One of the my favorite things, for as long has I can remember, has been reading. Getting so sucked into a book that I'm sad to see it end and spending hours thinking about the characters, rewriting their endings and pondering sequels.
I hope Mac grows up with the same ability to lose himself in a story; I plan to instill in him the same excitement about going to the library that my mom gave me. Sure, there are other ways to read books nowadays, but the wonder of turning a page and seeing an illustration in living color can't be overstated. And my little bookworm seems to be on the right track so far.
Yes, it's true that right now all he does is shout out every miniscule detail he sees on the page ("sunshine! clock! hat! flower! mouse - squeak squeak! monkey! juice! car - vroom vroom!") but surely that will translate itself into reading voraciously one day, right?
I came across a list of "must read" children's authors and it got me reminiscing about my favorite storytellers from a few decades back.
Here were the author's suggestions for top ten authors and their most prized works, in descending order:
10. Ludwig Bemelman: Madeline
9. Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
8. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter
7. Margery Williams: Velveteen Rabit
6. Katherine Paterson: Bridge to Terabithia
5. Janell Cannon: Stellaluna
4. Judy Blume: Fudge
3. Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs and Ham
2. Maurice Sendak: Where the Wild Things Are
1. Shel Silverstein: Where the Sidewalk Ends
Would you add any to this list? I'm not familiar with Janell Cannon and I (eep) haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, so my top ten would also include:
Eric Carle: Anything! For the tiniest of readers, his colorful, timeless stories about hungry caterpillars and sharp-eyed bears are classics.
Chris Van Allsburg: The Polar Express (Runner up: Jumanji)
Beverly Cleary: Anything, but particularly the Ramona books.
Arnold Lobel: Frog and Toad
Peggy Parish: Amelia Bedelia
Harry Allard: Miss Nelson Is Missing!
Don Freeman: Corduroy
Marc Brown: The Arthur series
My favorite baby gift books are Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, Pat the Bunny and (new addition!) the Stinkyface series.
What am I missing? Any favorites from your childhood libraries or must-give gifts for parents-to-be?
Side note: Library Lane is the name of my china pattern. See how I substituted Library for Memory? I amuse myself sometimes...
Dear JP
2 months ago
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3 comments:
Oh em gee, Anne, you HAVE GOT to read the Harry Potter series!!!!!! Talk about getting lost in a book and being sad for it to end! DO IT! How magical! My blogging friend described it perfectly: "...the books, oh the books. They thrill me in the best of ways--that we too, in a VERY REAL way, are in a battle between good and evil, and evil has been conquered. It has been conquered. So we can be brave, and we can fight for truth, and we can stare death in the face if we have to. Ahhh...I love it. Bravery."
okay, enough of the HP soapbox, we LOVE the "I can read" series (stage 1) books. Easy reads, words, and they have everything from the nativity to buzz lightyear - Will has memorized several. Put them on your list!
The Giving Tree--gets me every time.
On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier
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