1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up discussion

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.
A reread of A Wrinkle in Time (on the list) and then read the rest of the series (not on the list).

I recently reread in order to review them, Crusade in Jeans, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Walkabout (enjoyed Crusade in Jeans although found the English translation horrible so read it in German, absolutely hated The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and thought it trivialises the Holocaust and found Walkabout dated and sexist).

As well as

Frederick

LOTR trilogy

The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly

Fungus the Bogeyman

Flour Babies

Pinocchio

The Little House

and reread for likely the 20th time Heidi

Manybooks wrote: "As well as

Frederick

LOTR trilogy

The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly

Fungus the Bogeyman

Flour Babies

[book:Pinocc..."

Loved LOTR and Fungus the Bogeyman. I so enjoy fantasy with lots of detail.

Karen wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "As well as

Frederick

LOTR trilogy

The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly

Fungus the Bogeyman

[book:Flour Babies|382..."

LOTR is great is you read it at your own speed and approach it as an epic. Have you ever tried the Silmarillion? I ended up loving it once I deiced to read it as a religious type of mythological work.

Manybooks wrote: "Karen wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "As well as

Frederick

LOTR trilogy

The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly

Fungus the Bogeyman

[book:Fl..."

I've read the LOTR trilogy twice -- once in the 70s and then again in the 90s. I have read The Silmarillion and The Book of Lost Tales (Part 1 and 2). Enjoyed these but I haven't read any of the other additional books.

The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White

Actually listened to the audio book for The Once and Future King. This book is made up of 4 novels -- The Sword in the Stone, The Witch in the Wood (aka The Queen of Air and Darkness), The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind.

The original novel of the Sword and the Stone contained 3 episodes that were not included in the book when the novels were printed together as The Once and Future King (the ant and goose episodes and a battle with Madam Mim). The ant and goose episodes were later incorporated into the 5th book -- The Book of Merlyn and the Madam Mim episode was added to the Disney movie of the Sword and the Stone.

The Sword and the Stone is very lighthearted, but the 3 following books grow ever darker as the tragedy of King Arthur moves to its conclusion. The book also shows the influence of the rise of fascism and the two World Wars on White's writing.

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Quite a good book on how wishes can go wrong. The children plan so hard how to phrase their wishes, but it never works -- often with hilarious consequences.

Karen wrote: "Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Quite a good book on how wishes can go wrong. The children plan so hard how to phrase their wishes, but it never works -- often with hilarious cons..."

I liked that one.

The Adventures of Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels
Enjoyable and quite realistic as to violence in the insect world!

The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch by Ronda Armitage.

A nice funny little story for younger readers 4/5

I just finished rereads of both James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. I read them over the last few months with groups of grade 2 students. I love both of these!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
4/5

Lianne (The Towering Pile) wrote: "I just finished rereads of both James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. I read them over the last few months with groups of grade 2 st..."

Two of my favorites!!

The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Many familiar fairy tales retold by Lang but very enjoyable. A few that I had never read. Might have to make some time to read all 12 of the "Coloured Fairy Books."

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Nice little story.

Come Hither: A Family Treasury of Best-Loved Rhymes and Poems for Children by Walter de la Mare

Took me 9 months to finish, but a beautiful collection of poetry. Contains many old ballads and well-known English poets. However, I do not feel this book should be in the 5+ section. The Irish and Scottish ballads are in dialect and the English poets are those we usually meet in English literature courses (Shakespeare, Milton, Coleridge, Keats, etc.). The notes are great, but at the back of the book and not footnoted in the poetry.

The Warden's Niece by Gillian Avery.

I'm surprised I'd never heard of this author as she was very much of 'my' era. Plenty more of hers to look out for now 4/5

Aileen wrote: "The Warden's Niece by Gillian Avery.

I'm surprised I'd never heard of this author as she was very much of 'my' era. Plenty more of hers to look out for now 4/5"

Have you read the sequel?

I just reread Island of the Blue Dolphins, but I read an expanded version, Island of the Blue Dolphins: The Complete Reader's Edition with great supplemental information and analyses (in particular regarding how Native Americans are portrayed in the novel) and which I do highly recommend.

Karen wrote: "Come Hither: A Family Treasury of Best-Loved Rhymes and Poems for Children by Walter de la Mare

Took me 9 months to finish, but a beautiful collection of poetry. Contains many old b..."

Yes, that does sound a bit like it should be more in the 8+ section as especially the dialect rhymes and songs could be challenging.

Manybooks wrote: "Aileen wrote: "The Warden's Niece by Gillian Avery.

Have you read the sequel?"

No, this was the first I've heard of her, and the first book of hers that I've read. I understand there are eight books in this series.

Aileen wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Aileen wrote: "The Warden's Niece by Gillian Avery.

Have you read the sequel?"

No, this was the first I've heard of her, and the first book of hers ..."

I only know of two, so I will have to check this out.

I finished:

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes 07/19/19

Gem wrote: "I finished:

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes 07/19/19"

This was one of my childhood favorites.

The Last Giants by François Place

Fantastic book -- beautiful artwork.

At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
I had read excerpts from this book in a Bible Study a few years ago as an example of faith but had never read the whole book. Beautiful, sweet tale.

Good Night, Alfie Atkins by Gunilla Bergström

A nice, simple little story for the youngsters.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

Yet another one that had passed me by. A well-deserved 5/5.

Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Burningham

Sweet, predictable (in a good way for kids) book.

Mercedes wrote: "The Canterville Ghost

Wonderful, as all Wilde things."

I've seen the movie (the 1944 film) but never read the book. I'll have to move it up on my TBR list.

The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins
(Also read (not on the list), The Japanese Twins and The Irish Twins)

A very sweet, enjoyable book.

The Dutch Twins (1911) is the first in a series of 26 books that Perkins wrote and illustrated at the suggestion of a friend. Perkins tried to interview individuals who had grown up in a given country in order to understand their culture and customs. She also provided teaching activities at the end of the book demonstrating how teachers could incorporate the book into their curriculum.

Karen wrote: "The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins

A very sweet, enjoyable book. "

I read quite a few of these (including The Dutch Twins), as a child in the late 50s/early 60s and remember enjoying them all very much. I might look up some of them again in time.

The Spirit Wind by Max Fatchen

A typical boys' adventure story.

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
A slightly scary but enjoyable chapter book for early readers.

Crocodile Beat by Gail Jorgensen

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

I missed this one as a child (though I remember it was my best friend's favorite). Shades of C. S. Lewis and Tolkien.

Mercedes wrote: "Karen wrote: "The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

I missed this one as a child (though I remember it was my best friend's favorite). Shades of C. S. Lewis and Tolkien."

..."

Thank you. I, too, missed out on a lot of the picture books growing up. We moved to a very small town near El Paso, Texas, when I was in 1st grade (no library and definitely no bookstore). Most of the picture books I knew were the ones read by "Captain Kangaroo" on his children's TV program. But my parents had bought a set of encyclopedias which included a 10-volume set of "The New Junior Classics: The Young Folks Shelf of Books Series" which focused on fairy tales, legends, folk tales, etc. I didn't get into picture books and easy readers until I started teaching Sp. Ed. at a disadvantaged Elementary School in the 70s. I loved reading to the kids, used it as a reward and for quiet time, and tried to make our library as rich and varied as I could (thanks to Scholastic Book Clubs and sales). It's never too late to enjoy children's literature!!

Mercedes wrote: "Karen wrote: "Mercedes wrote: "Karen wrote: "The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

I missed this one as a child (though I remember it was my best friend's favorite). Shades..."

Thank you!

Mercedes wrote: "In the last few days I've finished these below, and at least one of them I classified amongst my special, six-star books:

Rosie's Walk
Goodnight Moon
[book:Bedtime for F..."

Love them all!! Enjoy!

I just read Bedtime for Frances. I was enjoying it until the dad casually threatened his daughter with spanking because she was having trouble falling asleep! Ah, the 60s.

Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner

Chocky by John Wyndham. A short book by a favourite author.

Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera Cleaver - wonderful book. If you liked The Waltons - you'll like this (in fact Hamner wrote the screenplay for the film of this).

Happy New Year all!

I've started off the year with The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. A book I've known of for ages, but never read.

Captain Tempesta by Emilio Salgari. A fun historical adventure novel written in 1905 about a young woman who disguises herself as knight to rescue her lover. I read it in Spanish originally as a child. The English translation only came out recently and I enjoyed that just as much.

Sounder by William H. Armstrong. I think I expected a sad, weepy tale about this dog. I was a little disappointed.

Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett

My Girragundji by Meme McDonald. A boy and his tree frog, lovely Aboriginal tale from Australia.

‘Fun at The Farmers’ Markets by Soraya Cohen