Tiny Treasury

It’s War of Words Wednesday! In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday on Friday, which is the better Seuss classic:

Green Eggs and Ham or The Cat in the Hat?

Each week, I’ve been asking my guest author or illustrator what their favorite books were growing up - the answers appear on the Friday Fifteen.

I’m also curious as to what you, my readers, think. What are your favorite books of all time? Post your favorites (then or now) in the comments below through the end of March. I’ll add up all of the responses and post the results in April. For kicks, I’ll compare our list to the NEA list for adults and kids. And best yet, I’ll review the top 20 books throughout the spring.

So, post away. This should be fun!

And to prevent “ballot stuffing” - Harry Potter fans, you know who you are! - please limit your favorites to ten.

top children’s books

Stuck in the car? Not sure what to listen to? Tired of Raffi? Swearing off Laurie Berkner? Getting the willies from the Wiggles? Consider an audio book. Yeah, yeah, I know. They can be expensive. Consider checking out books on CD from your public library or, better yet, download a chapter or two for free from librivox. No need to read that twice, I said free. Gratis. �?費. Gratuitement. 無料�?�. Gratuitamente. 무료로.

You can check out the children’s library at librivox available for download here, some available as updating podcasts!

(And psst, Mom, Dad, there’s more grown-up fare here.)

It’s war of words Wednesday! Which Princess made for a better story?

Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?

I told you that there would be some changes as I feel my way around the site as the new girl… I’m announcing that I’m instituting War of Words Wednesday! Each Wednesday, I’ll post two books, two authors, two series - two something - and we’ll see which is more popular by your comments. It only works if you post, so pop in each Wednesday to tell us what you think (and better yet, why you think it).

Better detective read:

Encyclopedia Brown or The Three Investigators?

Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators

There are some big changes happening here at Tiny Treasury.

For starters, I’m the new blogger in town. From here on out, I will be adding my two cents to the world of children’s books. And I know a little something about them… Not only was I a voracious reader as a child, but I am raising three enthusiastic little readers of my own. I am also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

With that, you’ll notice that I’ll bring a new voice to the blog. There are already new categories (check ‘em out in the sidebar). I hope to introduce a host of exciting contests, offer a glimpse into the lives of children’s books authors and illustrators, and keep you informed with respect to the best in children’s publishing news.

I’m always interested in your comments and suggestions, so feel free to leave me a note below or send me an email. Glad to have you along!

This is the first book in the series first published in 1955.
In this book, Harold decides to go for a walk in the moonlight. Armed with his purple crayon, he creates the moon and the world in which he takes his walk.
When he thinks there should be a forest, he draws one apple tree. Since he doesn’t want to get lost, one tree is enough for his forest. To guard his tree, he draws a fierce dragon. This dragon scares him so much that his hand shakes. Well this causes wavy lines that turn into an ocean. Luckily he draws a boat, to sail on.
When he gets hungry, he draws a picnic. His picnic consists of several pies. When he can’t finish them all, he draws a moose and porcupine to help him.
As he continues his walk, he draws a hot air balloon, a policeman, and even an entire city. But in the end, all he wants to do is draw his bed in his own house and go to sleep

I like to give this book as a gift along with a pack of crayons and drawing paper.

This charming story of Corduroy helps us to imagine what might happen after the lights are out and the people have disappeared. When all the shoppers have gone home for the night, Corduroy climbs down from the shelf to look for his missing button. It’s a brave new world! He accidentally gets on an elevator that he thinks must be a mountain and sees the furniture section that he thinks must be a wonderful castle. He tries to pull a button off the mattress, but he ends up falling off the bed and knocking over a lamp. The night watchman hears the crash, finds Corduroy, and puts him back on the shelf downstairs. The next morning, he finds that it’s his lucky day! A little girl buys him with money she saved in her piggy bank and takes him home to her room. Corduroy decides that this must be home and that Lisa must be his friend. Youngsters Your little ones will never get tired of this tale with a happy ending, so you may also want to look for Dan Freeman’s follow up, A Pocket for Corduroy.

“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”

So begins the day in the life of Alexander. Everyone has terrible, horrible days, and Alexander offers us the grouchy commiseration we all desire and at the same time reminds us that things may not be all that bad. As Alexander’s day moves along, he suffers a million maladies: getting smashed in the middle seat of the car, a lunch sack void of dessert, a cavity at the dentist’s office, sneakers with NO stripes, kissing on television, and being forced to sleep in railroad-train pajamas.
He makes plans several times to move to Australia.

Judith Viorst perfectly captures a child’s unpredictable temperament. Her flawless crafting makes Alexander sympathetic and loveable rather than ungrateful and whiny.

Obviously I love the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. I finally finished putting them all on here…hopefully encouraging you to read and love them the way I do. Ramona appealed to me in so many ways as a child. She seemed like a kid I would know. As and adult I appreciate her in a completely different way.

Below is a list of the Ramona series in chronological order.

Beezus and Ramona
Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Brave
Ramona and Her Father
Ramona and Her Mother
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona Forever
Ramona’s World

Beverly Clary took a 15 year hiatus between Ramona Forever and Ramona’s World.
Ramona’s World picks up with Ramona entering fourth grade, determined to find herself a best friend. A new girl at school named Daisy is Ramona’s perfect pick and shares the stage in two of the novel’s most memorable scenes: she and Ramona vacuum Daisy’s cat, and while the two play a game of make-believe in the attic, Ramona’s legs break through the floor and dangle over the dining room table. Though the precocious nine-year-old is doing well in school (”By the fourth grade she had learned to put up with teachers”), Ramona doesn’t agree with the emphasis that this year’s teacher places on correct spelling. She is also doing her best to ignore the perfect Susan and Avery. She fights and flirts with classmate Danny (whom she calls Yard Ape because he “acted like an ape on the playground”). At home, Ramona frets over her mother’s preoccupation with a new baby and rolls her eyes at how sister Beezus (now a high-schooler) is constantly trying to show off her new French vocabulary. Ramona’s trials are timeless and convincingly portrayed.

In the seventh book about the Quimbys, eight-year-old Ramona and her entire family are caught up in life changing events. Beezus and Ramona share stories and tears and learn to lean on each other instead of fighting when their dear cat dies. They worry about the what will hapen and what changes will come if their aunt marries a man they’re not sure they like, about Mr. Quimby’s new job taking them to a new town. Most of all, Ramona wonders about her status when Mrs. Quimby has a new baby.

Her parents are working and her sister is apparently at “a difficult age” and Ramona is just trying to do her part to keep the family peace. Usually, however, she ends up behind every uproarious incident in the house. Ramona has a way of not quite getting it right and being painfully misunderstood. This makes Ramona’s life as far from dull as possible. She may be found dying herself blue, watching the demise of a box of kleenex or wearing pajamas to school! At seven and a half Ramona isn’t sure of anything and the one thing she always counted on, her mother’s love, seems to be on shaky ground. Of course Ramona has nothing to worry about…her mother loves her and so does everyone else!

Ramona is starting first grade and she is determined to put on a brave face. As usual things are changing…Ramona has to be brave about sleeping in the dark and brave about her mother going back to work and brave about the ferocious dog on the sidewalk. There are so many things to brave about. Ramona is also forced to deall with all the things that first grde brings…a copycat and a teacher who “doesn’t like” her.

Ramona is the quintessential everygirl. You can’t read her story and not relate to her and all of her problems, fears and life experiences.

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks
by Margaret Sutherland, Sonja Lamut
Thanksgiving is about pilgrims and history-and turkey, of course!-but most importantly, it’s a holiday all about everything that we are thankful for. Cheerful, colorful illustrations accompany the simple text in this celebration of family, friends, and the holiday that brings them all together.

The Night Before Thanksgiving
by Natasha Wing, Tammie Lyon (Illustrator)
A Thanksgiving twist on a classic story.

A Turkey for Thanksgiving
by Eve Bunting, Diane de Groat (Illustrator)
Mrs. Moose’s table is set with a paper turkey but a real turkey is what she really wants. Her husband sets out to find her one. He is joined by his soon-to-be dinner guests: Rabbit, poky Porcupine and ravenous Mr. Goat, who devours everything in sight, including Sheep’s plaid hat. They find Turkey hiding in his nest, surrounded by signs that discourage guests. Mr. Moose trys to calm the terrified bird by explaining: “We just want you for Thanksgiving dinner,” which only scares Turkey more. Young readers will be as thrilled as Turkey to hear that Mrs. Moose wants him at her table, not on it.

Five Silly Turkeys
by Salina Yoon
A fun counting book full of silly turkeys doing very silly things! From twirling on a dance floor to being chased by a bee to tanning in the sun, these are no ordinary Thanksgiving turkeys.

The Perfect Thanksgiving
by Eileen Spinelli, Joann Adinolfi (Illustrator)
A tale of two Thanksgivings. A little girl compares her family’s less than perfect Thanksgiving to the perfect Thanksgiving of another little girl.

It’s Thanksgiving
by Jack Prelutsky, Marylin Hafner (Illustrator)
Presents twelve poems about Thanksgiving, including “When Daddy carves the Turkey,” “I Ate Too Much,” “Daddy’s Football Game,” and “If Turkeys Thought.”

P is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet
by Carol Crane
P is for Pilgrim covers the history and traditions of Thanksgiving from its earliest days to modern times. Educators will find the inclusion of the Core Democratic Values, and how our early settlers laid the foundations for these ideals.

Fried Feathers for Thanksgiving
by James Stevenson
Emma’s friends beg her not to invite mean witches Dolores and Lavinia to their Thanksgiving. The group is surprised when the witches’ invite them to come to their house for Thanksgiving, the group is even more surprised when they are expected to clean the house and receive no dinner. When they finish at the witches’ the group sets off to prepare their own dinner. They catch wind of a plan by the witches to crash their feast and make their own plan to set a trap.

Thanks for Thanksgiving
by Julie Markes, Doris Barrette (Illustrator)
We all know that Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks but where to begin? From the turkey on the table to warm, cozy cuddles, life is full of small things and big pleasures. The most important thing is being able to share them with family!

Thanksgiving Day
by Anne Rockwell, Lizzy Rockwell (Illustrator)
Charlie and his classmates take different roles in a class play, and each character explains why he or she is thankful. The page opposite each child in costume features a picture of a historical incident such as the landing at Plymouth Rock or the Thanksgiving feast.

thanksgiving, books, children’s books