tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post2340218960883990288..comments2024-03-18T19:00:03.047-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Learning From Children's Books Leigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-43875243536906929962016-02-21T12:24:21.796-05:002016-02-21T12:24:21.796-05:00What a great bunch of suggestions! Dash is still a...What a great bunch of suggestions! Dash is still a little young for some of these books, but interesting to see Burroughs come up twice, since I just recently got nice editions of both Tarzan and A Princess of Mars from Library of America for us to read together in a few years--books I'm particularly excited about because I've never read them myself! <br /><br />Keeping this whole list earmarked for library visits down the road. :-)Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-45443874679523482172016-02-21T09:09:56.641-05:002016-02-21T09:09:56.641-05:00Do not overlook British children’s authors such as...Do not overlook British children’s authors such as Beatrix Potter, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, A.A. Milne, J.M. Barrie, R.L. Stevenson, E.R. Burroughs, and, as noted immediately above, Kipling. Enid Blyton remains another favourite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62089411247464733582016-02-20T18:16:24.573-05:002016-02-20T18:16:24.573-05:00Betty Macdonald's Mrs. Pigglewiggle books are ...Betty Macdonald's Mrs. Pigglewiggle books are almost as tart as the original Travers' Mary Poppins. VERY good.<br />The Laura Ingalls Wilder series.<br />The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling. Absolutely must reads. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-88882909955448328032016-02-19T22:29:41.424-05:002016-02-19T22:29:41.424-05:00I’m not heard of Arnold Lobel, but I recall very f...I’m not heard of Arnold Lobel, but I recall very few children’s books that weren’t classics. Why not learn this way? Children are a demanding audience.<br /><br />Good link from Rob.<br /><br />My parents flat-out refused to get television. Funny thing, I <i>still</i> don’t have a TV and I rarely miss it. Of course I sometimes watch television programs on the internet, but I get to watch when and what I want, not what happens to come on.<br /><br />The best part was when my father would read to us, usually adventure stories: Jack London, James Oliver Curwood, H. Ryder Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc. Something so simple, and yet that’s what I remember best.<br /><br />Dash is lucky indeed.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78656149155177205922016-02-19T14:52:03.968-05:002016-02-19T14:52:03.968-05:00Bonnie's right--I like the Amelia Bedelia book...Bonnie's right--I like the Amelia Bedelia books as much as the kiddos do.<br /><br />Good column, Art!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78734717600320554092016-02-19T14:43:19.124-05:002016-02-19T14:43:19.124-05:00Your post brings back lots of memories of reading ...Your post brings back lots of memories of reading with our girls. They loved the Frog and Toad books, too, and also the wonderful Little Bear books. The Amelia Bedelia books are also fun for beginning readers--very sweet in their own way, and lots of humor that appeals to children (and to me).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17673578800047888317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-89224207834382139122016-02-19T14:02:02.910-05:002016-02-19T14:02:02.910-05:00Love all these suggestions! ...especially those fo...Love all these suggestions! ...especially those for when Dash is getting older. I've never read Harriet the Spy myself, and very much want to, but I'll save it to read when he does. Will definitely look up "An Edge of the Forest" as well, since I'm mightily intrigued by the description here--not just of the book but of your reaction to it and connection to it, Anonymous. <br /><br />Thanks to all!Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-49886938133061777282016-02-19T12:49:04.195-05:002016-02-19T12:49:04.195-05:00I had forgotten Marshall's George and Martha. ...I had forgotten Marshall's George and Martha. I think he acknowledged Lobel as the inspiration. They were good as well.<br /><br />Another was Mercer Mayer's Little Critter books. The first time the three year old I mentioned ever LAUGHED AT THE JOKES in a book was Mayer's JUST FOR YOU.Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-54536534193586127752016-02-19T12:35:56.529-05:002016-02-19T12:35:56.529-05:00My favorite book for children who already know how...My favorite book for children who already know how to read, maybe age 9 or above, is <i>Harriet the Spy</i> by Louise Fitzhugh. The book is not just for girls. Fitzhugh wrote a sequel which isn't as good. And an absolutely terrible movie, starring Rosie O'Donnell, was made of <i>Harriet the Spy</i>.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00239163766419735693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-41052471864520484092016-02-19T11:28:58.223-05:002016-02-19T11:28:58.223-05:00When I was 7 years old, I discovered "An Edge...When I was 7 years old, I discovered "An Edge of the Forest" by Agnes Smith the very year it was published. (https://books.google.com/books/about/An_edge_of_the_forest.html?id=i1IFAQAAIAAJ). I read it at least once a year after that for quite a few years, until I was an adolescent I suppose. I could never get the story and its characters out of my mind. As an adult, I found a copy and re-read it and realized for the first time what deep concepts and emotions stirred in the story, that I had perceived but not understood as a child. I am sure that's what drew me. Even as an adult, there were things in the story I could feel but not put my finger on. I believe this was Smith's only book. It's probably more suitable for older children than I was when I first read it (there are some fairly scary parts in it, where a mad dog has killed a lamb's mother and driven it into the forest, where the lamb is so weary and frightened it says it wants to die), but the themes are friendship, kinship, male-and-female relationships, life and death, fear of death as a normal part of that and as a not-useful part of that, and the fact that nearly everyone feels they don't fit in for some reason -- even those we admire as magnificent. Probably a book you'd want to read yourself before giving it to your children, but it has lit the corridors of my imagination and my heart for more than 50 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-74443046113180828702016-02-19T11:27:00.415-05:002016-02-19T11:27:00.415-05:00Adore those stories, Art. Children's lit is fu...Adore those stories, Art. Children's lit is full of absolute genius and I am convinced, wisdom. (See Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney) if Dash likes Lobel he might also like Russell Hoban's Frances books or James Marshall's Fox books. Actually Marshall's George and Martha books are a miracle of minimalist storytelling. Dash is lucky to have parents who love to share books with him.Shari Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16425493627354028820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-75583040447005423402016-02-19T10:43:10.872-05:002016-02-19T10:43:10.872-05:00Thanks, David and Rob. And Rob, yes, I think that&...Thanks, David and Rob. And Rob, yes, I think that's it exactly: the tiny vocabulary, as you said--intentionally so to help kids learn to read--and yet such fine characters, such a whole world presented through them. That's part of the wonder.<br /><br />And thanks for the link to the video. I didn't even know it existed! Must share with Dash, of course, who will be overjoyed.<br /><br />And David: Tara herself is rereading the Chronicles of Narnia right now. Dash will be there with her soon, I know! It really is the best bonding experience any of us could want.<br /><br />Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62881385587538384952016-02-19T10:25:53.330-05:002016-02-19T10:25:53.330-05:00I love Lobel. I reember being in a bookstore with...I love Lobel. I reember being in a bookstore with a three-year-old who, on her own, found Frog and Toad and insisted that was what she wanted. I was not impressed by the cover but I bought it and became an instant fan.<br /><br />The Frog and Toad books are a great lesson for writers. Take a look at that tiny vocabulary, and yet the characters are PERFECTLY distinct. Frog and Toad (the amphibian Laurel and Hardy) are completely distinct personalities. If Lobel could do that with a few hundred words what excuse do we grown-up writers for creating 2-dimensional characters?<br /><br />And if you haven't seen this, you are in for a treat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWIwUGAJs2U<br /><br />FABLES (modern stories of the Aesop kind) is also wonderful, but don't forget WHISKERS AND RHYMES, modern nursery rhymes, all with his great illustrations.<br /><br /> Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64753319603640537032016-02-19T09:58:54.398-05:002016-02-19T09:58:54.398-05:00Enjoyed reading this, Art. In our house one of th...Enjoyed reading this, Art. In our house one of the girls' favorites was "Dorrie The Little Witch" series by Patricia Coombs. Like "Toad And Frog" (another favorite) the stories have a simple, earnest humanity about them. Later came "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe" series. I believe I read every book aloud--twice, or maybe it was thrice. Later, when the kids could read on their own, they moved to illustrated versions of the Greek, Celtic, and Norse mythologies (still big favorites around here). Now that the "kids" are no longer that, we still share books as a family. Though our tastes vary considerably in literature, it provides a lot of common ground for us to meet on.David Deanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13005457506363262838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-86630643975940911122016-02-19T09:11:39.403-05:002016-02-19T09:11:39.403-05:00Thanks, Janice!
Thanks, Janice!<br />Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-26232452575095208972016-02-19T08:03:02.659-05:002016-02-19T08:03:02.659-05:00A lovely post. A great children's story stays ...A lovely post. A great children's story stays with you forever.janice lawnoreply@blogger.com