6 Books I Loved in Childhood

¡Hola amigos!

Yesterday's post was full of thoughtful details for parents who want to know how to limit their kids' reading; it took me a long time to write -- I spread it out over three days. So today I want to do something quick and easy!

When I asked for ideas of things to post about, a couple friends wanted to hear about what books I enjoyed in my childhood. When I was a kid I saw an episode of Sesame Street where Bert talks about how nobody's favorite number is 6, but it's his favorite (ah! here it is.) I decided 6 was my favorite number, too. So let's have 6 favorite books from my childhood.

My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston -- I would like to own a copy of this book. Something about the red-headed Arizona captured my imagination. Maybe it was that I lived in Arizona. Maybe it was that I grew up hearing stories about my ancestors from my dad. Maybe it was that she sat reading on the front steps. Maybe it was that she had red hair, like some of my lucky cousins. Anyway, it's a beautiful book.

we're being lazy remember?
so this is the only book I'm linking to.
it's a beauty.

Pickle Things by Marc Brown -- Everybody knows Marc Brown for Arthur, of course, but I love Pickle Things. It's out of print, so it's ridiculously expensive online. It's great though. "Pickle things you never see, like pickles on a Christmas tree. . . . You never hear a pickle sing, or see a pickle leave a ring." It rhymes, it's silly, and it's brilliantly illustrated. What more could a child want?

Swan Lake by Mark Helprin, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg -- Speaking of awesome books that are out of print, this one is a favorite of mine. I remember my parents reading it aloud to us kids and I remember it being amazing and sad and incomprehensible and so romantic. Rereading it as a teen and as an adult has been a great delight.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett -- Speaking of books I reread as an adult, A Little Princess was awesome to reread. I remembered loving it as a child, and watching the movie and thinking the movie was very different from the book. When I picked it up again after I had kids of my own I loved it all over again, and even found myself feeling sorry for Miss Minchin, something I never did in childhood!

Sleeping Beauty by Mercer Mayer -- Oh man, I remember poring over these illustrations for a long, long time. Again, Mercer Mayer is best known for the Little Critter books, but this fairy tale retelling is what captured my imagination. It's been years since I've seen a copy.

Animalia by Graeme Base -- I used to look at these illustrations for hours, too! I'm lucky enough to own a copy of this one, and have shared it with my kids. It goes through each letter of the alphabet, with a rhyme and a ridiculously detailed scene which features innumberable objects that start with that letter. It's kind of like an I Spy book, except less stressful. (I could never find all the things on the I Spy list, you know? But finding everything in these rhymes isn't too hard, and then going above and beyond and finding more and more was just so enjoyable).

What were some of your favorite books in childhood? Of course I've barely scratched the surface of my own childhood, here. I loved The Babysitters Club and Nancy Drew and Madeline L'Engle and so many more.

Diversify Your Child's Library: 15 Must-Have Books

Maybe your little ones have a bookshelf of their own, or maybe you've just got what I like to call "a home library." Either way, your child is influenced by the books on the shelf at home. What needs to be there?

You need both quality and quantity. I recently read a great Pacific Standard article about this (Thanks Rachel!) In many cases, quantity leads to diversity. We need diverse books. We need them so much that there is a whole internet movement about it going on right now. (More about that here, and if you search the #WeNeedDiverseBooks hashtag.)

I did see a home library once that was large (yay, quantity!) but homogeneous. (Quality? Diversity?) It was strikingly odd, to me. Three or four whole shelves of little boxed sets of books with beloved characters on them, made to teach readers their numbers, shapes and colors. I was like, "Hey, this looks cute!" But when I looked closer I got bored just reading the spines of the books. I opened them up and—yep! They were all alike inside.

Anyway, I wanted to write for you a list of 15 books you must have. But as I explored this idea I couldn't get on board. There aren't 15 specific children's books that your children really have to have, in order to be healthy, functional members of society. But I did come up with 15 types of books that ought to be on the shelf. Because the young learner needs quality, quantity, and diversity. We need diverse books.

15 must-have books for your child's home library

1. A book that is really special to you: I have the very first book that my dad ever read on his own: Dash & Dart. What a gem! And I hunted down my own copy of Chris Van Allsburg's Swan Lake because I have such fond memories of my parents reading it to me.

2. A book you never get tired of reading: Personally, I could read The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry out loud to my kids every day for the rest of my life.


3. A book your child loves, but you hate: Buttercup Petal Pixies—this was a castoff from a friend and I was sorting through the box and totally going to donate this one, but then Benjamin wanted to read it (and read it again and again) and Levi did too, eventually. Maybe it's the glitter. Maybe it's something else? For me, the story limps along. The pictures are uninspiring. But the book is not pernicious in any way. For now, it stays.


4. A book that is fantasy: Don't stress, pretty much all of Dr. Seuss qualifies, here.


5. A book that is realistic fiction: I love Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes.


6. A graphic novel:  Nursery Rhyme Comics is like, the best pick ever. A graphic novel-style picture book my boys have been loving lately is Julia's House for Lost Creatures by Ben Hatke.

7. A book about the human body: Go check out the whole section at the library and pick the one you like best. Then buy it. I'd like to buy Who Has What? by Robie Harris which I read for the Cybils last year.

8. A book about your family or your child: A journal, a photo album, or something of the like.


9. A book with a protagonist of a different race: No, animals don't count as a different race from you. I love Alvin Ho, who is Chinese-American. He also has an anxiety disorder.

10. A book that makes you laugh: Petite Rouge Riding Hood always does it for me!

11. A book that is especially fun to read out loud: I made a list of 10 good ones, here.

12. A book popular culture loves: Part of reading is making cultural connections and the well-read kid is one who has read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and more. Right now Pete the Cat is really big.

13. A book that's poetry: Poetry just deepens the soul, man. Try My Dog is a Carrot by John Hegley.

14. A book written in another time period: Because the time in which an author lives puts an indelible stamp on the book, and lends a new perspective. How about Betsy-Tacy?

15. A book published in the last two years: You'd only have to buy a new book once every two years to keep up with this requirement! You can handle that. Here are seven great places to buy books.

______________________
Do you know what book I need? A dictionary! I have realized this gap in my library for some years, but—let's be honest—I just look things up on my phone. That works great for me personally, but now I have a reader! And he doesn't have a phone (and at age 6 I'm not going to give him one).  Right now he's dependent on me for definitions of words, and sometimes, we're both dependent on my phone. I think he would love a good children's dictionary. Do you have a recommendation?

What are some of the must-have books in your own library?
What type of book would you put at #16?
What has worked for you with your home library and what do you struggle with?

Let's talk in the comments, below. I'll meet you there.

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