An Introduction and An Offer

An Introduction and An Offer

Welcome to Librarian Mom! I'll be posting here every week. As the title states, I am in fact both a librarian and a mom. I've progressed from the days of reading secretly under the covers after bedtime to that mature state wherein one hassles one's kid into bed as early as possible, so as to be able to spend a couple of hours making lunches and folding laundry before reading openly after bedtime.

One of my favorite librarians at my first job, Gayle Richardson, had a famous standing offer: if you could list two books your child liked, she would recommend three more titles and guarantee that at least one of them would click. I won't go that far out on a limb, but I can definitely give you at least one or two recommendations based on a list of two kids' or teen books (not from the same series) that you or your child enjoyed reading. And if I do, I'd love to hear how they worked out for you.

In honor of this first post and this offer, I asked my own 7-year-old for her favorite books, and she came up with two right away. The first title, The Courageous Princess, by Rod Espinoza, is her current favorite bedtime read-aloud. It's a graphic novel with everything a princess-loving, action-loving reader (or listener) could want: quests, journeys, excitement, villains, heroes, and a cheeky porcupine sidekick. I found it by chance on a trip to Portland, and it's been on my daughter's top-ten list ever since, though its length makes her a bit intimidated to read it on her own.

Her other favorites these days are the Rainbow Fairies books. This series chronicles the adventures of two girls who find and help seven fairies--one for each color of the rainbow--  while on vacation with their families at a magical place called Rainspell Island. My daughter is only recently starting to read with some confidence, and these easy chapter books are just her speed.

If a parent or kid came to me with these two books and asked for recommendations for more, what would I suggest?

Well, for starters, I'd try them on Gail Carson Levine's Princess Tales series, now available in one omnibus volume, but originally published as six separate titles. These funny, whimsical takes on traditional fairy tales are princess-y enough for the most die-hard young Disney fan, but the humor, wry twists, and clear-eyed heroines take them into another league. They're also short enough to feel approachable to kids who are just starting to read chapter books, and also make great read-alouds that parents will enjoy too.

I might also suggest Tracy Kane's Fairy Houses, a picture book about a girl who, like the heroines of the Rainbow Fairies books, is on vacation on an island. As Kristen learns about the island tradition of building fairy houses out of natural materials, she builds her own fairy house, decorating and adding to it until...could it be that the fairies, drawn by her care and creativity, have come to visit the house she made? The question is left open, and readers are left with a sense of the magical power of nature. My daughter first read this book (or rather, had it read to her) a couple of years ago, and she is still drawn to make fairy houses at every opportunity. She even had a fairy house birthday party at the park last year.

Finally, I'd go for a stretch and recommend the Babymouse series, by Jennifer and Matthew Holm (warning: link has musical accompaniment). She's not a princess or a fairy, but Babymouse, like Princess Mablerose, is the heroine of her own graphic novel series, though her adventures run less to escaping across magical kingdoms, and more to run-ins with the catty but inexplicably popular Felicia Furrypaws, and movie marathons with her best friend  Wilson Weasel. Babymouse is a dreamer, constantly losing sight of quotidian reality and falling into imaginary worlds in which she is always the hero: she's a queen waving to her subjects, a private investigator cracking the case, an astronaut battling a giant squid. "Adorable" is the word I've heard most often to describe these books, followed closely by "irresistable"; I'd add "zippy" and "hysterical" to the list. My daughter has yet to discover the Babymouse books, but I have a feeling they'd be just her speed.

So...what do your kids like to read?

September 23, 2007

Comments

[Susan]

Who can turn down an invitiation like this?

My daughter--who is five-- is loving: I Spy, The First Thousand Words in Spanish (she points at the pictures and we tell the words) Madeline, and Dirty Harry.

Happy blogging in this new space.

[Alkelda the Gleeful]

Hi Els! My daughter is four years old, and two of the books she really likes is Madlenka, by Peter Sis (and we do have Madlenka's Dog as well) and The Princess and the Pea, illustrated and retold by Lauren Child. She is really into fairies, too, so I've taken note of your seven year old daughter's books in the event that they make good read-alouds.

[Veronique]

What a fun challenge! I've got two for you:

9 year old daughter has read every single Nancy Drew, loves Tin Tin, and is currently on book five of the Harry Potter books.

7 year old son says he likes Harry Potter, but honestly, it's much too advanced for him. He reads Calvin and Hobbes comics every evening, as well as a huge Popeye comic book we got them last year. When we go to the library he picks out up to ten books at random, most will illustrations, and will read them all easily.

Looking forward to your recommendations!!

[liz]

Oooh!!!!! A PICTURE!

MM loves Ira Sleeps Over and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

[Eugenie Rodgers]

My 3 year old son loves the book Mister Dog and The Moon In My Room. I have been reading them both to him since he was about 6 months old. I sneak in other books when I can (he has dozens) but he still asks for these 2 books. Can you reccomend others that will capture his attention as well as these have?

Thanks,
Eugenie

[401k advisors]

Wow, Harry Potter at those ages. My nephew is about 6 and got scared by Harry Potter. he told his mom that he didn't think he was ready for it. :P