Books That Change Kids' Worlds
Susan Orlean published a list of recommended books for kids on her New Yorker blog this morning. She notes books that had multiple recommendations are in bold. I've marked the ones I've read with strikethrough and the ones Emma and I have read with italics. This list will be helpful during the school year as we pick books for read and respond homework. I'm kind of embarrassed by some of the books I missed in childhood. I loved Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown and then kind of migrated to Agatha Christie and never made it back to the YA section of the library.
“The Phantom Tollbooth,” by Norton Juster“Matilda,” by Roald Dahl“The Borrowers,” by Mary Norton“Charlotte’s Web,” by E. B. White“The Chronicles of Narnia” series, by C. S. Lewis“The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman“The Paper Bag Princess,” by Robert Munsch“Abel’s Island,” by William Steig“Love that Dog,” by Sharon Creech“Island of the Blue Dolphins,” by Scott O’Dell“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” by Judy Blume - wasn't really all that into Judy Blume“From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler,” by E. L. Konigsburg - Loved it. Read it with Emma in 2nd grade but she kind of lost interest at the end.“Anne of Green Gables,” by Lucy Maud Montgomery“Tuck Everlasting,” by Natalie Babbitt“The Giving Tree,” by Shel Silverstein“Meet the Austins,” by Madeleine L’Engle“Go to the Room of the Eyes,” by Betty K. Erwin“Peter Pan,” by J. M. Barrie“The Black Book of Colors,” by Menena Cottin“The Velveteen Rabbit,” by Margery Williams“Peterson Field Guides,” by Roger Tory Peterson“The Little Prince,” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery“The Dark is Rising,” by Susan Cooper“A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeleine L’Engle“Harriet the Spy,” by Louise Fitzhugh - Loved it!“Call it Courage,” by Armstrong Sperry“One Morning in Maine,” by Robert McCloskey - Love all Robert McCloskey books“Emily of New Moon,” by Lucy Maud Montgomery“Dr. De Soto,” by William Steig“Frog and Toad,” by Arnold Lobel - Emma and I reread the Frog and Toad books so many times.“The Wizard of Oz,” by L. Frank BaumThe “Little House on the Prairie” series, by Laura Ingles Wilder - Emma is reading these now for SFA“The Once and Future King,” by T. H. White“Gideon’s Trumpet,” by Anthony Lewis“Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” by Richard and Florence Atwater“The BFG,” by Roald Dahl“The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights,” by John SteinbeckThe BibleThe “Nancy Drew” books, by Carolyn Keene - OMG, loved them all.The “Hardy Boys” books, by Franklin W. Dixon - Meh. Betsy and Tom liked them a lot, though.“Black Beauty,” by Anna Sewell“Misty of Chincoteague,” by Marguerite Henry“When We Were Very Young,” by A. A. Milne“Dr. Doolittle,” by Hugh Lofting“The Hundred Dresses,” by Eleanor Estes - another favorite bookThe U.S. ConstitutionThe “Mr. Men” books, by Roger Hargreaves“Curious George,” by H. A. Rey“Little Critter” series by Mercer Mayer - I think we owned most of these when Emma was little“Bridge to Terabithia,” by Katherine Paterson“The Secret Garden,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett“Love of Seven Dolls,” by Paul Gallico“Gooseberry Park,” by Cynthia Rylant“The Saturdays,” by Elizabeth Enright“To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee“Danny, the Champion of the World,” by Roald DahlThe dictionary - I had a little kid's dictionary and would ask my dad to read it to me when he came home from school each day“Hailstones and Halibut Bones,” by Mary O’Neil“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” by Mark Twain“Alice in Wonderland,” by Lewis Carroll“Jacob Have I Loved,” by Katherine Paterson“The Water-babies,” by Charles KingsleyThe “Secret Seven” books, by Enid BlytonThe “Famous Five” books, by Enid Blyton“A Little Princess,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett“Petit Nicholas,” by J. J. Sempé“Mrs. Piggle Wiggle,” by Bety MacDonald - Didn't read as a kid; I liked these more than Emma did.“The Melendy Quartet,” by Elizabeth EnrightThe “Asterix” books, by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo“Marjorie Morningstar,” by Herman Wouk“Around the World in 80 Days,” by Jules Verne“The Fire Cat,” by Esther Holden Averill“The Boy Who Could Make Himself Disappear,” by Kin Platt“Where the Wild Things Are,” by Maurice Sendak“The Outsiders,” by S.E. Hinton“My Side of the Mountain,” by Jean Craighead George“Watership Down,” by Richard Adams“James and the Giant Peach,” by Roald Dahl - Emma and I started this but she wasn't into it.The “Tintin” series, by Hergé - Love love love Tintin! My siblings and I used to go into Harvard Square to buy issues.“The World of Pooh,” by A. A. MilneAesop’s Fables - Emma and I have started these, but some aren't all that appropriate for her.“The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” by Kate DiCamillo“Hitty: Her First Hundred Years,” by Rachel Field“Where the Red Fern Grows,” by Wilson Rawls“Encyclopedia Brown Saves the Day,” by Donald J. Sobol“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” by Roald Dahl“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” by Judi Barrett“Where the Sidewalk Ends,” by Shel Silverstein“The Baby-sitters Club” books by Raina Telgemeier and Ann M Martin“The Lorax,” by Dr. Seuss“Summer of My German Soldier,” by Bette Greene“Hannah is a Palindrome,” by Mindy Skolsky“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More,” by Roald Dalh“Number the Stars,” by Lois Lowry“The Westing Game,” by Ellen Raskin“Five Children and It,” by E. Nesbit“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” by Betty Smith“Ramona Quimby, Age 8,” by Beverly Cleary - Emma has reread most of the Ramona books already“Trumpet of the Swan,” by E. B. White“Dear Mr. Henshaw,” by Beverly Cleary“The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier“Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,” by Robert C. O’Brien“Old Yeller,” by Fred Gipson“The Castle in the Attic,” by Elizabeth Winthrop“The Sea of Trolls,” by Nancy Farmer“Dragon Rider,” by Cornelia Funke“Behind the Attic Wall,” by Sylvia Cassedy“Pippi Longstocking,” by Astrid Lindgren“The Boxcar Children,” by Gertrude Chandler Warner - Em's 3rd grade teacher recommended this series. Have to reserve it from the library.“Sideways Stories From Wayside School,” by Louis Sachar“Tatterhood,” by Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moe“Playing Beatie Bow,” by Ruth Park“Amy’s Eyes,” by Richard Kennedy“The Giver,” by Lois Lowry“The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes,” by Arthur Conan Doyle“Tiger Eyes,” by Judy Blume“Diamond in the Window,” by Jane Langton“The Great Brain,” by John Dennis Fitzgerald“The Foundation Trilogy,” by Isaac Asimov“Professor Puffendorf’s Secret Potions,” by Robin Tzannes“The Terrible Island,” by Beatrice Ethel Grimshaw“Crictor,” by Tomi Ungerer“The Talking Eggs,” by Robert D. San Souci“Danny Dunn,” by Jay Williams“The Story of Ferdinand,” by Munro Leaf“Amelia Bedelia,” by Peggy Parish - Another series we owned most or all of, thanks to Aunt Lisa.“The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles,” by Julie Edwards“The Enchanted Forest Chronicles,” by Patricia C. Wrede“The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales,” by Jon Scieszka“The Cricket in Times Square,” by George Selden“Shiloh,” by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor“The Story of My Life,” by Helen Keller“Sarah Plain and Tall,” by Patricia Maclachlan“The Shadow Guests,” by Joan Aiken“The Wave,” by Eric Walters“Dune,” by Frank Herbert“Walk Two Moons,” by Sharon Creech“Pilgrim’s Progress,” by John Bunyan“Little Women,” by Louisa May Alcott“Corduroy,” by Don Freeman“If You’re Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow,” by Cooper Edens“The Wolves of Willoughby Chase,” by Joan Aiken“Caretakers of Wonder,” by Cooper Edens“The Boxcar Children,” by Gertrude Chandler Warner“The Jungle Book,” by Rudyard Kipling“Super Diaper Baby,” by George Beard“A Child’s Garden of Verses,” by Robert Louis StevensonThe “Redwall” series, by Brian Jacques“Voices in the Park,” by Anthony Browne“Swallows and Amazons,” by Arthur Ransome“Dancing on the Edge,” by Han Nolan“Ella Enchanted,” by Gail Carson Levine - Emma and I started it but she didn't get far. I think the dead mother thing freaked her out.“The Name of the Rose,” by Umberto Eco“The Neverending Story,” by Michael Ende“The Boy from Mars,” by Daniel Pinkwater“Solomon Snow and The Silver Spoon,” by Kaye Umansky and Scott Nash“The Search for Delicious,” by Nathalie Babbit“Go Ask Alice,” by Anonymous“Girl, Interrupted,” by Susanna Kaysen“The Egypt Game,” by Zipha Keatley Snyder“The Prydain Series,” by Lloyd Alexander“How to Train Your Dragon,” by Cressida Cowell“The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel),” by Ellen Raskin“D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths ,” by Ingri d’Aulaire and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire“Farmer Boy” - Emma's reading this now (11/11) for school.“Half Magic,” by Edward Eager“Harry Potter,” by J. K. Rowling“Treasure Island,” by Robert Louis Stevenson“The Hobbit,” by J. R. R. Tolkien - only read it because it was assigned; didn't like sci fi as a teen.“Tar Beach,” by Faith Ringgold“The Obsidian Dagger,” by Catherine Webb“Just William,” by Richmal Crompton“Zen Shorts,” by Jon J. Muth“Thirteen Reasons Why,” by Jay Asher“The Catcher in the Rye,” by J. D. Salinger“The Indian in the Cupboard,” by Lynne Reaid Banks“The Mouse & Motorcycle,” by Beverly Cleary“Just So Stories,” by Rudyard Kipling“The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck,” by Don Rosa“Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding - assigned“Lydia, Queen of Palestine,” by Uri Orlev“The Jolly Postman,” by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg“In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson,” by Bette Bao Lord“Finn Family Moomintroll,” by Tove Jansson“The Forgotten Door,” by Alexander Key“The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” by Brian Selznick“When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit,” by Judith Kerr“I, Keturah,” by Ruth Wolff“The Good Earth,” by Pearl Buck - assigned“West with the Night,” by Beryl Markham“The Magical Ms. Plum,” by Bonny Becker“The Railway Children,” by E. Nesbit“Heidi,” by Johanna Spyri“The Magic Pudding,” by Norman Lindsay“Homer Price,” by McCloskey“A Series of Unfortunate Events,” by Lemony Snicket“UFO Diary,” by Satoshi Kitamura“Two Bad Ants,” by Chris Van Allsburg“Girl Who Owned a City,” by O. T. Nelson“Witch Week,” by Diana Wynne Jones“The Reluctant Dragon,” by Kenneth GrahameThe “Magic Treehouse” series by Mary Pope Osborne - Emma hadn't much interest in this series until another kid in second grade got her hooked and then the two of them raced to see who could read her way through the series faster. We're waiting for the Mr. Lincoln book to be published.“A to Z Mysteries ,” by Ron Roy“Green Eggs and Ham,” by Dr. Seuss“Voyage to the Bunny Planet,” by Rosemary Wells“George and Martha,” by James Marshall - I loved George and Martha.“Dominic,” by William Steig“Haroun & the Sea of Stories,” by Salman Rushdie“Fairy Tales,” by Hans Christians Anderson“How to Eat Fried Worms,” by Thomas Rockwell“The Wonder Clock,” by Howard Pyle“Bill Peet: An Autobiography,” by Bill Peet“Captain Underpants,” by Dav Pilkey - Another series Emma loved and Aunt Lisa subsidized.“The Book of Everything,” by Guus Kuijer“Rascal,” by Sterling North“The Twenty-One Balloons,” by William Pene Dubois - Love this and just found a copy recently; trying to get Em to read.“The Moccasin Trail,” by Eloise Jarvis McGraw“Elmer and the Dragon,” by Ruth Stiles Gannett“Roverandom,” by J. R. R. Tolkien“Goodnight Moon,” by Margaret Wise Brown - Emma had a board book version of this and loved it to death. The binding is gone and there are teeth marks and drool stains, but I've saved it.“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” by Judith Viorst - I love this; Emma not so much.“A Tale of Peter Rabbit,” by Beatrix Potter“I Believe in Unicorns ,” by Michael Morpurgo“A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever,” by M. Frazee“How I Learned Geography,” by Uri Shulevits“A River of Words,” by Jen Bryant“The Pushcart War,” by Jean Merrill“The Wainscott Weasel,” by Tor Seidler“Fox in Socks,” by Dr. Seuss - classic“Let’s Do Nothing!,” by Tony Fucile“The Book that Eats People,” by John PerryThe “Frankie Pickle,” by Eric Wight“Shark vs. Train,” by Chris Barton and Tom Lichtenheld“Stuart Little,” by E. B. White“Everybody Poops,” by Taro Gomi - Emma found this hilarious when she was little. Didn't help much with the pottying, though.“Any Which Wall,” by Laurel Snyder“Where’s Waldo,” by Martin Handford“Berenstain Bears,” by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
