Beginning Booklovers

I added a new page to my blog today, a list of twenty of my favorite children’s books.  Recently I went to the library to look for some great stories to read to my granddaughter, and I couldn’t find any!  The library was bursting with books.  Rows and rows of shelves.  But most of them were junk.  Ugly pictures, stupid stories.  I hate the kind of book where you chose your own ending.  I hate gimmicky books with pages that lift and move (with a few exceptions.  Where’s Spot is great!).  I hate books that are preaching political correctness.  I hate books that talk down to kids.

There was a great book club when my kids were little.  “The Parent’s Choice” book club.  All the books were Award finalists of the Parent’s Choice Awards.  Better than the Sesame Street book club, or the Dr. Seuss book club, or the Disney book club, each of these books was unique.  All sesame street books have the same illustrator, or at least, the same illustrating style.  All Dr. Seuss books have the same type of illustrations.  All Disney books are the same.  Also, Disney books are based on movies that did well at the box office.  They are not necessarily written by anyone who has any idea what makes a good book.  Most book club books are all the same size, even.  Not the Parents Choice book club.  Each book was a different size, from a different author, with different illustrators.  All were either modern classics, or retelling of time-less classics.

But I can’t find this book club any more.  They  must have closed.  I found something similar, but the books were outrageously expensive.  So you’ll want to check out Amazon.com, especially their collection of used books, if you want to improve your home library. All of these books listed here can be found in My Store.

I should mention briefly, that children who are read to as children do significantly better in school.  Being read to teaches a child to sit still and listen, if nothing else.  Guess what they have to do in kindergarten and first grade?  Sit still and listen!  But being read to does more than that.  Children learn to follow a story, to sequence – to put things in order.  They develop their imaginations, they come to understand their thoughts and feelings, and accept themselves for who the really are.

My day is never really complete until I’ve held my grandchild on my lap in the big rocking chair, and shared my favorite stories with her.

Tags: children's books, classics, favorite stories, parent's choice award