May ClassicsCAT: Children's Classics

For the May ClassicsCAT challenge, please select a children's classic.

Classics for children can be defined as stories that are memorable and timeless, with engaging characters and intriguing plots and story arcs. After 5, 10, or 100 years, these stories provide reading opportunities for children that will be remembered and re-read over time. (kidspressroom.com)

You might wish to choose picture books or longer chapter books for this challenge. While a canon of traditional children's books exists, contemporary classics also join the list. Whether you are reading a "new to you" book, or re-reading childhood favorites, as always the choice is yours!

Suggestions:

Anne of Green Gables
Harry Potter books
Heidi
Kidnapped
The Little House books
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Men
A Little Princess
Little Women
Mary Poppins
Peter Pan
Robinson Crusoe
The Secret Garden
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Where the Wild Things Are

Do not forget to update the wiki!
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/ClassicsCAT_2023#May:_Children.27s_Class....

I am planning on reading Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski. Originally published in 1945, it won a Newbery Medal in 1946.

great choice for a monthly theme. I love so many children's classics, I've read far more of them in my 50s than I did as a child!

I'm thinking of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I've got several Bobbsey Twins from my childhood on the shelf. Will choose one of them!

>1 LadyoftheLodge: oh gosh gee I have no idea..... Little Men actually intrigued me as a kid, when I got to see what was happening at the school. Might be fun to reread that with adult eyes

I didn't discover phantom tollbooth till I read it in my kiddie lit class in college My first thought was 'where have you been all my life?" Ive gifted this book to nieces and nephews and my friends chiildren they loved (adults perhaps more) I wont bother reading it as I can recite by heart but Id encorage all former chidren to do so

An early entry. I've just read Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, a book I loved as a child. Searched, found, read, all in less than an hour. Ther's no English translation in the Open Library, so I read the book in French, which was not too difficult because it is (a) a picture book and (b) written for small children. Some of the other Madeline books are available in the Open Library in English.

I have so many choices here! My home library is full of my fave children's books. How to pick just one?? Oh right, I don't have to!

I have started a reread of the Narnia novels in 2022 and hope to continue soon, so this is a good incentive.

>10 MissBrangwen: Hmm, good choice. I started a reread as well and am up to The Horse and His Boy which I love.
Otherwise, a reread of Little Women is also in order.

I've never read Anne of Green Gables and plan to read it for three CATs: this one, KittyCAT, and GeoCAT (since it takes place on Prince Edward Island).

I have no idea what I'll read but I know I have plenty of options sitting on my shelves!

I recently introduce Heidi to my granddaughters, but I don't care for the illustrations in my copy. I will search a better version in their library.

Starting Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I loved Heidi when I was a girl, and I'd forgotten all about it until I saw this list. That's my pick!

I'll be reading Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce.

I got horribly confused between this & KiddyCAT, but seems they are the same this month.
I have some on the shelf, just need to pick one. >:-)

Not sure what I'll read, but on my radar are:

The Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace
The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery and possibly a re-read of Anne of Green Gables
Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott

>18 Helenliz: Yes, they are the same, so one selection will fit both!

I read Sarah, Plain and Tall for both challenges. It is one of my fave books of all time.

>18 Helenliz: I read Up a Road Slowly for both challenges AND for this month's AlphaKIT!

>21 susanna.fraser: ah ha! A CAT-trick.

COMPLETED Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

>19 kac522: love the Betsy-Tacy books!

>24 fuzzi: Betsy-Tacy #1 is done, and I'm just waiting for the next few in the series from the library system. I never read them as a kid; in fact, I'd never heard of them until a few years ago, so looking forward to them.

>25 kac522: I had one of them as a child, #4. I never realized they were a series until a few years ago. I located copies and read all the books.

There's a museum in Minnesota that I believe was the author's home as a child, and the basis for the books. Next time I go visit my sister in St. Cloud I want to make a side trip there.

>25 kac522: I read all of them as a kid, and now am happy to own them all. The stories about the characters as grown ups are fun too.

>27 LadyoftheLodge: So good to hear--3 more just came in at my library, so I might indulge this weekend.

I have read Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.

I have finished The enchanted castle by Edith Nesbit.

I read the first four books in the Betsy-Tacy series (The Betsy-Tacy Treasury) (1940-1943) by Maud Hart Lovelace. This is a series that I never read as a child, and indeed I only heard about within the last few years. I enjoyed the first 4 books of the series, which follow the girls from age 5 to age 12. I'm sure they would mean even more to me if I had read them when I was a young reader.

As an adult reader, I appreciated the way Lovelace pays attention to detail in the clothing, food and games of the turn of the century era in America, as well as the streets and homes of Deep Valley (based on Mankato, MN). Equally interesting were references in the later books to real events, real historical people, and real books and magazines that the girls encounter. I felt that as Betsy got older, not only did the books increase in difficulty, but Lovelace also creates increasingly complex issues and personalities for the girls.

I have ordered the later books from my library, but not sure if I'll get to them this month.

>31 kac522: nice review, and I agree. I did read the entire series and felt it was worth the time, as I enjoyed every one of the books.

started reading little men and not sure Ill be able to finish it. Oh its just as charming as it was when I was a kid, but its a bit too twee for me know, and there are way too much descriptions of everyone and everything which is probably why I loved it so before, but now its a bit much. Still love the characters and the stories. And as an educator, esp interested in the philosophy of the school, very free thinking, alighned with her fathers look at educating " Bronson Alcott stressed the intellectual, physical, and emotional development of each child on his or her own terms, through dialogue between teacher and child. Doesnt work for everyone, but It succeeds because of the attitudes of Mrs and Mr Baer, and their obvious love for the kids they teach.

June thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/350863

Because I'm running out of time for this month (will be gone for a week near the end), I read Romulus and Remus (Classics for Kids Book #3) by Peter Wright. This was an easy read book probably for ages 7-9?

I have completed my read of Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski. Although quite dated, this was an interesting look at life in the Florida backwoods.

I finished my series read with Wombling Free. They have dated very little, the environmental message remains relevant.

I read Ride a Purple Pelican by Jack Prelutsky and
The Caldecott Honor book Rumpelstiltskin by Zelinsky.

>38 nrmay: that is my favorite version of Rumplestiltskin! I bought my granddaughters a copy.

>39 fuzzi:
That's funny; I gave it to MY 6-year-old granddaughter earlier this month!

Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown may not technically be old enough to count as a classic, since it was first published in 1984. But it won the Newbery, and it's a beloved favorite from my childhood, and dang it, it deserves classic status, so I'm counting it! Love it just as much now as I did when I was a kid.

>41 christina_reads: I read that recently, for the first time.

I read Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce.
A charming time-travel story about a boy who had to live with relatives in their flat while his brother had measles (obviously written pre-vaccine). He discovered an opening in the grandfather clock leading to a magic garden and Hatty, a Victorian girl who becomes his friend. Highly recommended.

>43 VivienneR: must re-read that sometime.

I read Le petit prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This is a favorite of mine. I found a French/English audio edition and it was the first time I listened to an audiobook in French so it was a little slow going even though it was so short. But it was still just as enjoyable.

Thanks all for participating in this challenge. I hope you all had fun!

>46 LadyoftheLodge: Thanks for hosting!

I'm a little bit late with my update, but I finished The Shooting Star, a Tintin graphic novel by Hergé published in 1942. The Tintin series was one of my favourites when I was a child, and this time around, I opted for the original French version.