In the spirit of my post on Tuesday, I wanted to follow up my book recommendations for adults with a great assortment of children’s books. I’ll warn you, this one gets a little long – there are a lot of of favorites to share!
There are so many books that I loved when I was little, and others that I’ve learned about recently. I want to share a few Campbell/Steele family favorites, plus some new titles. And, let’s be honest, these may technically be for kids, but I don’t think you need someone under 18 with you to enjoy them. And, again, support your local booksellers!
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• If you only base your moral principles in life on one book, I can’t think of a better one than Charlotte’s Web. In addition to being our own baby girl’s namesake, my mom quoted the arachnid Charlotte at our wedding and left not a dry eye in the house. This is a portion of the passage with which she wowed the assembled company: “You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
• This was and is a favorite of mine. The illustrations are amazing – who doesn’t love Mickey’s little plane made of bread dough?!? – and the story is nothing but sweet and wonderful. I think I chanted, “I’m in the milk and the milk’s in me! God bless milk and god bless me!” for many years to my parents. Honestly, anything by Maurice Sendak has my vote, and we were equally big fans of Where the Wild Things Are and Outside Over There.
Pa’s Balloon by Art Geisert
• When we were growing up, my mom did a very busy circuit of art fairs all over the Midwest. Quite often, all 5 of the Campbell Steeles would make the trip to Galena, Peoria, Madison, Rockford, Cedar Falls, Des Moines, Grinnell, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, or Kansas City. We met a huge number of artists doing the same circuits, among them Galena printmaker, author and illustrator Art Geisert. The favorite of Art’s in our house was Pa’s Balloon, but he has a number of fantastic books with delicate, intricate, and whimsical illustrations and stories.
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly designed and illustrated by Jeremy Holmes
• This book is stunningly illustrated, and makes use of such fun backgrounds and textures. The construction is amazing, especially for something that was published and (relatively) mass produced. It’s a traditional story, but given new life by the incredible quality of these new images and details. There are a number of tiny additions, and I can’t wait to see a copy in person. I highly recommend checking out Jeremy Holmes’s site and flipping through his portfolio. He does wonderful work!
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
• Nick’s debut novel is a little different from the other titles listed, since it’s definitely a young adult/high school read. This chronicle of life as a gay teenager in Iowa is a mix of humor, malaise, and self discovery. Nick and I have known each other since we were about six years old and I have known Nick as a great writer since our freshman year of high school. It is unbelievably exciting to see his work come to fruition and be recognized for the strength of his writing. (The book was just named one of the Most Notable Kids Books of 2009 by the Times, so I’m not just biased!)
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
• This isn’t really a kids book, but an all ages book. It’s a beautiful, fun, heartbreaking, heartfelt, and soulful story. I will always hear my dad as the little boy, Buddy, and our dear family friend Elisabeth Young as his friend, the old woman. My dad and Elisabeth did a live reading of this story for many Liars Theatre holiday shows when I was growing up and it left the audience with shining, teary eyes every time (you’ll notice my parents have a knack for poignancy of that sort). It’s an incredible story and one of my favorites for this time of year.
And a few more quick ones…
• Pretty much any Caldecott Medal winners and honorees… Personal favorites include When I Was Young in the Mountains and Many Moons.
• Plus any Newbery Medal winners and honorees… those favorites would have to be Maniac Magee, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, Doctor DeSoto, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Rascal Sterling North (as we called it in our house!), and last, but certainly not least, A Wrinkle in Time.
There are so many more books I could include here…but let’s be honest, no one wants to read a 14 page blog post. So, I’ll leave you with these – and feel free to recommend your favorites in the comments!
I have another set of recommendations, this time for handmade gifts, that I’ll share on Sunday or Monday. There will be an especially exciting inclusion of a dear friend’s brand new venture…so stay tuned!
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