Books I Will Give To My Children

I am starting this list for myself. I’m nowhere near having kids yet, but I find myself stumbling upon things I loved as a child, and I don’t want to forget them again. So I’m going to maintain a running list of what I loved and why I’ll pass it on.

Very Young (0-5)

  • Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – Truly heartwarming. A subtle, encouraging message of mothers who will do anything for their children.
  • Angelina Ballerina, by Katharine Holabird (Author), Helen Craig (Illustrator) – This may have suited me better because I wanted to be a ballerina, but the illustrations are still lovely.
  • Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans – An absolute classic, nevermind those silly American cartoons.
  • Beauty and the Beast, Translated by Richard Howard and illustrated by Hilary Knight – This is for the illustrations, which were done by the man who most famously illustrated the Eloise books. (I despise Eloise.) These have an Alphonse Mucha flair, and I have always adored them.
  • The Twelve Dancing Princesses, by Marianna Mayer (Author), Kinuko Y. Craft (Illustrator) – One of my favorite fairy tales, and certainly my favorite rendition. My mother made a point of getting me books that had excellent artwork, and this book is seriously a work of art.
  • Gregory The Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat (Author), Jose Aruego (Illustrator) – I don’t know why, but this was always one of my favorites. Probably out spite, because I was a picky eater myself.
  • Where the Wild Things Are

School Age (6-10)

  • The Witches by Roald Dahl
  • Matilda by Roald Dahl
  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  • The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
  • Catherine, Called Birdy – Birdy is fourteen, just enough to give a ten year old a bit of a thrill to hear about someone pissing on the rushes. Meanwhile they’re learning about a different era, and some feminist lessons.
  • Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede – Got me away from picture books and into the big kid sections
  • The American Girl books – And yes, there will be a doll. I have Samantha.
  • The Princess Bride by William Goldman – Excellent book AND movie. How rare is that?

Tween (10-13)

  • What’s Happening To Me?
  • The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce
  • Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson by Louise Rennison
  • Feeling Sorry for Celia – It’s rare to find a book for kids that has a lesson without beating you over the head with it. This is about friends growing apart, and about learning that you can’t fix people by sheer will. Two lessons that aren’t given enoug space on bookshelves.
  • The Gentleman Outlaw and me, Eli. by Mary Downing Hahn – A favorite since 5th grade, so much so that I bought my own copy while we were still reading it in the story circle.
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – I heart fairy tales, and this one mixes things up fantastically.

Teen

By this time, they’re old enough to really make their own choices about what they want. I consider them almost adult, and wouldn’t try to force them into genres they don’t enjoy.

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