the guarded glance of the "lady" peeping out the door over the debonair fellow's shoulder.

>98 RBeffa: I didn't care for The Tiger Rising either, but I loved her book Because of Winn Dixie.

I didn't get to a classic this month, a chunkster kept me engaged for three weeks and I've run out of time...

I found myself wanting a short audio to start yesterday and finish by today, and decided on Beezus and Ramona. I loved the Ramona books as a kid - I myself was a pesky little sister so Ramona was definitely my jam. The audio isn't great - it's read by the actress Stockard Channing so I expected it would be good, but her voices are kind of annoying. Still, the story is fun to re-visit.

Stockard Channing is wonderful, but she seems an odd choice for reading children's books.

>104 laytonwoman3rd: - Her voice is very warm and when she's reading anything other than dialogue, it's pretty good. But then she does these voices and it's like nails on a chalkboard!

I just read (or, reread for the 50th time) One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey. As a child I was more familiar with Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings, but I discovered One Morning in Maine when my own kids were little. The illustrations are wonderful and the simple storyline reminds me of my own New England summers.

I meant to read more books for this month's challenge, and at least something longer, but I ran out of time. I may return to the children's classics theme throughout the year as it makes me happy.

>106 AnneDC: Those are among our family favorites.

>106 AnneDC: ouch, got a BB on that one. I've read Make Way for Ducklings and two Homer Price books, but no others by McCloskey.

My wife bought herself a Blueberries for Sal T-shirt about a year or two ago when Liberty Graphics was having a sale. She bought me a Charlie Harper one.

When I visited Boston some years ago, I went to the park where there is a plaque and statues commemorating Make Way For Ducklings. I sat on mama duck for a photo op!

Hmm. In looking back, I see that I didn't actually post what I read. I was so sure I had. Well, I read those 2 McCloskey books, Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal, as well as 2 Canadian children's classics, Franklin in the Dark, a favourite in my classroom when I ws teaching, as well as a real classic from my childhood, The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier, captured beautifully on film in a 10-minute NFB short, narrated by him:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=The+Hockey+Sweater+Roch+Carrier&&vi...

Completed 3 books for this challenge:
Understood Betsy, Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1916); chatty, a bit overlong, but overall a fun read.
Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink (1935); a favorite from my childhood which I had completely forgotten except the title; based on the author's grandmother's experience during the Civil War years; now under controversy because of language used to describe Native Americans.

And my favorite was:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain (1876).
Although I've read Huck Finn a couple of times, I've never read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It was much funnier and more adventurous than I expected. Our young hero Tom has been greatly influenced by wonderful tales of adventure: pirates, Robin Hood, avengers, and all sorts of rascals he's read about in books. In this excerpt Tom explains to Huck Finn the ways of robbers:

"You don't kill the women. You shut up the women, but you don't kill them. They're always beautiful and rich, and awfully scared. You take their watches and things, but you always take your hat off and talk polite. They ain't anybody as polite as robbers--you'll see that in any book. Well, the women get to loving you, and after they've been in the cave a week or two weeks they stop crying and after that you couldn't get them to leave. If you drove them out they'd turn right around and come back. It's so in all the books."

Ah, the power of books...and the power of Twain.

I didn't get to all the books I wanted to read--hope to get to a few more over the course of the year.

Twain certainly had a streak of genius. You can see it in ALL HIS BOOKS.

"I didn't get to all the books I wanted to read" Isn't that always the way?

In January I planned to read many more children's books than I did, but I still have the short stack of extras sitting on a shelf. I pulled one off yesterday and am enjoying it. I imagine most people would be surprised that the author of Lessons, Atonement and many more wrote a children's book years ago, but Ian McEwan did. It is called The Daydreamer from 1994. It almost feels like a half memoir in disguise where the narrator tells the reader daydream stories. This would be a good readaloud to a child book or else good for 8-10 year olds on their own. I'm enjoying it and trying not to read it quickly.